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- Zuleika Gold (ZAG) wins its legal battle with Vango Mining (VAN) over a 2017 earn-in deal for the Keillor 2 (K2) project in Western Australia
- Zuleika says the WA supreme court ruled in the company’s favour on “all material aspects of the litigation”, confirming its 4.1 per cent beneficial interest in the project
- Zuleika launched legal action against Vango back in 2020 after it alleged Vango breached the terms of a binding terms sheet (BTS) between the two companies
- Today, a Supreme Court judge ruled that Vango breached the terms of and wrongfully repudiated the BTS agreement
- Shares in Zuleika are up 16.67 per cent and trading at 2.1 cents at 3:32 pm AEDT, and Vango shares are grey at 3.7 cents
Zuleika Gold (ZAG) has won its legal battle against Vango Mining (VAN) over a 2017 earn-in deal for the Keillor 2 (K2) project in Western Australia.
Under the binding terms sheet (BTS), Zuleika was set to earn a 50 per cent interest in the K2 project, but Vango said in late 2019 it was scrapping the deal, alleging that Zuleika — then called Dampier Gold — had failed to satisfy its spending requirements.
Zuleika hit back, claiming Vango had refused to approve spending proposals and budgets in several joint venture meetings. In February 2021, Zuleika demanded $21 million in damages and threatened legal action.
The case went to court, and Justice Smith this week found that Zuleika was entitled to its 4.1 per cent stake in the project and ordered Vango to promptly transfer the stake to the company.
Further, Zuleika claimed Justice Smith found that Vango breached the terms of and wrongfully repudiated the BTS agreement.
Zuleika Gold Managing Director Jonathan Lea said the ruling was an “excellent” outcome for Zuleika.
“The ruling agreed with Zuleika Gold’s position on all material aspects of the litigation,” Mr Lea said.
Regarding the initial $21 million sought in compensation, Mr Lea said the next stage of the litigation would be to determine the quantum of damages payable by Vango on account of its determined breaches of the BTS.”
“Zuleika intends to bring that aspect of its claim to trial as quickly as possible.”
Vango Mining acknowledged the Court’s decision and said it was reviewing the case to determine if it wished to appeal the outcome.
Shares in Zuleika were up 16.67 per cent and trading at 2.1 cents at 3:32 pm AEDT, and Vango shares were grey at 3.7 cents.
