THUNDER BAY — A dispute has developed between two partners looking to develop a gold mine near Geraldton.
A Centerra Gold Inc. subsidiary has filed a statement of claim in Superior Court against Thunder Bay-based Premier Gold Mines.
The pair are 50/50 partners in Greenstone Gold Mines, a company they established to develop the Hardrock project a few kilometres south of Geraldton.
On Friday, Premier announced that Toronto-based Centerra filed a claim this month seeking a declaration that the 2019 Hardrock Project update submitted by Greenstone Gold should not be considered a "feasibility study" as defined in their partnership agreement.
Premier said it believes the allegations made in the claim are without merit, and it intends to defend its position and its interests in the project.
In its statement, the company noted that the GGM board had approved a 2019 budget that allowed the company "to independently complete a resource estimate and an economic update on the project."
That update, it said, included a feasibility study by an independent mining consultant which forecast a rate of return that satisfied the partners' criteria for developing a mine.
Premier added that, in preparing the project update, the consultant "gave careful consideration to the comments and views expressed by Centerra's mining consultant, who was retained by Centerra in October 2019 to review Centerra's issues with the Hardrock Project Update."
It's been estimated that, if an open-pit mine were developed, nearly 1,000 jobs would be created during construction and pre-production, and an average of 450 workers would be required during a 15-year mine life span.
Greenstone Mayor Renald Beaulieu could not be reached for comment on the dispute between the two mining companies.
The Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission has said the project would create significant spinoff benefits not only for Greenstone but for Thunder Bay and the entire region as well.
