Mining promoter Murray Pezim isn’t off the hook yet. The Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal in which the British Columbia Securities Commission will try to overturn a lower court ruling which cleared Pezim and several associates of securities violations.
In 1992, the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned most of the findings of the commission, which ruled that Pezim and others breached disclosure requirements at a time when drilling was occurring on the Eskay Creek project, north of Stewart, B.C.
The appeals court noted a distinction between “material facts” and “material changes” and found that drill results (assay certificates) do not constitute material changes in the affairs of a public company. The court did state, however, that drill results can be “material facts” — capable of affecting share price positively or negatively — thus requiring disclosure as soon as is practicable.
The twist in the case is that the results in question were from hole 109, away from the main Eskay Creek deposits. International Corona subsequently drilled the target but was unable to duplicate the results previously reported, and it is now believed the hole was inadvertently drilled down a narrow vein structure. Before it was taken over by Homestake Mining (NYSE), Corona assigned a small tonnage to the area of hole 109 but did not know if it would be minable.
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