Choiceland property dispute sparks charges of leaks

The claim dispute between Saskatchewan steel producer Ipsco (IPS-T) and junior explorer Copperquest (COPQ-C) continues, with accusations that Ipsco was provided advance information that the disputed area, formerly Crown Reserve 599, was to be reopened for staking.

The Crown Reserve, which dates to around 1970, was originally placed on an area known to have substantial bodies of iron formation at depth beneath Paleozoic cover. Subsequent work on the area has indicated possible kimberlite bodies.

Ipsco obtained the ground in early September following a lineup for map staking, in which a Canadian Corps of Commissionaires member left to visit the washroom and found his place in line had been taken by a representative of Copperquest. Contending that there had been a “gentlemen’s agreement” allowing the gents in line to visit “the gents,” Ipsco obtained a court injunction removing Copperquest from the lineup and reinstating the Ipsco representatives. The court order was backed up by Regina police and, according to Copperquest employees and other witnesses on the scene, six employees from the Ipsco mill in Regina.

James Parres of Copperquest was charged with disobeying a court order when he argued with police enforcing the injunction (T.N.M. Oct. 26/98).

It appears to have been conceded generally that both Ipsco and Copperquest had prior knowledge that the Crown reserve on the area would eventually be lifted. However, Copperquest has raised suspicion that Ipsco was given advance notice of the date of actual reopening for staking.

Shaun Spelliscy of privately owned Tamarak Energy, a Regina company that was also seeking ground in the Choiceland area, said he had been told that the Commissionaires had been engaged by Kanuka Thuringer, a law firm acting for Ipsco, to hold a place in line starting on Aug. 15, two days before the lapse list was released. Spelliscy noted in a claim dispute filed with the Department of Energy and Mines that the commissionaire had told him the law firm had advance knowledge of the reopening.

James Ehmann, a lawyer with Kanuka Thuringer, told The Northern Miner that the Corps of Commissionaires had been instructed to line up two days in advance of publication of the lapse list, against the possibility that the ground would be declared open. “We wanted first place so we went early.”

Ehmann described the allegations that lawyers for Ipsco had been in posession of advance information as “simply not true.” He also said the firm had hired the Corps of Commissionaires to line up at the Department’s office a month before, in anticipation of the Choiceland ground coming open. Margaret Moran-McQuinn of the Department of Mines and Energy also confirmed that the Commissionaires had taken places in line before the July release of the lapse list as well.

Moran-McQuinn also said that in the event the government was considering opening a Crown reserve for disposition, “as a normal course of business we would consult with an affected mineral rights holder,” and that consultations like these would not be considered a breach of required secrecy surrounding the area’s availability for staking.

Pamela Schwann of Energy and Mines said there had been no breach of secrecy surrounding the release of the lapse list.

Ipsco, by virtue of a small leased parcel in the middle of the Crown Reserve, was considered to be an affected party under the consultation policy. Copperquest, which had approached the Department of Energy and Mines to reopen the area, was also consulted, Moran-McQuinn said.

Government secrecy is mandated by the Public Service Act, which requires civil servants to take an oath of office that includes a promise not to “disclose or make known any matter or thing which comes to my knowledge,” in the course of employment.

Both Parres and Spelliscy have charged that Energy and Mines officials ignored delivery of documents they submitted to dispute Ipsco’s application for the claims. Parres’s notice of dispute was sent on Sept. 14, but not filed until Sept. 28; Patterson, of Energy and Mines, in a letter to Parres, described the two weeks as “the normal processing time.”

Spelliscy first sent notice of a dispute shortly after the Ipsco claims were registered, but had not first applied for the claims himself. He submitted a second notice by fax on Sept. 30, sending the original notice and money orders for the required fees by courier.

In a letter dated Oct. 5, signed by Patterson for Pamela Schwann, director of the Mines Branch, the Department notified Spelliscy that his fax was not an acceptable way to serve notice, and suggested he use mail or courier. Spelliscy, in response, faxed a delivery confirmation from the courier, dated Sept. 30, which prompted a fax from the Department acknowledging receipt of the package.

Parres has pleaded not guilty to a charge of disobeying an order of the court, and a trial has been set for March 27, 1999. It is an indictable offence carrying a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment.