Viking is enjoying the sweet smell of victory after the High Court in Ghana ruled in its subsidiary’s favour in all aspects of its claims against the defendants.
The positive court judgement upholds the company’s claim for the unfulfilled conditions outlined in the Sale and Purchase Agreement arising from the sale of the Akoase gold project.
With the legal challenge, Viking Mines’ (ASX:VKA) subsidiary Resolute Amansie is seeking to recover the unpaid US$3m sale price, US$120,000 in transfer fees, a royalty on any mining completed on Akoase of US$40 per ounce to a maximum of US$2m, and interest on all the outstanding payments.
The defendants made part payment in late July of US$3m , however the company says this covers just part of the total sum owed and that interest continues to accrue on all remaining aspects of the debt, at an amount of 10% per annum as stipulated in the agreement.
The court has ordered the defendants to provide accounts relating to the company’s royalty claim before the end of this month and will consider the royalty amounts and costs of the claim on 17 November.
Positive Akoase judgement
The company executed the contract to sell the Akoase gold project in June 2015 for total proceeds of US$10m ($13.13m).
While it was paid the first US$5m in sales proceeds, the remaining US$3m that was due by 31 December 2017 was not paid, leading the company to start litigation against Akoase Resources Limited, BXC Company Ghana Limited and Cheng Yi in October 2018.
Future activity
Viking will now undertake a desktop review of the mining activity at the project to form an opinion on the amount of gold mined and royalty owed using freely available satellite imagery.
Additionally, the company will update costs and interest calculations, and establish steps available to its subsidiary to enforce the judgement in Ghana and claim either monies owed or the assets of the defendants.
This article was developed in collaboration with Viking Mines, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.