Viking remains confident that its ongoing litigation in Ghana will be successful after its subsidiary received US$3m from a defendant despite judgement being deferred.

While the payment into the bank account of Viking Mines’ (ASX:VKA) subsidiary Resolute Amansie does not cover the full amount owed, it still appears to be a step in the right direction pending the deferred judgement by the Ghana High Court in mid-October.

The company noted that costs and interest remain outstanding along with an ongoing royalty on production from the Akosae project of up to US$2m.

“It is very encouraging that our pursuit of the outstanding sum from the sale of the Akoase Gold Project takes a positive step, with US$3m being paid by a defendant into the bank account of our subsidiary company in Ghana,” managing director Julian Woodcock said.

“Whilst it is frustrating to have judgement deferred until October, we recognise the importance of the legal process being properly followed to mitigate any future basis for appeal.

“The receipt of the US$3m will not prevent us from moving forwards and pursuing the remainder of the monies owed. As stated before, I am confident that we will receive a positive judgement for this case in due course.”

Akoase litigation

The company executed a sale contract for the project in June 2015 for total proceeds of US$10m ($13.13m) of which US$8m was to be paid in cash in two tranches while the remaining US$2m will come from royalties from production.

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. The company continues to pursue costs and interest on the US$3M as well as the royalty on any production from the project.

 

 

 

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.