Bonterra sued by consultants, former CEO

Bonterra Resources Inc. [BTR-TSXV; BONXF-OTC; 9BR1-FSE] said Friday, May 10, that it has become aware that a notice of claim has been filed with the Supreme Court of British Columbia by three consultants seeking payments of $246,000 in connection with consulting agreements entered into in February and March, 2017.

Pursuant to the notice of claim:

• Meagher, together with Meagher Consulting Inc., is seeking $90,000, representing a termination fee payable in connection with his management consulting agreement. The company received his invoice on May 6, 2019, and as this amount was never in dispute, payment was made promptly.
• Verdejo, together with 0910978 B.C. Ltd., is seeking $66,000, representing a termination fee payable under his consulting agreement for marketing, financing and development services. His invoice was received on May 8, 2019, and as this amount was never in dispute, full payment was made promptly.
• Cesarone, together with Athena Ventures Inc., is claiming $90,000 in connection with her consulting agreement for corporate secretarial services. However, this claim is without merit, as Ms. Cesarone chose to resign, the company said.

“We take our obligations very seriously and value the people who are and have contributed in building this company,” said Greg Gibson, Bonterra’s interim CEO.  “However, we will contest wrongful claims and will not be deterred by concerted efforts to pressure the company.

In an April 16, 2019, Bonterra said it had received notice of a civil claim, filed by its former CEO and director Navjit Dhaliwal, and its former vice-president of exploration, Richard Dale Ginn, seeking payment payment of $1.09 million for each claimant.

“This lawsuit is strictly an attempt to bully Bonterra,” Gibson said. “Guided by our duty to act in the best interest of the company and all shareholders, we will vigorously contest this claim and seek appropriate remedy for any damages caused to Bonterra by the plaintiffs’ actions,” he said.

When Bonterra snapped up Metanor Resources Inc. last year in a $78 million deal, the plan was to create a new gold exploration and development company with a focus on Quebec’s Urban Barry mining camp.

By attaining control of three advanced, high-grade gold deposits (Gladiator, Moroy and Barry) and the only permitted gold mill in the region, Bonterra believed it was placing the combined company in an excellent position to rapidly and cost-effectively become a significant Quebec-based gold producer.

After closing the deal in September 2018, Bonterra said it was planning to accelerate the Gladiator, Moroy and Barry deposits while expanding the capacity of the Urban Barry mill. (The Moroy deposit is located on the property that also contains the Urban Barry mill).

In press release on October 10, 2018, Bonterra said it plans to increase the capacity of the mill from 800 tonnes per day (tpd) to 2,400 tpd. Construction related to the mill expansion was expected to be completed in 2019, allowing a shortened timeline to production for the three gold deposits. The budget for this project was US$13 million.

On Friday, Bonterra shares were unchanged at $1.65, and now trade in a 52-week range of $1.46 and $5.60.