Battling fluorspar producer Sallies on Wednesday told shareholders that witness hearings in its case against US corporate Honeywell would begin on Thursday in Zurich, but that a tribunal decision could take “some time”.

The JSE-listed company is claiming $1-million from Honeywell for payment of material it delivered to the US firm, which, in turn, is claiming $6,8-million from Sallies, in damages, as a result of breach of contract.

If Sallies lost the case, it would translate to a $7-million blow, chairperson Tom Dale said in June.

The company last year entered into an arbitration process in a bid to resolve an ongoing dispute over the termination of what Sallies had termed an ‘onerous contract’ with the US-based firm.

In March last year, at its interim results presentation, Sallies claimed that Honeywell had refused to disclose the average weighted price it was paying its other suppliers, while Sallies was locked in at a suffocating $116/t, despite spot prices having moved to around $170/t.

Retaliating to Sallies’ cancellation of the contract, in early January, Honeywell filed request for arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce.

The hearings before the Arbitral Tribunal in Zurich would take place on September 20, September 26 and September 27, the fluorspar producer noted.

“The Tribunal may take some time after the conclusion of the witness hearings to reach a decision,” stated Sallies. “This decision can be appealed by both parties.”

The hearings were supposed to have started on May 2 to 4.

Sallies was trading slightly down at 14:30, at 57c a share.

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