JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed SouthGobi Resources’ former president and CEO Alexander Molyneux served the Mongolia-focused metallurgical and thermal coal miner with a notice of civil claim, filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court, it said on Thursday.
The claim related to alleged breaches of Molyneux's employment agreement by the company. In addition to the company, Turquoise Hill Resources, SouthGobi’s largest shareholder at the time of Molyneux's employment, was also named in the claim.
Molyneux acted as the company's president, from April 2009, and CEO, from October 2009, until September 2012, when the company terminated his employment.
This was a week after Aluminium Corp of China dropped a $926-million bid for the company that strained its relationship with the Mongolian government. SouthGobi, which was listed in Toronto and Hong Kong, did not give any reason for the termination of Molyneux’s services.
He was seeking damages in excess of $1-million, which the company considered to be without merit.
He was seeking damages in excess of $1-million, which the company considered to be without merit.
“[We] intend to vigorously defend the action and reserve [our] right to pursue all legal rights and remedies available to [us] in connection with the proceedings,” SouthGobi said in a statement.
The company was currently focused on exploration and development of its metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in Mongolia's South Gobi region. It had a 100% shareholding in SouthGobi Sands, a Mongolian registered company that held the mining and exploration licences in Mongolia and operated the flagship Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine. Ovoot Tolgoi produced and sold coal to customers in China.