Intrepid seeks to reverse court ruling over Tujuh Bukit project

By Ruli Setiawan

ASX-listed Intrepid Mines Ltd said it would file an appeal with the Jakarta High Court over the unfavorable ruling made by the South Jakarta District Court on Monday in relation to its Tujuh Bukit gold and copper project in East Java.

?The South Jakarta District court judgment will be immediately appealed to the Jakarta High Court, as important elements of the case appeared to have received limited acknowledgment,? the company said in a statement received Tuesday. ?Importantly, Intrepid notes that the Court award is neither final, nor binding on the parties, until all further appeals have been exhausted.?

Paul M. Willis (former Intrepid?s partner in the Tujuh Bukit project) and two other firms including IndoAust Mining Ltd and IndoAust Mining Pty Ltd (the plaintiffs) filed proceedings with the South Jakarta District Court against Intrepid and several other parties including, Emperor Mines Pty Limited, two Intrepid executives and the company?s Indonesian joint venture partners, PT Indo Multi Niaga (IMN), Andreas Reza Nazaruddin (Reza) and Maya Miranda Ambarsari (Maya).

The plaintiffs? action relates to the execution of a Termination and Settlement Agreement between Reza, Maya, IndoAust Mining Limited and Paul Michael Willis and a Deed of Termination and Release between Indoaust Mining Limited and Paul Michael Willis, Intrepid said.

The South Jakarta District court on Monday made an award in favor of the plaintiffs, as follows: the plaintiffs? 70% economic interest in the Tujuh Bukit project was recognized, with the result that subsequent agreements entered into between IMN and Emperor, including the agreements establishing the Tujuh Bukit joint venture, were declared void; compensation for material damages of $3.7 million in respect of alleged expenditure incurred in relation to the Tujuh Bukit project; compensation for immaterial damages, in the amount of $10 million, for intangible harm (the plaintiffs had made a claim for $250 million); and the dismissal of the defendants? counterclaims.

Intrepid Chief Executive, Scott Lowe, noted: ?We firmly believe that the expert testimony and evidence placed before the Court warrants further consideration by the High Court of Jakarta. I remain confident that the grounds for appeal and reversal of the judgment in favor of Intrepid shareholders are very strong.?

The company continues to pursue its entitlements to the Tujuh Bukit project in arbitration proceedings commenced under the rules of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, against IMN, Reza and Maya, it added.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak