goldenpolarbear
6 years ago
Nagoya, I have no news ... It is horrific how the Great Basin Gold GBGLF shareholders were treated... Burnstone still exists the gold still exists... It is being mined...
By The Way, Why did the court case collapse in 2017?
https://www.pressreader.com/canada/stockwatch-daily/20170112/281483571072397
http://www.insolvencies.deloitte.ca/Documents/Brief%20of%20Fact%20and%20Law%20filed%20March%201,%202016.pdf
« ...
14. The Company’s most significant remaining asset is the Burnstone property, located in
Balfour, Mpumalanga, South Africa, (the “Burnstone Property”), which is a producing
gold mine.
15. The Receiver has established a website at http://cfcanada.fticonsulting.com/GBGL (the
“Receiver’s Website”) at which the Receiver posts periodic updates on the progress of the receivership, together with copies of court orders, motion materials and reports filed in the receivership.
16. In addition, the Receiver has created a dedicated email address, gbgl@fticonsulting.com, and a dedicated telephone number, 416-649-8047, which creditors, employees, interested parties and other stakeholders can use to contact the Receiver.
17. On July 5, 2013 the Receiver sent notice of the appointment of the Receiver to the Superintendent, and all known creditors in accordance with section 245 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
18. There were no employees and no unpaid wages in respect of GBGL at the Appointment Date and therefore no filing was made in respect of the Wage Earner Protection Program Act.
19. On September 16, 2013 the Ontario Securities Commission issued an Order that ceased all trading in the securities of Great Basin Gold Limited. A copy of the Order as well as a notice was posted on the Receiver’s Website.... »
http://cfcanada.fticonsulting.com/GBGL/docs/GBGL%20First%20Report%20of%20the%20Receiver.pdf
goldenpolarbear
6 years ago
« ...BURNSTONE
Burnstone is located in the South Rand Goldfield of the Witwatersrand Basin near the town of Balfour, approximately 75km east of Johannesburg in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa.
Sibanye acquired the Burnstone assets in April 2014, comprising two shaft complexes, namely the surface portal and mechanised vehicle access decline and the vertical shaft (shaft bottom at 495m below surface), as well as a 125,000tpm gold processing plant, the tailings storage facility and surface infrastructure to support a producing operation, albeit with areas still to be constructed.
Burnstone had previously produced approximately 38,000oz of gold before being placed on care and maintenance in mid-2012.
The Burnstone project feasibility study was approved by the Board for project execution in November 2015. The project is planned with a five-year build-up to steady-state production by 2021, then averaging 120,000oz annually for nine years till the end of 2029. Thereafter a 10-year period of decreasing but profitable production supports an initial 26-year life-of-mine plan, yielding 2.05Moz of gold production. This initial LoM plan was limited to approximately 60% of the total Burnstone resource as the mine design and schedule in the feasibility study were limited to mineable reserves within a 3km radius of the shaft infrastructure.
First gold production is planned in the second half of 2018 when there is sufficient on-reef development stockpiled (2.5 years) to start up the metallurgical plant, albeit at a reduced milling capacity. The full production run rate is planned to be achieved in 2021 and the total LoM project capital is estimated at R1,852 million (in 2015 terms).
In 2015, concurrent with completing the feasibility study, R272 million was spent on completing the mine-dewatering and permanent pumping infrastructure, re-aligning the shaft steelwork for rock-hoisting, and completing approximately 2km of development to commence accessing the orebody. The development was completed utilising the existing mechanised development machines which were first refurbished before being put back into production. Three development fleets of equipment were in production by year end.
In 2016, R531 million was spent in the first full year of the feasibility study build-up where the expenditure provided for:
·
4,950m of development. In the fourth quarter, with all development fleets in production, 1,915m of the planned 2,100m was produced and the team’s performance has steadily improved
·
mine infrastructure running costs
·
planned project capital infrastructure
·
procurement of additional mechanised mining fleets and ancillary support vehicles
The budget for 2017 has been revised to R400 million – compared to an initial budget of R672 million – to deliver 6,000m of access development (this is a reduction from the feasibility study’s 8,300m of access development) and to run the mine in support of this revised plan and defer certain project infrastructure.... »
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1561694/000155837017002504/sbgl-20161231x20f.htm
http://cfcanada.fticonsulting.com/GBGL/docs/FTI%20GBGL%20Receiver's%20Fourth%20Report.pdf
CREDIT SUISSE AG has filed a case in the Supreme Court of British Columbia seeking information from former Great Basin Gold Ltd. director Walter Segsworth over what it sees as a massive mine ...
https://www.pressreader.com/canada/stockwatch-daily/20160831/281479275846850
goldenpolarbear
7 years ago
« ... Standard Chartered Bank together with Credit Suisse AG, who were principal lenders to Great Basin Gold, a listed Canadian mining company which owned two mines, one in Nevada and one in Johannesburg. Great Basin Gold and both mine-owning subsidiaries were placed, simultaneously, into cross-border bankruptcy proceedings: voluntary company creditors arrangement in Canada, chapter 11 bankruptcy in Nevada, and business rescue in South Africa. Prior to the restructuring, the South African creditors’ claims exceeded ZAR 11 billion.
The final restructuring involved the sale of the shares in the South African subsidiary to another listed mining group, the compromise of certain debt, the refinancing of other debt and the introduction of new finance facilities.
https://www.bowmanslaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SL-Restructuring-2.pdf
« ... Still Beyond FRUSTRATING! Regarding the Burnstone Gold Mine!
http://www.saimm.co.za/saimm-events/upcoming-events
“...Note: Business Rescue should generally end within three months, or an extended time as granted by Court on application by Practitioner
Beyond Frustrating http://web.archive.org/web/20120817013309/http://www.greatbasingold.com:80/burnstone.cfm
http://web.archive.org/web/20120817013305/http://www.greatbasingold.com/assets.cfm
http://web.archive.org/web/20130323111047/http://www.greatbasingold.com/burnstone_team.cfm
Welman v Marcelle Props 193 CC & Another (2012) JOL 28714 (GSJ)
“business rescue proceedings are not for terminally ill close corporations. Nor are they for chronically ill. They are for ailing corporations, which given time will be rescued and become solvent”
Quote:
”... Claire van Zuylen, Partner at pan-African corporate law firm, Bowman Gilfillan, which acted for Standard Chartered Bank in London and Credit Suisse (AG), commented, “The restructuring will result in some 2 000 employees, who were initially retrenched in 2012 when the Burnstone mine went into care and maintenance, being re-employed at the mine when operations re-commence.
“Without the input of the secured lenders, Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered Bank, in terms of advancing post-commencement financing and permitting the unsecured creditors a dividend that they would not otherwise have obtained, Southgold would have been forced to commence liquidation proceedings.”
South African company Southgold Exploration is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toronto-based Great Basin Gold (GBG) Limited, which is an international mining company engaged in the exploration and development of gold properties. Southgold’s principal asset is the Burnstone mine in Mpumalanga.
During August 2012, GBG suspended active production at Burnstone in the hope of selling the mine in order to settle creditors. Seeking protection from creditors in the interim period, Southgold filed a resolution in 2012 placing itself in business rescue, and commenced proceedings under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, which is the equivalent of South Africa’s business rescue proceedings.
Standard Chartered Bank and Credit Suisse worked closely with the business rescue practitioner appointed to supervise Southgold, and advanced significant post-commencement financing to enable the successful business rescue, which included restructuring Southgold’s debt and equity.
According to Ms van Zuylen, “The restructuring had cross-border implications in that it involved the restructuring of debt owed to Canadian, Swiss and English creditors in addition to South African creditors.”
The restructuring involved banking and finance law, insolvency and restructuring law, corporate law, litigation and mining law issues. Documents were governed by English law and South African law (prepared by Bowman Gilfillan), and Cayman and Swiss law (drafted by local counsel).
The Bowman Gilfillan team comprised: Lionel Shawe and Lisa Botha (Banking and Finance), Claire van Zuylen and Sizwe Msimang (Insolvency and Restructuring law), Alistair Collins, Marc Pinchuck, Candace Hennessey, Johan de Wet, Ingrid Sinclair, Claire Tucker (Mining and Regulatory), and John Sahli and Clement Mkiva (Litigation).
http://www.polity.org.za/article/business-rescue-of-southgold-gives-mine-a-new-lease-on-life-2014-08-07
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/successful-southgold-business-rescue-precedent-setting-lawyer-2014-07-03
http://www.blakes.com/English/WhoWeAre/FindPerson/Pages/Profile.aspx?EmpID=101619&format=PDF
http://services.bowman.co.za/Brochures/PracticeAreas/Restructuring/Restructuring.pdf
Where is the South African Business Rescue?
“...Where is the GBGLF business rescue... How were the shares restructured? If at all?
Quote:
SOUTHGOLD PROPRIETARY LIMITED
>Southgold was a member of the Great Basin Gold (GBG) group of companies with its main business of mining exploration
>GBG was a Canadian company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
>Company is the owner of the Burnstone mine – Mpumalanga
>Southgold was placed under business rescue on 14 September 2012, pursuant to a voluntary resolution passed by the board of directors and Peter van den Steen was appointed as the business rescue practitioner
>Provision of post-commencement funding by secured lenders
http://www.tma-sa.com/events/tma-sa-conference-2015/80-13-35-pm-jared-n-and-eric-l-werksmans-attorneys/file.html
Quote:
SOUTHGOLD PROPRIETARY LIMITED
>Conclusion of a restructuring and support agreement between the business rescue practitioner, the secured lenders and the noteholders
>Transaction structured as a –
>restructure of Southgold’s shares in certain subsidiaries
>transfer of intra-group assets to Southgold
>sale of the shares in Southgold to Wits Gold for R1
>restructure of Southgold’s debt and security to the secured lenders. Debt to be repaid over time
>payment by the secured lenders and Wits Gold of amounts to be made available for payment to noteholders and trade creditors upon closing of the transaction
http://www.polity.org.za/article/business-rescue-of-southgold-gives-mine-a-new-lease-on-life-2014-08-07
Quote:
One of the biggest and most complex business rescues brought under the new Companies Act of 2008 has come to a successful conclusion, in the process saving jobs and highlighting the important role that banks play in business rescue proceedings.
Southgold Exploration, which filed a resolution in 2012 placing itself in business rescue, had its business rescue plan approved by creditors on 11 July 2013, which ultimately resulted in the company terminating its business rescue on 1 July 2014 so that it could continue to operate.
Claire van Zuylen, Partner at pan-African corporate law firm, Bowman Gilfillan, which acted for Standard Chartered Bank in London and Credit Suisse (AG), commented, “The restructuring will result in some 2 000 employees, who were initially retrenched in 2012 when the Burnstone mine went into care and maintenance, being re-employed at the mine when operations re-commence.
goldenpolarbear
7 years ago
« ...Court Case Over AFRICAN Miner’s Collapse Ends Abruptly
Great Basin Gold Debentures Drop Lawsuit
https://www.pressreader.com/canada/stockwatch-daily/20170112/281483571072397
« ...Court case over African miner’s collapse ends abruptly
Great Basin debentureholders drop lawsuit
Stockwatch Daily12 Jan 2017By Mike Caswell
A LAWSUIT over the demise of Great Basin Gold Ltd. and its purported $1.3-billion (U.S.) in assets has come to an unspectacular conclusion in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The debentureholders behind the suit have dropped the case. Each side will bear its own legal costs.
The lawsuit was brought bya group, led by Linden Advisors LP, that held $45.7-million in unsecured convertible debentures in Great Basin. The group lost most of its investment after Great Basin entered insolvency proceedings in 2012. The lawsuit sought damages from Great Basin’s former management, claiming that the company had misrepresented the value of its assets.
The case was being actively litigated and had been set for trial in September, 2017, but the matter came to a sudden end on Dec. 19, 2016. On that date, Linden and the other plaintiffs filed a consent order dropping the matter in its entirety. The order states that there will be no costs, which means that each side must pay its own legal fees.
The order concludes a case that Linden and two other investors filed on Aug. 14, 2014. The other plaintiffs were Crystalline Management Inc. and Wolverine Asset Management LLC. The defendants were former officers and directors of Great Basin. These included Ferdinand Dippenaar, the company’s president from August, 2005, to August, 2012. The suit also named Great Basin chairman Ron Thiessen.
The lawsuit sought to hold management accountable for what the debentureholders saw as a substantial misrepresentation of the value of the company’s assets. Linden said that it acquired Great Basin debentures in 2009, based on the value the company attributed to its two main projects, Hollister and Burnstone. The company had valued Burnstone between $414-million (U.S.) and $1.17-billion (U.S.), with a mine life of 19 years. After adding the value of Hollister, the company’s two main projects were worth $1.3-billion (U.S.), the suit stated.
After the initial investment, all seemed to be well, according to Linden. The Burstone project went into production in January, 2011, and the project’s reserves and mine life increased too. Meanwhile the Hollister project received a boost to its reserves as well. Alongside these purportedly positive developments, Mr. Dippenaar called the Burnstone a “world class project” that would produce into the future. The company expected Burnstone to start contributing cash flow in July, 2011.
There were no concerns throughout 2011 and into 2012 about the company’s cash position, Linden said. On Oct. 24, 2011, the company claimed to have enough working capital. It also increased its valuation of the Burnstone project, placing a $1.53-billion (U.S.) figure on the project. The company acknowledged some production delays, but in an April 3, 2012, earnings call Mr. Dippenaar assured investors that those issues were resolved. As the debentureholders understood things, the company was advancing without any troubles, the suit stated.
Problems soon appeared, however. According to the suit, the company first disclosed on Aug. 12, 2014, that it was having “operational challenges” bringing Burnstone into production. The company also said that it had a working capital deficit of $23-million. Despite those issues, the company maintained that the value of the
projects was more than the company’s market capitalization, the suit claimed. The company did not write down either project.
Just weeks later, a much larger problem ensued. On Sept. 19, 2012, Great Basin entered insolvency proceedings, in which it ultimately sold all of its assets. As Linden saw it, the true value of the company’s projects emerged through those proceedings. In May, 2013, Great Basin sold Hollister for $15-million and a 15-per-cent royalty, which was assigned to the company’s secured lenders. Meanwhile Burstone went for $7.25-million (U.S.) and the assumption of $170-million (U.S.) in debt. Linden said that this value was a mere fraction of what management had claimed the projects to be worth.
The lawsuit sought damages for negligent misrepresentation, a declaration that the directors and officers breached their duty, and a declaration that the debenture prospectus contained misrepresentations. In addition to Mr. Dippenaar and Mr. Thiessen, the defendants were: Lourens Van Vuuren, Willem Beckmann, Philip N. Bentley, Patrick Cooke, Terrence Barry Coughlan, Dhir Anu, David M.S. Elliott, Bheki Khumalo, Harry Wayne Kirk, Octavia Matloa, Philip Kotze, Joshua C. Ngoma, Johan Oelofse, Dana Roets, Gert J. Robbertze, Sipho A. Nkosi and Walter T. Segsworth.
The defendants each denied any wrongdoing. In his July 22, 2015, response to the suit, Mr. Dippenaar said that there was no guarantee of the company’s success, and its disclosure clearly indicated that fact. Exploration variables, lack of financing, as well as economic and market conditions could all affect its success, he contended.
Mr. Dippenaar also leaned heavily on the legal disclaimers in the prospectus. Those disclaimers specifically stated that investments in the company were speculative and involved a high degree of risk. Moreover, the debentures were unsecured obligations and there was no guarantee that the company could pay the interest and principal. At the time, the company had an 18-year history of losses and there was no guarantee it would be profitable.
Great Basin Gold no longer trades in Canada, the company having delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange on Oct. 25, 2012. In 2010, the stock had a high of $3.07. The company still has a listing on the lowly OTC Markets, where it was last at 0.18 cent.
(GBGLF)
https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/bsf-osb.nsf/eng/br02976.html
« ...Great Basin ex Segsworth fights Credit Suisse case
Great Basin Gold Ltd.’s former director, Walter Segsworth, has asked a judge to deny an attempt to force him into providing a deposition for a Nevada fraud case. He says that he has nothing relevant to contribute.
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060080079
https://www.bnn.ca/commodities/video/alaskan-pebble-project-achieves-agreement-with-u-s-epa~1153416
https://www.pressreader.com/canada/stockwatch-daily/20160923/281509340663766
goldenpolarbear
7 years ago
« Great Basin Gold– Hollister Mine (Nevada), Burnstone Mine (South Africa)... »
« ...Key Points for Investors and Other Stakeholders:
• Great Basin Gold Ltd. (“GBG”), was a publicly-traded international mining company engaged in the exploration, development and operation of gold properties. It operated through 22 subsidiary companies that reported through consolidated statements. A number of the subsidiaries were in- corporated and based in known tax shelters (British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cyprus).
• The company entered receivership in 2013, while Ronald Thiessen was still Chairman of the Board, and Scott Coughlan was still a Director. From 1996 through 2007, the company was under HDI control, based on a contract dated December 31, 1997. HDI ceased to be a “related party” after 2007.
• Philip Kotze was also a company director from 2011 until 2013, and was the President and CEO of HDI-subsidiary Atlatsa from 2008 to 2011. He later bought the HDI Burnstone Mine out of the liquidation proceedings in 2013.
• Subsequently, Thiessen and Coughlan were defendants in civil proceedings filed in British Co- lumbia and Nevada by Credit Suisse AG, GBG’s largest creditor. In February-March 2011, prior to GBG’s bankruptcy, the company borrowed US$70 million (the “Hollister Facility’) from Credit Suisse to finance mining operations at its Hollister gold mine in Nevada. In 2012, follow- ing the bankruptcy filing, Credit Suisse executed a US$35 million debtor-in-possession financing facility (the “Canadian DIP Facility”) connected to the Canadian bankruptcy filing, which was subsequently increased to US$51 million in 2013. Credit Suisse filed suit in Nevada alleging that the defendants had provided information, at the time of the Hollister Facility, stating that the life of the Hollister Mine was estimated at over eight years, the proven and probable reserves at the mine were estimated to be 907,000 Au(eqv) oz, and the net present value of the mine was C$236 million. Following the bankruptcy proceeding, however, the Hollister mine was reported to have “only a three-year life of mine and proven and probable mineral reserves of 187,000 Au(eqv) oz.” When the mine was sold in 2013, it was sold “for only US$15 million and a small percentage of future profits.” Credit Suisse alleged “negligent misrepresentation, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty” on the part of the defendants. The Nevada proceedings were settled in July, 2017. 132 De- tails of the settlement were not
• Thiessen and Coughlan were also defendants in a related civil proceeding filed in British Colum- bia in 2014 by Linden Advisors LP, Crystalline Management Inc. and Wolverine Asset Manage- ment, LLC. The plaintiffs were investors in debentures issued by GBG in 2009, who alleged that the defendants made material misrepresentations concerning GBG’s financial and liquidity position in a GBG prospectus related to the debenture issue. After counterclaims and responses filed by both sides, this proceeding was settled and dismissed in December 2016, with neither party taking anything from the other.
• In May 2013, the Hollister Mine was sold at auction for US$15 million by Waterton Global Re- source Management. In Q3, 2016, Waterton shut it down. Hollister was again sold, to Rimrock Gold, which then sold it to Klondex for $80 million and some shares and warrants in Klondex. Franco-Nevada holds a 3-5% NSR on the property (subject to gold price).
• In 2013 in South Africa, at the Burnstone Mine, GBG subsidiary Southgold filed for bankruptcy protection. The company’s debt exceeded US$400 million (largely owing to Credit Suisse and Standard Bank). Southgold brought in a private business rescue practitioner- Peter Steen, who sold the mine to Philip Kotze’s Witwatersrand Consolidated Gold Resources (“Wits”) for $7.25 million133; Wits also assumed the company debt. However, the plan cut the debt to $177.5 million and required Wits to bring the mine back into operation within three years. The rescue plan was announced in July 2013.134 Wits could not meet its obligations either, and, by the end of the year, the entire company had been bought by Sibanye for less than $40 million... »
https://miningwatch.ca/sites/default/files/hdi_investor_report.pdf
https://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/pebble-project/project-overview/
« ...Investors are mad with the state of play at Great Basin Gold Ltd., an international gold mining company with mines in Nevada and South Africa that is now in bankruptcy protection.
And there’s a lot at stake given that through RBC Capital Markets, Great Basin raised $57.5-million of equity capital just over six months back from a unit offering at $0.75 per unit. It also raised $86.3-million of equity — at $2.55 a share — in February 2011. One year back, again through RBC, it raised $126.5-million from the sale of five-year 8% convertible debentures.
And their rage is directly proportional to how fast developments have changed at the company whose shares are listed in Canada, the U.S. and South Africa.
Adding to the frustration is that battles have emerged between classes of security holders brought on by the demands of the providers of debtor in possession financing and the collateral holders of the convertible debentures thought they enjoyed. (One holder said that he expects, at best, to receive $0.25 on the dollar.) And because Great Basin is obligated to pay the legal costs of the lenders and the holders of the convertibles, about $10-million will be drained. Indeed in its latest update, issued one week back, Great Basin said that the DIP loan “remains in technical default.”
http://business.financialpost.com/news/fp-street/the-mess-at-great-basin-gold
Really? https://www.sibanyestillwater.com/our-business/southern-africa/projects/burnstone/history
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