Liberty Mines exec named in lawsuit

A vice president of Liberty Mines is being sued for defamation over comments about a Timmins mining property, allegedly posted on the Internet.
The comments involve a property owned by Inspiration Mining Corporation, located close to one of the Liberty Mines properties in Timmins.
Liberty has three mining properties in the city, all in Shaw Township in the city’s southeast corner; the Redstone Mine, the McWatters Mine and the Hart deposit. Inspiration Mining of Toronto currently owns the former Langmuir Mine property and is in the midst of a vigorous exploration-drilling program in Langmuir Township, which is immediately southeast of Shaw Township
According to papers filed in court, the disparaging comments posted by a Liberty executive were enough to send value of Inspiration stock plummeting by more than 50 per cent last winter.
The claims were made in a $12-million suit filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto on April 25. The lawsuit named several individuals who posted anonymous comments and discussions on an stock investor web site. The company has also obtained a court order to force the website to reveal the nicknames used by those who posted information and contributed to the discussion of the Timmins properties.
According to the papers filed, the discussions were posted in November, in reaction to a report from Inspiration about drilling results from exploration work on its Langmuir project in Timmins.
According to a Bloomberg News report, the whole issue could threaten a potential partnership deal between Liberty and Inspiration. In a news release however, Inspiration says it has no discussions with anyone else to form any partnerships.
“ Inspiration is not involved in any discussions or negotiations pertaining to a joint venture with any third party. With respect to the lawsuit, Inspiration has commenced legal proceedings against several individuals with respect to comments made by such individuals on an electronic bulletin board. Inspiration decided to commence legal proceedings in order to protect shareholder value and prevent the dissemination of information that was made solely to harm the reputation of the Company and its Langmuir property and it's CEO,” said the Inspiration news release.
Bloomberg reports that it was told the Liberty executive has apologized for his comments, within his own company. It also reports that Liberty CEO and president Gary Nash is confident the issue can be settled.