Aussie Gold Hunters star Vernon Strange has become embroiled in a lawsuit involving a Perth exploration company over mining tenements near Wesfarmers' Mount Holland lithium project.
Aussie Gold Hunters star Vernon Strange has become embroiled in a lawsuit involving a Perth exploration company over mining tenements near Wesfarmers' Mount Holland lithium project.
According to a writ lodged in the state’s Supreme Court, Devin McLevie claims Mount Lawley-based Mining Projects Management Group (MPMG) breached the Mining Act 1978 by working with three men allegedly affiliated with the company to apply for and surrender prospecting licences.
Mr McLevie, director of Welshpool-based mining and metals company AirGroup Australia, claims MPMG purchased seven prospecting licences covering tenements in Parker Range for $125,000 through WA Prospectors director Vernon Strange, who is also founding director of Polaris Metals and appeared on the television show Aussie Gold Hunters.
In September 2018, MPMG allegedly purchased an exploration licence worth $5,000 for Taplan, which was being directed by Chuck Rothan Bartle, who was also a director of MPMG and had been since May 2017.
In October 2019, the company applied to surrender the tenements, and 12 minutes later, Mr Strange allegedly applied for and was granted two exploration licences covering that same land.
In February 2020, five months later, MPMG applied for two exploration licences over the same blocks covered by Mr Strange’s application.
In March, Mr Strange withdrew his applications, allowing the company to snap up the licences.
Between February and May 2019, six of the seven licences were due to expire, prompting MPMG to apply for extensions of four years.
One month later, the company allegedly executed documents to surrender the tenements, despite the extension applications having not yet been determined.
As little as nine minutes after the company lodged forms to surrender the tenements, Mr McLevie claims Peter Rowling, an affiliate of MPMG, began marking out the land covering the former tenements for the purpose of applying for the licence.
Four days later, Mr McLevie claims Mr Rowling lodged an application with the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety to acquire prospecting licences for five of the tenements, licences that were officially issued in January 2020.
On November 25, 2019, MPMG applied to surrender one of its prospecting licences.
Thirty-four minutes later, Queensland geologist Derrick Kettlewell, who was also allegedly affiliated with MPMG, allegedly marked out the site and was later granted a prospecting licence for a term of four years in July 2020.
Between February and July 2020, Mr McLevie alleges that Mr Rowling and Mr Kettlewell transferred their licences to the company for about $8,000.
Mr McLevie further alleges the three men were acting for MPMG when they applied for each of the tenements, which constitutes a breach of the Mining Act 1978.
According to the act, land subject to a prospecting licence is not to be marked out or applied for by or on behalf of any person with an interest in the licence within a period of three months from the surrender of the licence.
Mr McLevie is claiming the tenements are invalid because of the company’s failure to comply with the legislation and has sought a declaration that the applications were made in breach of the act, the tenements are invalid, costs and further relief.
