Baja Mining
Just when you think the fight over the future of copper miner Baja Mining Corp. can't get any messier, it does, as a large shareholder is now seeking court intervention.
The fight began when Baja's largest shareholder, Mount Kellett Capital Management, tried to install a couple of new directors. Then came the allegations of nepotism at Baja (a senior executive is the chief executive's daughter). Then the shareholder vote where the management slate narrowly pulled through.
Since that vote, things have only gotten uglier. The company announced a big cost overrun on its main project, the Boleo mine in Mexico. Then most of the board quit. Now the largest shareholder, Mount Kellett Capital Management says it has asked the Supreme Court of British Columbia to install an independent inspector of Baja, and to stop Baja from making any attempt at delaying its annual meeting.
Mount Kellett and an ally, NorTrust Nominees Ltd., want the court to appoint Ernst & Young to produce a report on just how big the cost increases are at Baja, and what senior Baja management knew about it and when.
Baja's share's have plunged, losing half their value, in the wake of the company's announcement on April 23 that the costs at Boleo were running about 20 per cent higher than what the company had expected it would need to fund. At the same time, three directors quit.