Court order to wind-up Eastern Goldfields

The Supreme Court of Western Australia has ordered the winding-up of Michael Fotios’s Eastern Goldfields and the appointment of liquidators, after an application by a local assay laboratory. 

Perth-based Eastern, which just last month hailed its first gold pour at the Davyhurst operation near Kalgoorlie, went into a trading halt this morning following the Supreme Court’s wind-up order.

The winding application was lodged yesterday by Maddington-based Genalysis Laboratory Services, which is owned by global group Intertek.

Leederville-based Trinix Lawyers is representing Genalysis.

It makes Genalysis the third company to have struck financial issues with Eastern, after 80 contractors and suppliers representing Kalgoorlie-based Hogan Construction were set to protest the gold miner outside the Diggers & Dealers conference earlier this month.

The clash was avoided at the 11^th hour after Eastern paid what it had owed the contractors.

However, local contractor GR Engineering Services is also locking horns with Eastern over a contractual dispute concerning Davyhurst, where it was hired to undertake refurbishment work.

GR Engineering in July launched Supreme Court proceedings against Eastern, seeking to recover $10 million in costs and interest associated with extra work it said was required to do on the project.

Eastern hit back at GR Engineering shortly afterwards, saying it would counterclaim its rights to damages and costs from GR Engineering’s alleged breach of contract.

GR Engineering also entered a trading halt this morning.

Comment has been sought from Trinix.