Rox, Marindi to go to trial

Rox Resources and Marindi Metals will head to trial to resolve a dispute over the Reward zinc joint venture in the Northern Territory.

Marindi had filed a statement of claim against Rox in December over the project, and the two companies attended a court ordered mediation today which was terminated without resolution.

The dispute started last year when Teck Australia, a subsidiary of Canadian resources giant Teck, moved to buy Rox’s 49 per cent share of the Reward project for $20.6 million.

That matched a similar bid buy West Perth-based Marindi.

Teck holds an existing 51 per cent of the project, and had been given a pre-emptive right by Rox to match any bid to buy the 49 per cent it did not hold.

But Marindi has argued that pre-emptive right may not be valid.

A trial date is not yet set but Rox said in a release today that it would be later this year.

Shares in both companies were unchanged today, with Marindi shares closing at 1.1 cents each and Rox 1.5 cents each.