Haoma Clear On Patent, Say Lawyers
The Age
Tuesday June 8, 1993
Patent lawyers advising the chairman of Haoma North West, Mr Gary Morgan, do not believe his gold extraction technology infringes the patent of Action Gold Development, according to a report released to the market yesterday.
However, the chairman of Action Gold, Mr Charles Laycock, said last night he did not expect to know until next week whether his advisers agreed with that assessment.
Share prices in both companies lost ground yesterday, reflecting the fall in the gold price and uncertainty over the dispute. Haoma fell 13cents to 39cents. Action fell threecents to 51cents.
The conflict revolves around Haoma's release last week of impressive gold recovery statistics from its Pilbara prospects, which Mr Morgan has claimed are the result of technology developed by his group of companies.
Action, however, wants to make sure that help it gave Haoma in improving its extraction techniques has not resulted in some of its technology being used without authorisation.
Haoma's statement to the market yesterday included a letter from the patent lawyers Griffith Hack & Co. This said no patents had been breached and listed several people who had assisted Mr Morgan on the gold extraction problems.
The Haoma announcement, which was in response to Monday's query from the stock exchange over the miner's share price leap, also said there was no other reason for the price movement.
Action told the market that Haoma's announcement last Friday ``would appear to confirm results set out in previous announcements by our group that by utilising our Dilute Leach Technology, gold actually recovered can exceed head grade assayed by traditional fires assay".
© 1993 The Age