Geologist wins R2m after judge exposes gold miner's seam of deceit

A judge who awarded R2m damages to a fired Cape Town gold-mining geologist said he was faced with adjudicating a case in which “two directors of a multi-million rand international company are not telling the truth”.

In a stock exchange announcement after Judge Anton Steenkamp’s ruling in the Cape Town labour court, Goldstone Resources said the $140,000 (R2m) plus costs awarded to former director Hendrik Schloemann, of Camps Bay, would wipe out its cash balance of $90,000 (R1.3m).

“The board is currently considering its options in respect of the judgment with its legal advisers and it is likely that the company will lodge an appeal,” read the announcement.

Exploration geologist Schloemann was fired from his $210,000-a-year (R3m) job with Goldstone in November 2014 and left the company six months later.

He took legal action for unfair dismissal in 2016, when he was preparing an Unemployment Insurance Fund claim and asked the company for a letter stating he had been retrenched.

Goldstone, which is registered in Jersey and listed on the alternative investment market of the London stock exchange, insisted he had resigned - and Schloemann took legal advice.

In his judgment on December 13, Steenkamp said Schloemann had been a credible witness, as had Jurie Wessels, who was the CEO of Goldstone when the geologist was fired after a board meeting in Accra, Ghana.

Wessels testified that the company chairman at the time, Christopher Hall, had asked him to fire Schloemann.

Steenkamp said Hall — “not an impressive witness” — insisted the geologist had resigned. However, he could not explain his note on the meeting agenda saying “Hendrik 6 mths from 1/12” or the fact that Schloemann’s resignation was not recorded in board minutes, company correspondence or a stock exchange announcement.

Meanwhile, in her evidence to the court, current CEO Emma Priestley contradicted the company’s written version of what happened at the Accra board meeting.

“The court is faced with contradictory and irreconcilable versions,” said Steenkamp. “Either Schloemann and Wessels are telling the truth, or Hall and Priestley are. The only certainty is that not all of them are.

“When one looks at the probabilities, Hall’s credibility falters. Priestley was also not a credible witness.

“On the probabilities, Dr Schloemann would not have resigned. He had just bought a new house. He is a middle-aged white man in a competitive industry where it would be difficult to find a new job at comparative remuneration.

“He had educational commitments to a young family, and it is improbable that he would not have offered his resignation in writing.

“Hall’s e-mail [to Schloemann] shortly after the events ... in Accra, that ‘the outcome’ would ‘make life difficult’ for Schloemann and his family also points ... to him having been dismissed rather than having resigned voluntarily.”

In its AIM announcement, Goldstone said it was in advanced discussions with its major shareholder, Paracale Gold, for a loan of $1.2m (R17.5m) to provide working capital and settle Schloemann’s award.

The company is involved in developing gold mines in Ghana and Senegal. Schloemann's LinkedIn profile says he is now an independent geologist "promoting a number of lithium exploration and mining investment opportunities in Southern Africa and Peru".