Securities regulators in British Columbia have settled with a mining company accountant who sold shares in the firm after learning that its only mine was vastly over budget and before that information was publicly disclosed.
The B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) announced a settlement with Robert Launder, an accountant and mining cost analyst, who admitted that he sold shares of his firm’s parent company, Baja Mining Corp., with inside information.
According to the settlement, Launder sold 5,000 shares in the company, and attempted to sell his other 10,000 shares, while in a special relationship with the company, with knowledge that its Boleo cooper mine project was an estimated $246 million over budget.
The agreement indicates that he sold the shares before the cost overrun was publicly announced, and while he was subject to a trading blackout implemented by the firm. The news sparked an immediate 37% drop in the company’s stock price, it notes. By selling early, the agreement says he avoided a possible loss of $2,350, based on its five-day average price after the news was announced.
The BCSC says that Launder has agreed to pay $24,350 to the BCSC, and to be prohibited from trading in any issuer with whom he is in a special relationship for three years.