Orvis, partner prevail in gold suit

Orvis, partner prevail in gold suit

RIDGWAY — “David” triumphed over “Goliath” at Gunnison District Court last Thursday, July 22, as Au Mining, Inc. was vindicated over a subsidiary of the largest gold-mining company in the world.

Au principals Ken Orvis of Ridgway (who could not be reached for comment for this article) and Lake City resident Lance Barker, were accused by plaintiff Barrick Goldstrike, Inc., an Elko, Nev., gold buyer, of manipulating ore values – in mining parlance, “salting the samples” – of millions of dollars worth of ore they sold to Barrick from the Golden Wonder Mine near Lake City between 2001 and 2006.

Orvis and Barker hired The Tisdel Law Firm, of Ouray, in April, 2007 after Barrick filed suit in Gunnison District Court, and the local firm has been mounting a defense since.

Thursday’s verdict of “not guilty” was the culmination of all that.

“We beat the world’s largest gold company today,” Tisdel Law Firm partner Andy Mueller said, clearly elated, in a cell phone interview as he and the rest of his legal team traveled from Gunnison back to their offices in Ouray after the verdict came in. “The world’s largest gold company had employed the largest law firm in Salt Lake City to prosecute their case, as well as the industry’s top forensic geologist from Western Australia … And he was dead wrong.”.......
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