City Beat: Metallica Minerals ex-MD sues over resignation... or suspension

That is the question being asked about the former boss of a Brisbane mining company who has just launched legal action against his one-time employer.

Metallica Minerals founder Andrew Gillies was appointed to the board in February.

QUIT OR NOT

When is a resignation not a resignation?

That question is at the heart of a farcical stand-off now playing out at the highest levels of Metallica Minerals.

Former managing director Simon Slesarewich has just filed a lawsuit against the Brisbane-based junior bauxite explorer seeking a declaration he resigned in early February, even though the board maintains he was only suspended as part of a shareholder revolt.

Slesarewich, in his District Court claim lodged last week, is also chasing an unspecified sum for his contractual entitlements.

Metallica has vowed to fight the case, maintaining that it refused to allow him to step down while it was reviewing his conduct and performance since coming aboard in 2015.

The loss-making company has also launched a review of its troubled Urquhart Bauxite Project, noting that it has demanded Slesarewich’s assistance.

“The board expects Mr Slesarewich to participate in this process shortly,’’ the company said yesterday.

Simon Slesarewich

“The board has determined it would be inappropriate and premature to make any decision about Mr Slesarewich’s employment, or about his entitlements, while investigations are going on.’’

Note to Metallica: he’s got a new job. By pure coincidence, it emerged yesterday that Slesarewich has just taken on the CEO’s job at Adelaide-based Centrex Metals, which has a phosphate rock project on the go.

So the likelihood of him returning to his old position seems slim to non-existent.

Both Slesarewich and Metallica chairman Theo Psaros declined to comment about the legal stoush yesterday.

Psaros, Scott Waddell and company founder Andrew Gillies were appointed to the board on February 1 by rebel investors after the departure of Slesarewich, Michael Hansel and Alan Evans.

They had a raft of complaints about the lousy performance of the company, which just reported a $2.77 million net loss for the half year as accountants reiterated their concerns about its ability to continue trading.

ARTS DRAMA

Respected Brisbane architect Don Watson is trying to throw a wrench in plans to sell off one of the city’s most revered arts venues.

The board overseeing the historic Metro Arts building on Edward St flagged plans to sell the property late last year and relocate to a new premises as a result of the onerous costs of upkeep.

But Watson, who served on the centre’s first board of trustees in the late 1970s, told City Beat this week that he believes there may be a legal impediment to the sale of the heritage-listed, five-level building, which dates from 1889.

Don Watson at his home in South Brisbane. Picture: AAP/John Gass

Property records show the Commonwealth sold it for $1 million in 2001 to Brisbane Community Arts Centre Pty Ltd.

“It’s not usual for public property to be transferred to a community group without some limitation on what can happen to the building,’’ Watson said.

“All the original capital cost came from the Commonwealth. I maintain they really don’t have the moral right to sell. It’s just very opportunistic.’’

To learn more, Watson has just filed a Right To Information request with Canberra bureaucrats to examine some of the original documents about the deal.

Fearing that the arts group will move next year to smaller premises in a worse location without retail outlets to generate income, he wants the state or federal government to intervene.

“If given to the Arts Department at no cost, but conditional on the repairs being undertaken, it would represent good public value. If the proceeds from the sale dwindle to nothing in a few years, what will there to show for the public funds expended?’’ Watson asked.

Metro Arts boss Jo Thomas maintains there is no encumbrance on the sale of the building and she said talks with a prospective buyer have been under way since January.

“We’re doing absolutely the best thing we can for the sector, the artists and our audiences,’’ Thomas told us.