TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed Veris Gold this week said it received notices of ‘early termination date’ from Deutsche Bank (DB) London Branch, regarding payment defaults under the two forward gold purchase agreements between DB and the company.

The Vancouver-based firm said under the forward gold purchase agreement dated August 12, 2011, the effect of receiving the notice of early termination date is that the company must make a payment of about $77.24-million by 17:00 PDT on Monday, failing which, DB would take the necessary steps to enforce its rights against the company.

Under the second lien forward gold purchase agreement dated February 7, 2012, the effect of the receipt of the notice of early termination date was that the company also needed to make a payment of about $12.2-million by 17:00 PDT on Monday, failing which, DB would take the necessary steps to enforce its rights against the company.

The TSX-listed stock of the North American miner lost more than half its value in January, when the miner first revealed that it had defaulted on the two forward gold purchase contracts. The midtier company said it had failed to make the monthly December gold delivery, or pay the cash equivalent of the gold delivery shortfall.

This was the result of an electrical accident, resulting in a fire that occurred in the primary crushing building at the Jerritt Canyon mill operations. The fire resulted in a temporary suspension of operations, which negatively affected output during December.

Veris said the forward gold purchase contracts with DB did not contain a force majeure provision that would have allowed Veris to temporarily suspend its obligations under the contracts owing to circumstances beyond its control.

DB in January issued Veris with a ‘notice of default’ and said it might assign its rights and obligations under the agreements to a third party, or take ownership on the security pledged, which was Veris’ direct and indirect interest in the Jerritt Canyon mine.

Veris on Wednesday said its restructuring special committee was considering the company's alternatives regarding these notices and would make recommendations to the board on an “urgent basis”.

The Elko Free Daily Press on Wednesday also reported that Veris Gold had laid off nearly 60 people from its Jerritt Canyon complex, in Nevada. It was unclear whether the lay-offs were linked with the payment defaults.

Veris' TSX-listed stock on Friday closed down 13.33% at C$0.13 apiece, having lost more than half of its value since the start of the year.