Operations under way at Turquoise Hill’s Oyu Tolgoi project in the South Gobi desert in Mongolia.© Staff Photographer / Reuters/Reuters
A class-action lawsuit that accuses Turquoise Hill Resources of misleading investors over a 3 1/2-year period has been filed in a U.S. district court in New York City.
The law firm Levi and Korsinsky filed the case on behalf of those who bought shares in the company between May 14, 2010 and Nov. 8, 2013.
The case alleges that the mining company made false and or misleading statements regarding its financial performance and business prospects and overstated its revenue.
The allegations, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, have not been proven in court.
Turquoise Hill said in November it would restate its results for the years ended Dec. 31, 2010, 2011, and 2012, as well as the affected quarterly financial results following a decision by its majority-owned subsidiary SouthGobi Resources to restate its results.
The SouthGobi restatement was due to a change in determination of when revenue should be recognized according to international accounting standards.
Turquoise Hill said Tuesday it was aware of the complaint and believed it was without merit.
"We will vigorously defend against the complaint," a company spokesman said in an e-mail.
The Levi and Korsinsky lawsuit is the second case filed against Turquoise Hill in recent weeks.
Another case was filed earlier in December by Robbins, Geller, Rudman and Dowd that also accused Turquoise Hill of "materially false and misleading statements" regarding its financial performance.
Turquoise Hill is developing the Oyu Tolgoi copper mining complex in Mongolia, including an open pit mine that began production this year and an underground portion under development.