Seymour Whyte and Clough were joint venture partners for the civil works at the $400 million project, completed in 2007.Claiming they had been underpaid on the contract, the JV partners won $17.6 million from Barrick in an adjudication under NSW security of payment legislation in 2008.Barrick took the fight to the Western Australian Supreme Court, commencing litigation to recover $8 million and attracting a $4.2 million counterclaim from the JV partners.The dispute had been in mediation.In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday, Seymour Whyte said it had paid Barrick $950,000 in a settlement.Seymour Whyte company secretary Rob Leacock said he was unable to reveal the causes of the original dispute due to confidentiality agreements in the settlement. Seymour Whyte shares have slipped slightly to $1.08 since the company debuted at $1.10 on the ASX late last month.Leacock said the company was pleased with its market performance so far given the negative effect the resources super-profits tax had had on construction stocks.“We’re very pleased, but not altogether surprised because we always thought the pricing was conservative,” he said.
