Late yesterday, Bounty managing director Laurence Roe told the Australian Stock Exchange he and other directors planned to have former managing director Tom Fontaine removed from the board.

Bounty’s annual general meeting is to be held on November 30 and the directors, other than Fontaine, intend sending a letter to all shareholders providing detailed reasons why they each oppose Fontaine’s re-election.

Roe said Bounty believed it was owed money by a company related to Fontaine.

“Accordingly, the company has filed a general procedure claim in the Magistrate’s Court against that company and Mr Fontaine claiming reimbursement of monies paid in relation to Mr Fontaine's presence at the Nyuni drill site in Tanzania,” Roe said in a statement to the ASX made after close of business yesterday.

On Monday this week, Bounty received correspondence from Fontaine which included a notice calling for a general meeting of shareholders on November 17.

In this notice Fontaine called for the removal of two Bounty directors, Leith Wale and Didier Murcia, and their replacement with two people related to the Drillsearch group, Graham Reveleigh and Charles Ross.

Since June, Drillsearch has bought almost 4.5 million shares in Bounty worth more than $425,000. The group now has more than 12 million shares in Bounty and 8.24% voting power. Fontaine is also a major shareholder.

Roe said Bounty would update the market in respect of the general meeting once its advisors have resolved their advice.

“The company strongly recommends that shareholders do not take any action until such time as the company has had an opportunity to provide its update,” he said.

Bounty shares are now again in normal trading. At 11.15 this morning, Sydney time, Bounty was trading at 9.3 cents, down 1.7 cents, or 15.5%, on its previous close of 11 cents.