The Bonne Terre Mine lawsuit ended in a unanimous jury verdict for Doe Run Resources Corporation in September 2024, and the sheriff restored possession of the mine to Doe Run on February 11, 2025, closing it to tours and diving. West End Diving, which had run scuba operations at the flooded mine since 1981, filed an appeal in January 2025, and that appeal is still pending as of mid-2026.1ScubaBoard. Suit Filed Against Bonne Terre Mine West End2Roamin’ Nelsons. Bonne Terre
What the Dispute Was About
West End Diving, owned by Doug and Cathy Goergens, leased the underground mine from Doe Run under a May 1987 agreement that traced back to a 1976 lease with the earlier owner, St. Joe Minerals Corporation.1ScubaBoard. Suit Filed Against Bonne Terre Mine West End Beginning around 1999, the two sides exchanged letters about a possible sale of the mine to West End. Talks continued off and on until roughly 2006, but no binding contract was ever signed.
Around the same time, West End stopped paying rent. Its position was that it should own the property outright and therefore owed nothing. When Doe Run later signaled it would not sell, West End filed a counterclaim in 2019 seeking to force the sale through specific performance and breach of contract.1ScubaBoard. Suit Filed Against Bonne Terre Mine West End2Roamin’ Nelsons. Bonne Terre
Doe Run filed suit on September 25, 2019, in Missouri’s 24th Judicial Circuit. It brought claims for unlawful detainer, an eviction action used when a tenant stays after the right to possession has ended, and for breach of contract over the unpaid rent. West End and its intervenors, West End Diving & Salvage, Inc. and the American Academy of Underwater Education, Inc., responded with claims for quiet title based on adverse possession and for specific performance of the alleged sale.1ScubaBoard. Suit Filed Against Bonne Terre Mine West End
West End’s adverse possession claim ran into a Missouri rule that matters at this site: when surface and mineral rights have been separated, possessing the surface alone does not give a party title to the mineral estate. Doe Run holds the mineral rights.3Missouri Revisor of Statutes. RSMo Section 516.010
The Verdict
The jury trial ran from September 9 through 16, 2024. The jury returned a unanimous verdict for Doe Run on every count. The court ruled against West End on unlawful detainer, breach of contract, quiet title by adverse possession, and specific performance.1ScubaBoard. Suit Filed Against Bonne Terre Mine West End
On the sale question, the court found that the terms of the alleged agreement were “sufficiently indefinite, uncertain, or incomplete” to form a binding contract, and that the ten-year statute of limitations for completing any such sale had run out. It ordered restitution of the premises to Doe Run and taxed the costs of the suit against West End and the intervenors.1ScubaBoard. Suit Filed Against Bonne Terre Mine West End
How the Mine Closed
The court issued a writ of execution on January 29, 2025, directing the sheriff’s department to restore physical possession of the mine to Doe Run. Deputies carried out that order on February 11, 2025, which ended all tour and diving operations at the site.2Roamin’ Nelsons. Bonne Terre
Doug Goergens said in a statement that day: “As you can imagine, we are extremely saddened by this development. Like our guests, we love Bonne Terre Mine and the friendships we’ve developed with our staff and visitors.”4KFMO. Bonne Terre Mine Closed Amid Ongoing Legal Dispute With Doe Run
Related Filings by Sadew Entities
Two separate proceedings tried to blunt the outcome. In September 2024, an affiliated company called Sadew II LLC filed a petition to quiet title, arguing that Doe Run’s mineral estate should be terminated because mining was no longer viable at the site. The petition failed.2Roamin’ Nelsons. Bonne Terre
In February 2025, several related Sadew entities (Sadew II, III, V, and IX) sought a temporary restraining order. They claimed ownership of surface rights and personal property inside the mine, including air tanks and dock structures, and argued that shared sewer, electrical, and plumbing systems tied to their surface estate. The court granted a limited restraining order to preserve access to that shared infrastructure but declined to stay the sheriff’s order restoring possession of the mine itself to Doe Run.2Roamin’ Nelsons. Bonne Terre
Where Things Stand
West End Diving filed its appeal on January 21, 2025, before the sheriff’s action, and the appeal remains pending.1ScubaBoard. Suit Filed Against Bonne Terre Mine West End The mine’s website, now listing ownership under an entity called Deep Earth LLC, shows a notice that the mine is closed.5Bonne Terre Mine. Bonne Terre Mine There is no public indication of when, or on what terms, it might reopen.2Roamin’ Nelsons. Bonne Terre