Canyon Resources to push Montana mining law changes
Date: 02-Oct-02
Country: USA
Canyon's efforts to develop the 10-million ounce McDonald project stalled in November of 1998 when Montana voters narrowly approved Initiative 137. The measure prohibits any new gold or silver mines that rely on heap leach mining technology using cyanide solutions to extract metal from ores.
Canyon President Richard DeVoto said recent polls in Montana suggest residents there are moving away from a strong environmental ethic to place more emphasis on creating jobs. The state of one million people ranks 50th in the U.S. in terms of per capita income, he said.
"We have decided to appeal directly to the legislators to make a change in this initiative," DeVoto told the Denver Gold Group's Mining Investment Forum.
The Denver-based mining company also is awaiting the outcome of lawsuits it filed in both state and federal courts challenging the constitutionality of the initiative. Canyon also has asked to courts to award it up to $500 million in damages should the law be upheld and render the company's property valueless.
McDonald is a project "worth fighting for," DeVoto said.
Earlier this year, Canyon Resources redesigned its plan for mining the McDonald project to eliminate controversial options that angered environmentalists seeking to protect the watershed of the Blackfoot River near the proposed mine site.
To date, Canyon and its former partner, copper producer Phelps Dodge Corp., have spent more than $75 million and 12 years to win approval of the project.
