Sandfire Resources America (TSXV: SFR) has received another positive court ruling in Montana, this time regarding its leasing of mitigation water rights for the Black Butte copper project, which has been challenged by local communities for years.
In March 2020, Sandfire subsidiary Tintina Montana received preliminary approval from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (MT DNRC) for the issuance of a beneficial groundwater permit, but was subsequently challenged by five environmental organizations.
A district court judge upheld the MT DNRC’s decision in 2023 when the environmental groups lost their challenge at a MT DNRC hearing and petitioned for Judicial Review, ruling that both the DNRC and the hearing examiner had properly determined that “mine dewatering is not a beneficial use of water.”
On Friday, Sandfire announced the Montana Supreme Court has affirmed the district court ruling on its determination of “beneficial use of water” with a 5-2 decision.
This decision follows the February 2024 Supreme Court ruling that reinstated the company’s operating permit after it was invalidated by the District Court in April 2022 following a lawsuit by local conservation groups against Tintina Montana and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MT DEQ).
Sandfire CEO Lincoln Greenidge said the Black Butte copper project now has all permits to proceed, as it had reached the feasibility stage in 2020. At the time, Sandfire’s management called it “one of the few fully permitted and development-ready copper assets globally.”
The feasibility study was based on mining from the Johnny Lee deposit, which underpins an 8-year mine life and is designed to be mined at 1.2 million tonnes of ore per annum. Average annual production is estimated at approximately 23,000 tonnes of copper at a cash cost of $1.51/lb.
Shares of Sandfire America surged 38.3% to C$0.42 apiece by 12:15 p.m. ET, near its 52-week high of C$0.46. The company has a market capitalization of C$424.7 million ($294m).
