Published: February 27, 2024 | Share This

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Sandfire Resources America has received a positive ruling by the Montana Supreme Court which reversed a 2021 district court decision and instructed the district judge to have the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MT DEQ) to completely reinstate the company’s mine operating permit, of the Black Butte Copper Project.

The Montana Supreme Court granted the company’s request for summary judgement allowing Black Butte Copper to move forward with construction of its highly engineered, underground copper mine. The company won on all counts in the Montana Supreme Court decision with a 5-2 decision upholding the 2020 decision of the MT DEQ to allow copper mining at the Black Butte Copper Project, overturning a district court ruling that had invalidated the mining permit.

The original suit was filed jointly against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and Tintina Montana on June 4, 2020. The Montana Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case on June 21, 2023. Additional intervenors in the suit supporting the MT DEQ and Tintina, include Meagher County, Broadwater County, and the Montana Department of Justice. Tintina is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sandfire Resources.

“Today’s victory in the Montana Supreme Court is a validation of the thoughtful and deliberate efforts of the Sandfire America team to design a world-class, environmentally safe mining project from the beginning. The fact is, ours is the most reviewed and examined proposed project in the history of Montana mining,” said Lincoln Greenidge, CEO of Sandfire America.

“The court record stands at over 90,000 pages of testimony, information, and analysis. We thank the justices for their ruling, and their ability to recognize the amount of effort and extensive work that has gone into this project. Now, we look forward to progressing the project in a safe, responsible, and sustainable manner,” added Greenidge.

“Tintina’s permit has been diligently considered by the professional and hardworking staff at the MT DEQ. It is a fantastic, well-designed project with a plan centered around safety which is why we were successful today. Over a decade ago, we set out to design a state of the art, environmentally protective underground mining project, and this decision is proof we’ve been successful,” said Senior VP, Jerry Zieg.

Black Butte Copper now has all permits to proceed with the project. Stipulated agreements regarding water rights granted through the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (MT DNRC) for the project have been finalized with all water rights being issued and available.

There is a challenge to the Montana Constitution’s definition of the “beneficial use of water” using Black Butte Copper’s water use permit to challenge this definition. This case does not currently affect the company’s water rights package. The challenge, naming both the MT DNRC and Tintina Montana, was appealed by objectors after their loss at district court and will be heard by Montana Supreme Court on Friday, March 29, 2024.

Sandfire Resources America acquires, explores for, and develops resource properties in the United States and Canada. The company explores for copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, and silver deposits. Its flagship property is the Black Butte copper project that consists of approximately 7,684 acres of fee-simple lands and 4,541 acres in 239 Federal unpatented lode-mining claims located in central Montana, the United States. The company was formerly known as Tintina Resources Inc. and changed its name to Sandfire Resources America Inc. in January 2018. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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