Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. announced it will continue to pursue its original tailings plan for Kensington,
which is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. Photo courtesy of Coeur d’Alene.
Coeur Continues Appeal for Original Kensington Permit
The alternative paste tailings plan had been originally submitted to federal agencies for permitting in January 2008, and permits were expected in the third or fourth quarter of 2008. However, as part of the federal agencies’ comments to the ongoing Environmental Assessment work, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now stated it wants Coeur to evaluate yet another new and different alternative for review and raised other issues regarding the modified plan proposal. Coeur said the EPA’s comments triggered potentially months of delay and substantial issues in completing a timely modified plan review.
Separately, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted the State of Alaska and Coeur Alaska’s Petitions for a writ of certiorari to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision relating to the original Kensington 404 tailings permit, which had been determined by the federal agencies as the environmentally preferred option.
A final Supreme Court decision, expected early next year, may allow for construction to take place next year, leading to potential production in late 2009.