JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Molybdenum producer Thompson Creek said on Monday that it was satisfied with its efforts to consult with local communities regarding its Endako expansion project, in British Columbia.

This comes as the Stellat'en First Nation filed a petition in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, claiming that there had been a lack of consultation regarding its aboriginal rights and title interests in relation to the mine expansion project.

The miner was named in the petition as one of the parties involved, but said it was not cited in any of the claims regarding the lack of consultation.

Thompson Creek owns 75% of the Endako mine.

The company started an expansion project to increase mill capacity to 55 000 t/d of ore, from 31 000 t/d in April 2008, but suspended the upgrade that December, in response to the economic downturn. It resumed the expansion in August 2009, and aims to complete the construction of the new mill building and the installation of new processing equipment by the end of 2011.