TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – An emergency petition filed with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) could potentially have a negative impact on TSX-listed Golden Queen Mining’s flagship Soledad Mountain precious metals project, in California.

Vancouver-based Golden Queen on Monday said that the Centre for Biological Diversity had on Friday filed an emergency petition asking that the USFWS list the Mojave Shoulderband snail as a threatened or endangered species, citing a report published more than 80 years ago.

The petition claimed that the snail exists in only three places on earth, and that most of the snails exist on Soledad Mountain, where the company is developing its fully permitted $120-million mining operation.

Golden Queen said that it had already undertaken extensive studies between 1990 and 1999, and again between 2006 and 2012 that conformed to the California Environmental Quality and the National Environmental Policy Act, each of which required a written analysis of proposed mining activities and their effect on the physical, biological, social and economic resources of the area.

The project had received three key permits after an extensive approvals process that was concluded in 2012 that allowed the company to construct the facilities and begin mining and processing operations.

The USFWS has an initial 90-day period to determine whether the petition warranted further action.

The company said it was currently working with its environmental and legal advisers to prepare a detailed and complete response to the petition and expected to submit this response to the USFWS in the forthcoming weeks.

According to a 2012 feasibility study, the Soledad Mountain mine would produce 77 000 oz/y of gold and 890 000 oz/y of silver. Over the 15-year life of the mine, it would produce 1.07-million ounces of gold and 12.04-million ounces of silver.