TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Permitting of project developer Augusta Resource Corp’s flagship Rosemont project would be delayed after the US Forest Service (USFS) decided to restart consultations based on environmental concerns, saying it would prepare a supplemental biological assessment to incorporate new information.

The sighting of a wild cat called an ocelot close to the boundaries of Toronto-based Augusta’s proposed copper project, near Tucson, Arizona, contributed to the USFS formally requesting the US Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS) to restart consultation required under the Endangered Species Act, to ensure that the effects of the proposed project on listed species were avoided or minimised.

The USFS said that the documented evidence of the presence of ocelot within or near the project area, the potential listing of species which were not considered in the original biological opinion, and additional information related to the effects of groundwater drawdown on aquatic and riparian species near the project area would also be included as part of this process.

In preparation of the biological assessment, the Coronado National Forest would work with Rosemont Copper Company and the US FWS to identify any further conservation measures needed to mitigate for effects on endangered species, if any were determined to be required.

Formal consultation and publication of the new biologic opinion by the US FWS could take 135 days to complete once consultation had started.

“Although this delay is unfortunate, we recognise the need to have a robust and comprehensive decision document that includes all the required analysis.

“Further, the USFS has committed to dedicating the appropriate resources to this analysis and to ensure that the work is done expeditiously,” Augusta president and CEO Gil Clausen said.

The company is under severe pressure to keep to the project’s stated development timelines, as it was being pursued by base metals miner Hudbay Minerals which had launched a C$540-million hostile takeover bid in February to gain control of the project.

Hudbay had previously contended that construction of the copper project was not imminent, and that Augusta's plan carried “significant risk” given its financial situation and permitting delays.

The company believed that Augusta was four years behind schedule on its original permitting guidance and that it had revised this guidance 11 times, suggesting that there was no basis for any confidence in the firm's current guidance regarding the timing for receiving permits by midyear, and completing potential related legal challenges.

Hudbay recently extended its takeover bid to May 27. Hudbay, which had applied to the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) to block the Augusta shareholder rights plan, in March waived a condition of the offer that two-thirds of Augusta’s shares needed to be tendered for the deal to close.

The extension followed a recent ruling by the BCSC that it would cease trade Augusta’s shareholder rights plan, or ‘poison pill’, on July 15, but only if Hudbay extended its offer to July 16 and if it extended the offer for another ten days if any shares were taken up.

The BCSC ruling gives Augusta more time to look for alternative bidders. The company recently revealed that it had signed confidentiality agreements with ten potential suitors under its strategic review process.