Canadian company Strategic Minerals Europe said on Friday it was exploring its legal avenues to reverse a decision by a Spanish court to suspend the section C permit for its Penouta tin/tantalum mine.
The Superior Court of Xusitza of Galicia (TSXG) has provisionally suspended the licence, following a complaint filed by environmentalist group Ecoloxistas en Accion against the local mining authority Xunta de Galicia.
Strategic Minerals stated that it believed the claim, and therefore decision, was based on inaccurate assertions that the exploitation activities at the Penouta project were affecting irrigation and the immediate area.
“The unilateral and unfounded decision of the TSXG to suspend the section C permit at the Penouta project is a decision we cannot support,” said company CEO Jaime Perez Branger.
“We believe that the decision of the TSXG disregards the comprehensive environmental regulations currently in place and the administrative process the company went through to ensure that such regulations were followed, and will be a detrimental precedent to the economic prosperity, job creation and technological innovation of the mining industry in Spain and elsewhere.
“We will relentlessly explore all avenues of appeal, not only for the sake of our employees, the community, our shareholders and business partners, but also for the promise of sustainable growth, shared prosperity, and environmental responsibility,” said Branger.