TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The TSX-listed stock of Canadian miner Alamos Gold on Thursday tracked downwards after the company revealed that it was placing its two Turkish development projects on the backburner.

Toronto-based Alamos said it had reduced its headcount and curtailed spending significantly in Turkey, owing to the continued delay in receiving critical permits for its 100%-owned Kirazli and Agi Dagi projects.

The company said that it had last August received an environmental-impact assessment (EIA) ‘positive decision certificate’ for Kirazli, from the Turkish Environment and Urbanisation Ministry. The company had also submitted the EIA for Agi Dagi, which is currently under review.

However, last month, the Canakkale Administrative Court issued an injunction order to the Ministry regarding its approval of the EIA for the company's Kirazli project, on the basis that it failed to assess the “cumulative impacts” of the project in conjunction with other potential mining projects in the region.

Given that there had not previously been any requirement to include such an assessment in such an EIA report, the Ministry formally challenged the court's decision to temporarily revoke the EIA on this basis.

A hearing on the merits of the claim, which was brought by nongovernmental organisations and formed the basis for the injunction, was expected to take place within six months.

Meanwhile, Alamos said it would amend its EIA for the Kirazli project to account for the cumulative impact of potential surrounding projects, should a revised EIA be required. The court's basis for the injunction did not relate to concerns with any technical aspect of the Kirazli project.

“With the company already awaiting forestry and operating permits and given the recent political developments in Turkey, including criminal corruption investigations implicating several government officials, as well as local and federal elections upcoming during the year, the company does not expect the injunction to significantly alter the development timeline for the Kirazli project,” Alamos said.

The company had budgeted spending of $4.8-million in Turkey in 2014 associated with permitting, community and government relations, and general administration costs only.

The full development budget for Kirazli and Agi Dagi would be reinitiated once all required permits had been received. Alamos said that the capital spending budget for these projects was not expected to differ materially from the June 2012 preliminary feasibility study, with the exception that the recent devaluation of the Turkish Lira would result in significant capital and operating savings, which would improve the overall project economics.

Given the potential delay in the development of Kirazli as a result of the injunction order and the continuing uncertain permitting timeline for the project, analysts at Desjardins Capital Markets said they viewed Thursday’s announcement as a negative development.

“Despite this, we highlight that Alamos is trading at a discount to the peer group. Longer term, we see a compelling growth story as Alamos permits and executes on its development plans. We believe the current valuation is an attractive entry point for investors,” analyst Adam Melnyk said in a note to clients.

The company also has the Camyurt project in Turkey, which it acquired from Teck Resources and Fronteer Development in January 2010, for $90-million, along with the Agi Dagi and Kirazli projects.

Alamos on Thursday also reported its fourth-quarter results, posting a loss of $5.27-million, or $0.04 a share, missing the analysts’ average estimate of $0.05 a share. The company had revenue of $53.83-million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.72-million.

On the TSX, Alamos stock traded as low as C$10.92 a share on Thursday, before closing at C$11.07, down C$0.12 a share.