The decision marks the latest in a series of legal setbacks in state and federal courts for Colorado-based Canyon Resources Corp. Through the Seven-Up Pete Joint Venture near Lincoln, Canyon Resources planned a gold mine that was scuttled by a 1998 initiative against cyanide heap-leach technology.
The company’s journey through the court system includes a failed appeal before the Montana Supreme Court and an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Supreme Court consideration of the case. The mine developers have argued Montana denied them the chance to profitably mine gold and that they were owed money for the unjust taking of property rights.
State lawyers argued the case already had been settled by the Montana Supreme Court, which applied federal law in finding the mine partners had not obtained a right to mine and therefore suffered no taking that warrants compensation.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined there was no reason to overturn a U.S. District Court decision that dismissed the case on various grounds, including the Eleventh Amendment.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)