Copper Mine Secures Permit in Montana Supreme Court Reversal

The Black Butte Copper Mine in central Montana is one step closer to operation, after the state’s supreme court said that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality reasonably issued an operating permit to the mine’s owners.

“DEQ made a scientifically driven permitting decision that was driven by substantial evidence,” Montana Supreme Court Justice Beth Baker wrote for the 5-2 majority. The opinion directed a district court to reinstate Tintina Montana Inc.'s vacated operating permit. Tintina is now Sandfire Resources America Inc.

Montana Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups challenged the permit for the 1,888-acre underground copper mine on the ...