TriStar Gold says court provisionally suspends Castelo de Sonhos licence
The Pará court allows studies to continue, while construction and operating licences require further submissions, the company says.
Mara Quinlan
TriStar Gold Inc. CVETSG OTCMKTSTSGZF said on Friday that Brazil's Federal Court of Pará provisionally suspended its Castelo de Sonhos preliminary environmental licence in a Nov. 4 interim ruling that allows studies to continue. The company and Pará's environmental regulator must submit supporting documents within 60 business days of formal notification, while installation or operating authorizations based on that licence remain blocked pending further judicial determination.
Shares were unchanged at C$0.23 on the TSX Venture Exchange at 4 p.m. EST on Nov. 5, before the announcement CVETSG.
According to TriStar's Nov. 6 release, the licence has not been cancelled. The court requires submissions demonstrating the sufficiency of environmental licensing and completion of an Indigenous component study and free, prior and informed consultation before construction or operating licences can be issued.
TriStar expects its planned feasibility study to take approximately two years, subject to financing, and intends to advance the environmental and consultation processes alongside it. Management expects the lawsuit can be resolved concurrently with the study and does not anticipate an adverse effect on the development timetable.
TriStar is a mineral developer whose wholly owned flagship project is in Brazil's Pará State. The ruling permits technical studies, environmental work, submission of technical documentation and administrative activities associated with licensing, according to the company.
The feasibility study is to include updated mineral resource and reserve calculations, engineering, metallurgical and geotechnical investigations, and environmental studies. The expected duration is conditional on financing, rather than a fixed completion date.
"Our objective remains to advance the Feasibility Study and the additional environmental and consultation requirements in parallel," chief executive Nick Appleyard said in the release.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office brought the civil public action against Pará's State Environmental Secretariat and TriStar's Brazilian subsidiary, Mineração Castelo dos Sonhos S.A. According to TriStar, prosecutors sought annulment of the preliminary licence until the Indigenous study and consultation were carried out.
In its March 17 update, TriStar said prosecutors and Brazil's Indigenous affairs agency argued that licensing had failed to assess potential impacts on Indigenous communities adequately. TriStar and the state contested those claims, and the company sought dismissal or a limited technical review.
The court ruling itself was not read; this account relies on TriStar's releases. The company says consultation will follow procedures specific to the communities concerned, and the document deadline does not require consultation to be finished.
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The next deadline is the submission of technical information and evidence of steps taken within 60 business days of formal notification; TriStar did not provide that notification date in its Nov. 6 release.
