Canadian mining company Greystar Resources announced Monday that it won an appeal against the Colombian Environment Ministry’s decision to compel the firm to redesign its Angostura gold and silver mine, Mining Weekly reported Monday.
Greystar filed an appeal shortly after the April ruling that the company had to conform to new Colombian mining regulations, which would have nullified a lot of Greystar’s work over the last fifteen years. The announcement led to a 40% drop in the company’s stock price.
The Canadian firm argued that it had been told that the Angostura project, in north-east Colombia, would not be affected by mining laws introduced after the project’s initiation, and that it would be regulated by the codes in place when the project began.
The news of the successful appeal on Monday sent the company’s shares climbing over 40%.
Responding to concerns over the project’s environmental impact, chief executive Steve Kesler said, “We are committed to the highest standards of environmental stewardship in the development of the Angostura project,” adding that, “We believe that Angostura can be developed in a sustainable fashion that respects the integrity of the environment while delivering economic benefits to all stakeholders.”
Angostura is expected to become one of Colombia’s largest gold mines with the capacity to produce an average of 511,000 ounces of gold and 2.3 million ounces of silver per year over a 15-year life span.
Greystar has been present in Colombia since 1995, but halted activities in 1999 after one of their contractors was kidnapped. The company restarted operations in 2003 after President Alvaro Uribe sent troops out to secure once lawless, guerrilla-infested areas.
Soaring global gold prices have brought many international mining companies to Colombia, which is now emerging as a major gold producer, with production expected to double within two years.