Positive Ruling For Water Rights Related To Tintina Montana’s Mine Operating Permit

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, MT - Sandfire Resources America Inc. announced a positive ruling for the Company by the Montana Supreme Court upholding a 2023 District Court decision regarding the water rights related to Tintina Montana Inc.’s Mine Operating Permit, of the Black Butte Copper Project.

The original suit was filed jointly against the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (MT DNRC) and Tintina Montana Inc. As background, Tintina filed its application for a beneficial groundwater permit with the MT DNRC in September 2018. In March 2020, the MT DNRC determined that Tintina had satisfactorily met all the statutory criteria for the issuance of the Permit. The MT DNRC’s decision was upheld by a MT DNRC Hearing Examiner when challenged by five environmental organizations who filed objections to the Permit. The Objectors appealed the decision to the Montana district court, and on April 12, 2023, District Court Judge Hayworth ruled that the DNRC and the Hearing Examiner properly determine mine dewatering is not a beneficial use of water and dismissed the Objectors’ Petition for Judicial Review.

Objectors appealed the district court’s decision to the Montana Supreme Court in May 2023. Additional intervenors in the suit supporting the MT DNRC and Tintina, include the MT Stockgrowers Association, MT Farm Bureau Federation, the Association of Gallatin Agricultural Irrigators, the MT Chamber of Commerce, the MT League of Cities and Towns, Inc., and the MT Water Resources Association. On January 2, 2025, the Montana Supreme Court in a 5-2 decision affirmed the district court’s determination that mine dewatering is not a beneficial use of water.

VP of Communications Nancy Schlepp, said, “We are grateful for this commonsense decision that maintains longstanding water law in the state of Montana. We appreciate the Court’s diligent review of this case. Following February’s Supreme Court ruling fully reinstating our permit, the entire Sandfire America team has remained focused on implementing a world-class, environmentally safe mining project, and today’s decision continues us down that path.”

Lincoln Greenidge, CEO of Sandfire America shared, “Black Butte Copper now has all permits to proceed with the Feasibility work for this project. We remain diligently focused on reaching an investment decision to build the mine of which all Montanans, and the North American mining community can be proud.”