Atalaya Mining’s (ATYM) right to mine at the Proyecto Riotinto copper operation is up in the air after a court judgment has "invalidated" its licence.
While mining continues at Riotinto, a provincial appeals court has said the permits signed off by the Junta de Andalucía before the restart of mining in 2016 were no longer in place.
“The new ruling on the mining permits is based on the requirement to have an [environmental declaration] before issuing mining permits and therefore invalidates the existing mining permits,” Atalaya said.
The news caused a quick selloff, pushing the share price down 8 per cent. The case has been moving through the courts since 2014, when an environmental group challenged Atalaya’s right to operate. The company’s last update on the issue in March said the previous ruling by the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Andalucía made clear the environmental permit was secure but the permitting order was wrong.
In September the tribunal had ruled the environmental permit was invalid, but Atalaya said it was able to work through the problem with the issuing agency without production being hit.
