Alta; A partial victory in the court of appeal with Arctic Mineral Resources AS ("AMR") securing a unanimous judgement to the effect that garnet continues to be a landowner-owned mineral in poly-mineral deposits, with a potentially commercial deposit of state-owned minerals, and a dissenting ruling (1-2) with the minority in favour of AMR's claim that Nordic Rutile AS ("NRU") cannot extract or utilise garnet on properties where AMR has mineral lease agreements with landowners.
AMR has submitted documentation to the mining authorities that garnet in the deposit could have given rise to a commercial operation on a stand-alone. Thus, AMR will have a right to compensation from NRU based on the value of garnet where AMR has a lease agreement with the landowners. Based on project economics as presented by NRU to the court of appeal and analysed by AMR, such compensation will render the project of NRU non-commercial.
The judgement from the Borgarting court of appeal in the declaratory lawsuit filed by AMR against NRU can be summarised as follows:
- Unanimous rejection of NRU's appeal and the Directorate of mining's recent alteration of its interpretation of the extent of state minerals. Garnet, as a landowner-owned mineral maintains this status when coinciding in the ground together with deposits of state minerals.
- On the remaining points the court is divided into a majority and a minority (2-1).
- The majority finds that NRU may extract garnet within AMR's mineral lease area to the extent necessary to extract rutile.
- The majority finds that an assessment according to the minerals act 32 2. Section of whether landowner-owned minerals can be mined commercially within AMR's mineral lease will dictate whether NRU can utilize garnet from AMR's mineral lease area in its own project or, if commercial, AMR can demand to have such garnet handed over or to be compensated in full for its value.
- The minority gave AMR full support NRU does not have the right to extract or utilise garnet within AMR's mineral lease area, i.e., on the west side of the Engebo mountain
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Contacts:
Arnold RørholtStyreleder
Tel:+47 465 44 691aro@arcminres.no
