Court Seeks More Details On Mine Tailings Case

Coeur Alaska investigated an alternative tailings disposal plan developed through mediated talks with conservation groups. It involved mixing tailings with cement and depositing the resulting paste near a beach. According to environmental groups, it would have been a less expensive alternative then completely removing water from tailings and stacking them as a dry product.

Coeur Alaska in October announced that because of new permitting delays, it was abandoning the permitting process for the alternative tailings. Environmental groups contend the company could have been mining gold by now if it had followed through on the alternative tailings plan.