Canada's Belo Sun touts Brazil court ruling clearing way for gold mine

Belo Sun Mining

12/07/2019 15:49

SAO PAULO, July 12 (Reuters) - Belo Sun Mining Corp  BSX.TO 
said on Friday that it had won a key legal victory in its push
to build a gold mine in the Amazon rainforest, which has drawn
criticism from environmentalists and indigenous advocates.
    A Brazilian appeals court ruled that the state of Para was
the appropriate authority to grant an environmental license for
the project, the company said. Prosecutors had argued that the
mine needed a license from federal environmental agency Ibama.
    The Canadian miner has already received state licensing for
the project, adjacent to the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric
dam on a tributary of the Amazon river.
    Belo Sun shares rose 4% on the Toronto stock exchange in
early Friday trading.
    Federal prosecutors' spokeswoman Helena Palmquist
acknowledged that the court's decision suspended a lower court's
ruling halting the project, but said the three-judge panel still
had not ruled on the merits of the case.
    Belo Sun officials did not immediately return calls seeking
further comment on the case.
    The miner must still deliver a new study on the impact on
nearby indigenous communities of the project, which promises to
be Brazil's largest gold mine.  
    Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, which is
documenting the impact of the Belo Monte dam on nearby tribes,
has warned that the chemicals and mining waste involved in the
Belo Sun project pose serious risks to natives' way of life.

 (Reporting by Christian Plumb
Editing by Susan Thomas)
 ((christian.plumb@thomsonreuters.com; (646) 223-5942; Reuters
Messaging: christian.plumb.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))