VANCOUVER – Junior miner Quaterra Resources Inc. (TSXV:QTA) says it is considering its legal options after a U.S. government decision to withdraw access to lands in Arizona where the company was planning to mine uranium.
Quaterra said Wednesday that a decision this week by the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw about one million acres of federal land in the northern part of the state from new mineral entry for 20 years affects about 85 per cent of its Arizona claims.
“The withdrawal order appears to be politically motivated rather than based upon an objective view of fact and law related to environmental risk,” Quaterra president and CEO Thomas Patton said in a statement.
The company has spent about $ 13 million in acquisition, exploration and development costs in the area.
While the order would prevent new mining claims, it would not prohibit exploration and development on existing mining claims found to be valid. Quaterra said it has more than 200 targets on the federal lands that will now be subject to a valid existing rights examination.
Quaterra said it will continue to focus on developing its copper assets in Nevada and gold and silver assets in Mexico, but will also hold its uranium claims in Arizona until the issues are resolved.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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