Montana Supreme Court weighs arguments in second lawsuit over Smith River copper mine

The Montana Supreme Court on Friday heard oral arguments regarding a central Montana copper mine’s anticipated effect on regional water supplies. The lawsuit stems from a dispute about a mine that Tintina (now Sandfire Resources) seeks to develop along a tributary of central Montana’s Smith River. State environmental regulators cleared the Black Butte Mine to proceed in 2020, but a coalition of environmental groups challenged the project in court, arguing that it poses a threat to water quality and water supply.  This is the second time in as many years that the state’s highest court ha