Plaintiffs ask court to halt gold mine project

Page Last Updated: Monday February 8, 2010 6:13am PST

ELKO, Nev. (AP) -- The plaintiffs in a legal dispute over a Nevada gold mining project have asked a federal judge in Reno to issue a full injunction and suspend the project.

In a U.S. District Court filing Friday, attorneys for the Western Shoshone tribes and the Western Shoshone Defense Project say a recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion calls for the Reno court to temporarily halt the Cortez Hills project.

The motion was filed in response to a Jan. 25 filing by attorneys for the mine's operation that asks the court to consider only a partial injunction. Barrick Cortez, Inc., wants the court's permission to continue working while the U.S. Bureau of Land Management completes court-ordered environmental impact studies.

The project is located mostly on federal land about 250 miles east of Reno.

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