NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Goldcorp Inc. fell to their lowest level in nearly two years Monday after the Canadian company said a Chilean court suspended an environmental permit for its El Morro copper and gold project in north-central Chile.
THE SPARK: The Supreme Court of Chile issued its decision Friday, the Vancouver mining company said. The permit had been approved about a year earlier, on March 14, 2011.
Goldcorp said that the suspension will remain in effect until the Chilean environmental permitting authority corrects deficiencies identified by the Antofogasta Court of Appeals.
Field work at the mine site was suspended but activities unrelated to site construction, such as engineering and design, will continue, Goldcorp said.
Mine officials will meet with representatives the environmental permitting authority to determine how they proceed and what activities will be permitted to continue. Goldcorp said that the company will cooperate to address the deficiencies.
Goldcorp, which is based in Vancouver, owns 70 percent of the mine. New Gold Inc. owns the remaining 30 percent.
SHARE ACTION: Shares of Goldcorp fell 84 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $38.28, their level since July 2010, when they hit $38.07. The stock has ranged from $38.17 to $56.31 in the past 52 weeks.
