Court decision: injunction against part of Talvivaara operation

The Vaasa Administrative Court has on April 2, 2013 given an interim decision on the emergency diversions that the Talvivaara mine invoked under Article 62 of the Environmental Protection Act. The mine claimed that emergency diversions are necessary to get the mine under control. The Kainuu ELY Center ruled that the diversions were legal. The Administrative Court has now overruled that decision and issued a temporary partial injunction, effective immediately. A final ruling will be made later.

The injunction limits the amount of water that can be diverted southwards to 7% of the water flow of the Kalliojoki river. This is the maximum amount allowed by the normal environmental permit. As such, it implies that as of now, no water in excess of the normal 1.3 million cubic meters can be discharged to the south of the mine.

This scenario is described in the Risk Factors section of the Rights Issue Prospectus, p 26, as follows: "If Talvivaara is not able to release the excess water at the Talvivaara mine, the recommencement of ore production could be materially delayed. ..... the Kainuu ELY Centre’s decision can be appealed by interested persons, interest groups and public sector bodies, including municipalities. In response to such appeal, a court could issue an injunction preventing Talvivaara from releasing water in excess of the annual water discharge limit of 1.3 million cubic metres until the appeal is resolved. Such an injunction could materially delay the recommencement of ore production at the Talvivaara mine and have a material adverse effect on Talvivaara’s business, financial condition and results of operations."

Ruling in Finnish:
 * 2. Hallinto-oikeus kieltää ja keskeyttää Kainuun ELY-keskuksen päätöksen 12.2.2013 KAIELY/5/07.002010 täytäntöönpanon, valitusten hallinto-oikeuskäsittelyn ajaksi, asian 2 osalta siten, että ilmoituksen mukaisten jätevesien johtaminen Vuoksen vesistön suuntaan on toteutettava siten, että kyseisten jätevesien määrä voi olla enintään 7 % Kalliojoen sen hetkisestä virtaamasta. Jätevesien juoksutus on toteutettava siten, että vedet johdetaan Ylä-Lumijärven ohi.