15:38:28 EDT Wed 01 May 2024
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Rise Gold Corp (2)
Symbol RISE
Shares Issued 45,740,341
Close 2023-12-14 C$ 0.21
Market Cap C$ 9,605,472
Recent Sedar Documents

Rise Gold loses vested rights petition over IM mine

2023-12-14 17:24 ET - News Release

Mr. Joseph Mullin reports

RISE GOLD REPORTS RESULT OF VESTED RIGHTS HEARING

The board of supervisors of Nevada County has voted to adopt a resolution rejecting Rise Gold Corp.'s vested rights petition to operate Idaho-Maryland mine (the IM mine).

To establish a vested right, California law requires the company to show by a preponderance of the evidence that mining was occurring at IM mine at the time that Nevada County first required a use permit in 1954. The resolution held that "the petitioner failed to present sufficient evidence to support an affirmative conclusion regarding the scope of petitioner's alleged vested right." The company presented approximately 2,000 pages of documents to demonstrate that the mine was in production through 1956, including aerial photographs, maps, production flow sheets, lists of reagents used, gold production records, lists of equipment, exploration results, first-hand accounts of miners working at the mine and annual reports.

Vested rights are protected under the constitutions of both the United States and California. Once the company established that it has a vested right, the seminal case on vested rights in California, Hansen Brothers, requires that any opponent prove by clear and convincing evidence that the constitutionally protected right has been abandoned. Abandonment may be shown only by proving both: "(1) an intention to abandon; and (2) an overt act, or failure to act, which carries the implication the owner does not claim or retain any interest in the right to the non-conforming use."

The resolution held that "under Hansen, there must be an objective manifestation of an intent to mine," which is clearly the opposite legal standard. The resolution concluded further that "the subsequent owners understood that no vested right existed because they all requested permission via use permits for each of the uses." California case law clearly demonstrates that applying for a use permit does not negate a vested right, which runs with the land and is protected by the constitution. David Watkinson, chief executive officer of Emgold Mining Corp., which spent over 20 years developing the mine, testified that Emgold's development plan exceeded historical production and therefore was ineligible for a vested right.

Megan M. Wold, partner at the litigation firm Cooper & Kirk that the company has hired to protect its property interests, commented: "Rise has clearly demonstrated a constitutionally protected right to operate the IM mine. Unfortunately, the board received a biased staff report that was riddled with legal and factual errors. Despite the fact that Rise made the board aware of these clear errors, both in letters submitted before the hearing and in its presentation during the hearing, the board relied on them to reach an outcome that is clearly not based in facts or law. A core function of the courts is to uphold constitutional rights, and we are confident that Nevada County's rejection of the company's vested rights petition will be set aside by the courts."

During deliberations, Supervisor Hoek remarked about the proceedings, "I feel like this is above my paygrade." Supervisor Scofield commented, "Since all of the points will apparently be argued to a higher authority, I am comfortable following the recommendations of the Nevada County staff." Supervisor Hall commented, "It is very unfortunate and difficult for us because we're not lawyers, this isn't a courtroom, and we're not judges, that we are depending on the Hansen case."

Supervisor Hall was a founding director of the anti-mining group Citizens Looking at Impact of Mining in Grass Valley (CLAIM-GV), which was formed for the specific purpose of opposing the reopening of IM mine. Supervisor Hall also testified at a prior vested rights hearing and called the existence of the constitutional right a "loophole," saying "you can deny the vested rights and ask this miner to come in and get use permit like everyone else has to." Supervisor Hall refused to recuse herself from the proceedings. An impartial tribunal is a basic requirement of administrative procedural due process, guaranteed under both the United States and California constitutions.

Rise Gold chief executive officer Joe Mullin reacted, "While we are disappointed by the board's decision, we are proud of the presentation our team made to the supervisors and look forward to having our rights vindicated by the courts." The board has told the company that it will hold a hearing for a final vote on the company's use permit application. Cooper & Kirk has written the County that if it should deny both the petition and the use permit, "Rise will have suffered a compensable, unconstitutional taking [...] The remedy for an unconstitutional taking is the payment of just compensation, which is the fair market value of the property taken. Based on comparable mines and historic yield at the Idaho-Maryland mine, Rise's mineral estate is conservatively estimated to be worth at least $400-million."

About Rise Gold Corp.

Rise Gold is an exploration-stage mining company incorporated in Nevada, United States. The company's principal asset is the historic past-producing Idaho-Maryland gold mine located in Nevada county, California, United States.

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