NEWS ROUNDUP — Crown Butte mulls dissolution

The saga of the expropriated New World mine in Montana is nearing its end as owner Crown Butte Resources (CBL-T) seeks shareholder approval to dissolve the company.

This past summer, the company received US$65 million in return for surrendering rights to the property and has since paid US$22.5 million for reclamation work at the site. The cash that remains constitutes the only asset of the company, and will be distributed among shareholders at a rate of about $4.50 per share should they vote to dissolve the company.

Crown Butte had proposed to develop an underground gold-copper mine at the New World property, but environmental groups opposed the project on the grounds that it might put at risk the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park.