Court grants Tulsequah mine owners creditor protection

The Tulsequah mine, last worked in the 1960s, is beside the salmon-rich Taku River.(CBC)

Two companies that hoped to put northern B.C.'s former Tulsequah mine back into production were granted protection from their creditors on Wednesday.

The B.C. Supreme Court gave Vancouver-based Redcorp Ventures and its wholly owned subsidiary Redfern Resources 30 days to deal with their financial situation under the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

The companies have been struggling to acquire the financing and permits needed to mine the zinc, copper, lead, silver and gold deposit located 160 kilometres south of Atlin, B.C., in the Taku River watershed.

In December, construction work at the mine site was suspended indefinitely owing to financial uncertainty and rising building costs.

In a news release Wednesday, the companies said they needed protection because they do not have the money to pay contractors, suppliers and vendors or make payments on an $85-million loan.

Another Atlin-area mine, Adanac Molybdenum, was granted creditor protection in December. It was developing a molybdenum deposit north of the small community.