Mining Company Seeks to Fend Off Schweitzer’s Group in Court

Attorneys for a Washington state company proposing a major new mine in Montana will ask a court-appointed panel of experts next week to reject a $10 million compensation request from a group that includes former Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

Schweitzer is an investor in Optima, which holds mining claims that were condemned to make way for the Montanore silver and copper mine near Libby.

The group must be compensated for its claims under state and federal law. But the amount will be up to an expert panel overseen by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen.

A three-day trial in Christensen's Missoula courtroom begins Wednesday. Christensen already rejected many of Optima's main arguments.