Coeur says court won't rehear Alaska case

NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp (CDE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday a U.S. court denied requests to rehear a case in which the court found the gold mining company could not dump rock waste into a lake on federal land in Alaska.

The company said it is continuing discussions with the plaintiffs to explore options for the mine in question to begin production. It is also considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Coeur said a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied petitions filed by the company's Alaska subsidiary and the state of Alaska, as well as the Justice Department on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers.

In 2005, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted the firm a permit to put 4.5 million tons of rock waste, or mine tailings, into the lake over a decade. The deposits would have raised the height of 23-acre Lower Slate Lake by 50 feet, so the company proposed building a 90-foot-high dam at the site in the scenic Tongass National Forest.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said no to the plan in May, overturning a lower court ruling.

Coeur had hoped the underground Kensington mine north of Juneau -- a site mined from 1897 to 1928 -- would produce 100,000 ounces of gold annually with operations starting later this year. (Reporting by Michael Erman)