A plan to build a metal processing refinery near Saskatoon has been shut down.
Canadian mining company Fortune Minerals had proposed building a refinery on land near Langham, Sask.
However, there has been opposition in the rural municipality (RM) of Corman Park due to concerns over groundwater contamination.
The provincial government gave the project environmental clearance several years ago.
On March 25, the RM turned down a rezoning application to allow the hydrometallurgical facility to be built.
WATCH ABOVE: Residents opposing Langham processing facility stall its progress
The proposed refinery would have processed metal concentrates from Fortune Mineral’s planned mine in the Northwest Territories. Products the company plans to produce include cobalt compounds needed to make the cathodes of lithium ion batteries.
Fortune Minerals said it’s looking at other possible locations in the province.
The company said the proposed refinery would have employed 80 to 90 full-time workers with over a half a billion in total spending over the mine’s life estimate.
Langham is approximately 30 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.