Mosaic Co (MOS.N) said a U.S. federal appeals court has thrown out a lower court's injunction that kept the fertilizer producer from operating a Florida phosphate mine.
Last summer the Sierra Club and other environmental groups sued to stop Mosaic from mining phosphate rock at its South Fort Meade, Florida, mine. The groups claimed the surface mining process damages the Florida watershed.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had previously approved Mosaic's permit to operate the mine. Mosaic's rival, CF Industries (CF.N), operates a similar mine nearby, though it has not been sued by environmental groups.
Last year the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida put on hold Mosaic's ability to use that permit, effectively shuttering production at the mine.
In the latest ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, judges lifted the injunction that kept Mosaic from using the Army Corps permit and ordered the District Court to study whether the Corps "came to a rational permit decision," Mosaic said.
The Sierra Club was not immediately available for comment.
Shares of Mosaic, which is majority-owned by Cargill Inc [CARG.UL], were up 0.7 percent at $78.99 in early trading on Monday.
