Montana Talc Co. v. Cyprus Mines Corp.

A summary judgment was entered by the District Court, Fifth Judicial District, Madison County, against Montana Talc Company in its effort to obtain by eminent domain open-pit mining excavation rights on real property owned by Cyprus Mines Corporation.

The District Court ruled in essence that an open-pit excavation on the land of another for the purpose of mining an ore body on adjacent land is not an authorized public use under Montana condemnation law; that in this case, Montana Talc Company could not prove that the proposed open-pit excavation was a more necessary public use under Section…