Yellowknife (Dec 12/03) - During a brief court appearance, Tuesday, a lawyer for Miramar Mining said his clients are pleading not guilty to multiple violations of the NWT Water Act.

Miramar and Miramar Con Mine Ltd. are facing five charges stretching from May 2001 to December 2002 for what Crown attorneys say are substandard environmental practices at Con Mine.

According to court documents, prosecutors say the company failed to properly monitor its tailings ponds, dumped waste without notifying a government inspector and breached its water license.

On one occasion, Crown attorneys say water in a tailings pond could have seeped into Kam Lake. On another, they say treated effluent could have entered Great Slave Lake.

The documents did not say whether or not any effluent had actually reached the water system.

Officials at the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development as well as Miramar's office in Yellowknife did not return phone calls seeking comment. Miramar can be fined up to $100,000 for each day they are deemed to be in violation of the act.

Company and Crown attorneys will be back in court next month to set a date for the trial, which is expected to last two to three weeks.