Reno, Nevada — A U.S. District Judge today ruled in favor of Barrick Gold Corp. [[ABX]] by declined to grant an injunction regarding the Bureau of Land Management’s recent approval of Barrick’s Cortez Hills Project in Lander County, Nevada.

District Judge Larry Hicks’ ruling followed four days of testimony and oral argument after two activist groups and two Native American tribes, one in California and one in Nevada, sought to stop the project.

“This is very good news for rural Nevada and for everyone who has supported us in this dispute,” said Greg Lang, President of Barrick Gold of North America. “We respect anyone’s right to oppose our activities but, in this case, the judge’s ruling makes it clear that we can continue with the project’s construction.”

Cortez Hills is an expansion of Barrick’s Cortez Mine, which has produced gold continuously since the late 1960s. Altogether, the existing Pipeline surface mine and the Cortez Hills Project support about 800 families in Elko, Eureka and Lander counties, including many Western Shoshone. The company expects to add another 100 employees at the site in 2009.

Barrick’s plans for the development of Cortez Hills came after several years of work and careful study. The Bureau of Land Management issued a Record of Decision approving the project in early November. A Colorado-based attorney for the Western Shoshone Defense Project, Great Basin Resource Watch, the Timbisha Tribe in California and the Te-Moak Western Shoshone Tribe filed with the court to stop the implementation of the Bureau’s decision.

The Cortez Hills Project includes both surface and underground mining operations in an area where dozens of smaller mines have produced a variety of metals since the 1870s. This new expansion is expected to increase gold production at Cortez to an average of 1 million ounces annually in the first full five years.

Cortez is the largest mining operation in Lander County and has provided essential tax revenue and jobs to several rural communities since the late 1960s according to statements made by Barrick Gold.

“As we watch the continuing economic turmoil in urban Nevada and elsewhere, we are fortunate to be able to provide hundreds of good jobs and the many other benefits this project brings to rural Nevada,” Barrick’s President Lang said. “In particular, we look forward to continuing to work with the Western Shoshone communities to ensure that the project is beneficial to their interests.”