Shares in Tertiary Minerals PLC (LON:TYM) subsided more than a quarter after the fluospar mine developer said it was facing challenges by animal welfare and environmental groups.
The stock dropped 0.54p, or 26.1%, to 1.53p as Tertiary said the groups had lodged two appeals against a mining permit for the Storuman fluorspar project in Sweden, which it received last month.
The Sami Reindeer Husbandry Community and Urbergsgruppen, a Swedish environmental action group which opposes all mining activities in Sweden, submitted the appeals.
Sweden's government will decide the appeals following a review.
Tertiary said it expected Stockholm to reject the appeals because six of the seven key stakeholder groups involved had backed the scheme, which would provide economic growth and jobs.
It also said ministers were likely to take account of the European Commission's classification of fluorspar as a critical raw material, which Swedish mining regulators had considered when granting the permit.
Tertiary added in a statement: "The time frame in which the Swedish government will deal with the appeals is unknown at this stage and the company will provide updates on the progress as and when information becomes available."