Florida Rock Industries announces Lake Belt ruling

Florida Rock Industries announces Lake Belt ruling
24 March 2006


Florida Rock Industries has announced that on March 22, 2006, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled that several mining permits for the Lake Belt area in South Florida had been improperly issued. This ruling affects most of the 12 mining permits issued for this area, including the permit issued to the Company’s Miami quarry. The Court remanded the permitting process to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for further review and consideration. The Company expects mining to be unaffected pending the outcome of a court hearing scheduled for May 10, 2006 on whether further orders should be issued prior to reconsideration of the permits by the Army Corps of Engineers. 
 
For the year ended September 30, 2005, the Company sold 4,227,000 tons of aggregates from its Miami quarry, generating $36,400,000 in revenues. The Company estimates that recoverable reserves at the Miami quarry (assuming that mining is permitted to continue in the long term) are approximately 139Mt. 
 
 The Company intends to appeal this ruling while at the same time seeking re-issuance of the permit. The Company strongly believes that the Lake Belt Plan previously approved by the agencies properly protects both environmental interests and the economic interests of Miami-Dade County and the State of Florida. The Company cannot yet assess the impact of this ruling because the Company does not yet know whether mining will be interrupted pending the Army Corps of Engineers’ reconsideration of the permits or whether the permits will be reissued to the Company or to the other mining companies holding permits in the Lake Belt area.
 
Florida Rock Industries, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading producers of construction aggregates, a major provider of ready-mixed concrete and concrete products in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic States and a significant supplier of cement in Florida and Georgia. 
Published under Cement News