The US Department of Justice has filed a motion seeking a stay of the injunction, while the Department of War has submitted a sworn declaration arguing the project serves US national security interests. If granted, the stay would allow Dateline's wholly owned subsidiary, Colosseum Rare Metals, to resume operations under its approved Plan of Operations while an appeal runs through the courts. The government has also asked the court to allow immediate development work while the stay remains in force.
The August 10 injunction was issued by the US District Court for the Central District of California in proceedings brought by the National Parks Conservation Association. Dateline had already applied for a stay; the federal government has now joined with its own motion, arguing the lower court erred in finding that the 'valid existing rights' savings clause under section 508 of the California Desert Protection Act did not protect an approved Plan of Operations. The government says keeping the injunction in place causes irreparable harm to US national security interests and the broader public interest.
Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, pointed to Colosseum's location about 10 kilometres north of the Mountain Pass rare earths mine and its associated processing facilities. Shares in Dateline rose as high as 9.5 cents on volume of 55 million shares in early trade.