The appellant, in operating its open pit mine, purchased peripheral land to maintain the necessary wall slope and angle of repose.
The land did not overlay any ore body and was gradually consumed as the mine deepened.
The Minister assessed the land purchases as capital expenditures.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that the expenditures were incurred in the regular day-to-day business operations to avoid a shutdown, were not part of a plan for assembling assets, and should be allocated to the revenue account as deductible expenses.
