A mining company in Tasmania could force campaigners from Save the Tarkine (STT) to pay the costs of an unsuccessful court action against its mine from their own pockets.

After STT’s bid to overturn the approval of their mine was turned down last month, Venture Minerals indicated to federal court Justice Richard Tracey, the company is considering seeking a "non-party costs order". This means it will not simply request the environmental organisation to cover its legal bills; it could also come after its decision makers.

In his costs judgement, handed down on Wednesday, Tracey said Venture had "foreshadowed making an application for non-party costs orders against certain officers of the applicant or members of its governing committee who were responsible for the making of the decision to commence and prosecute the application”.

Faced with a reported $200,000 court bill, STT could file for bankruptcy. Under Australian law, non-party orders can be used when the active party is insolvent. But to pursue STT officers, Venture would have to prove the litigation had been motivated by some nefarious purpose.

Tracey said Venture had indicated that it felt this was the case: "In its written submissions [Venture] referred to some matters which, if established, could support a finding that the litigation had been pursued for an ulterior purpose. It would also be necessary for [Venture] to establish that one or more of the persons against whom non-party costs orders were sought was a guiding mind responsible for the alleged malign purpose (if there was one).”

Venture's Riley Creek iron ore mine is one of several controversial mining developments in the disputed Tarkine region. The Tarkine is known to be a stronghold for Tasmanian devils unaffected by the devil facial tumour disease. STT had disputed the legality of former environment minister Mark Butler's approval of the mine on the grounds that it did not do enough to protect a number of endangered species in the area, including devils.

Tracey said the conservation organisation’s failure to prove the minister was at fault meant it would have to cover the legal costs of both Venture and the commonwealth. The commonwealth has not indicated it will ask for a non-party costs order.

Any cost order would likely be a major setback for the environment movement in the Tarkine. But campaign coordinator Scott Jordan would not be drawn on the potential impact Tracey's decision could have on the organisation or the personal finances of himself and his colleagues. Rather, he said, the group were concentrating on appealing Tracey's finding.

“That is a matter for the company to bring and make good any application and we have not turned our mind to it. We are focused on preparing our case for our appeal. We remain of the opinion that the approval was unlawful, and we believe that the appropriate course of action is to bring that question before the full court,” said Jordan. A successful appeal would mean STT is no longer liable for Venture’s costs.

Venture is expected to file for the non-party cost order on Monday. In a statement to shareholders, the company said it would also be asking STT to put up security for the ongoing legal fees of the appeal.

It has been an eventful week in the battle for the Tarkine. Last Friday another miner, Shree Minerals, announced it was suspending its operations after making only three shipments of ore from its Nelson Bay river mine.

Shree said fluctuations in the ore price and difficulties in transportation had lead to the decision. But Jordan said “government failures” and “company misinformation” were behind the shutdown.

Shree’s development has also been subject to an STT court action. In May 2013, the federal court overturned ministerial approval of the Nelson Bay river site. But, with an election looming and the mine located in a high unemployment swing seat, Butler had intervened swiftly to grant a second approval within weeks.