Early Construction Activities Progressed At Mt. Hope Project
LAKEWOOD, CO - General Moly, Inc. Bruce D. Hansen, Chief Executive Officer, said "The Company made substantial progress with regards to our preliminary construction activities at Mt. Hope during the first quarter including early well field development, clearing and grubbing of terrain and cultural clearance.
Hansen added, We are working with Hanlong to secure another Chinese strategic partner to help advance the full financing of the Mt. Hope Project and reinvigorate advanced stage loan negotiations with China Development Bank. Our efforts to secure such a strategic partner are enhanced, given that we are advancing a fully permitted, construction-ready, high grade / lower cost molybdenum deposit along with our EMLLC partner POS-Minerals.
Hansen concluded, As we continue our efforts towards full financing at Mt. Hope, the Company will continue to prudently manage our unrestricted cash position of $57 million at the end of the first quarter with an additional $36 million in restricted cash.
Early construction activities progressed as planned at the Mt. Hope Project site including cultural clearance, clearing and grubbing, wood harvesting, and the development of early construction water. Kautz Environmental Consultants completed field mitigation activities for all 29 cultural sites identified in the Phase I Cultural Mitigation of the initial construction program. Official releases from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the State Historical Preservation Office have been obtained for all 29 cultural sites and the Company has advanced into Phase II Cultural Mitigation activities. Ames Construction has cleared and grubbed approximately 1,800 acres in preparation for starting major earthworks. The mine, process plant, and tailings dam areas and associated roads have been substantially cleared. Ames Construction also has completed four miles of water pipeline (approximately 50% of total planned) to supply construction water from the permitted well field to the plant site.
The Nevada State Engineer (State Engineer) completed issuance of all water permits for the Mt. Hope Project in January 2012, and the water became available for use following the State Engineer's approval of the Company's Monitoring, Management and Mitigation Plan (3M Plan) in June 2012, subject to a subsequent appeal of the 3M Plan to the Nevada State District Court. Following oral argument on April 15, 2013, the District Court denied the appeal petition favorably upholding the State Engineer's approval of the 3M Plan. The District Court's written Order is pending.
The water permits arising from the State Engineer's July 2011 Ruling were appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court by Eureka County and two parties of water rights holders in Diamond and Kobeh Valley, following the District Court's June 2012 denial of an appeal petition, affirming the State Engineer's Ruling. Briefing has recently been completed in the Supreme Court. Presently, the Supreme Court has not issued a ruling or set a hearing date for the appeal. Notwithstanding, the water remains available to the Company for use at the Mt. Hope Project.
In February 2013, Great Basin Resource Watch and the Western Shoshone Defense Project filed a Complaint, and a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, against the U.S. Department of Interior and BLM in the U.S. District Court in Nevada, seeking relief under the National Environmental Protection Act and other federal laws challenging issuance of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Mt. Hope Project. EMLLC has filed to intervene and its opposition to the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. Presently the Court has not ruled or set a hearing date set for the motion. The process for issuing the ROD involved an exhaustive environmental analysis and review that lasted more than 6 years, and included extensive public and cooperating agency input. The Company supports the very robust and legally and technically defensible work completed by the BLM and believes that the ROD complies with all federal statutes and rules.