Message #1 From:
NewsBot Date: October 18, 2006 06:00:00 AM
GMO News Idaho General Mines, Inc. Announces Progress Permitting the Mount Hope Molybdenum Project in Nevada
SPOKANE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Idaho General Mines, Inc. (AMEX:GMO) (“Idaho
General Mines, Inc.” or the “Company”)
is pleased to announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
completed its review of the Plan of Operation for the Mount Hope Project
located near Eureka, Nevada. This plan was filed with BLM in June, 2006
with respect to the Company's Mount Hope Molybdenum Project in Nevada.
President and CEO Robert L. Russell stated, “Formal
notice of the completion of BLM review is a significant step in
progressing the permitting of the project and in presenting our
technical plan to place the mine into production. The Plan of Operation
is important throughout the continuing National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) process. The Company’s staff together
with its key permitting consultant, SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc., has
achieved a significant milestone which required more than one year of
work. The Plan of Operations document is a significant pivotal step
towards advancing the review process and forms the basis for the
development of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) required by the NEPA
process. Since a number of state permits are required we will also be
working with various Nevada state agencies."
The Plan of Operations provides both state and federal regulators with a
detailed description of the operations, facilities and a plan of
production for the life of the operation. Russell further stated, “The
mine will be an open pit operation similar to several large gold mines
in the Carlin, Nevada area 70 miles to the north but producing a
different product, molybdenum. During the permitting an independent
environmental consultant will be engaged by Bureau of Land Management to
complete an Environmental Impact Statement. The Plan of Operation is
further reviewed late in the NEPA process to reflect regulator and
public comment. Following completion of the EIR, public review and the
issuing of a 'Record of Decision' by the BLM, construction of the mine
and building of plants would be expected to take approximately 18 to 20
months. We are looking for production late in 2009.”
The Mount Hope deposit located in the southern part of Eureka County,
Nevada, is estimated to contain over 1.3 billion pounds of recoverable
molybdenum. The current price for molybdenum is $25.00 per pound. The
operation is expected to employ over 300 people on a continuing basis.
Two stages of feasibility study were completed in 2005 which, when
augmented with the additional environmental studies and engineering,
forms the basis for the Plan of Operation.
The Company’s Mount Hope deposit is one of
the largest molybdenum-porphyry deposits in the world and, once in
operation, will represent the first large-scale, high-grade, primary
molybdenum mine to be placed into production in the United States in
over three decades. It is the largest molybdenum project in the
permitting stage in the world.
The Company is led by a highly-qualified technical and financial
management team experienced in engineering, designing, building and
operating major mines. The Company’s stock
trades on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol GMO. The Company’s
web site is www.idahogeneralmines.com
(Note that we have changed to the convention of English units and do not
at this time use metric tonnes. A short ton is 2000 pounds whereas a
metric tonne is 2204.6 lbs).
Statements made herein which are not historical facts, such as
anticipated payments, production, exploration results and plans, costs,
prices or sales performance are "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and
involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, expected
or implied. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to, metals price volatility, volatility of metals production,
exploration risks and results, political risks, project development
risks and ability to raise financing. Refer to the Company's Form 8-K,
10-QSB and 10-KSB reports for a more detailed discussion of factors that
may impact expected future results. The Company undertakes no obligation
and has no intention of updating forward-looking statements.
Cautionary Note to Investors
-- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits mining
companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral
deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce.
We use certain terms and statements in this news release that the SEC
guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in our filing with the
SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our
filings with the SEC. You can review and obtain copies of these filings
from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
