VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 7, 2013) - Nevada Copper Corp. (News - Market indicators) ("Nevada Copper" or "Company") is pleased to announce the following update on the Congressional legislation related to its 100% owned Pumpkin Hollow Property located near Yerington, Nevada.
The Lyon County Economic Development and Conservation Act ("Bill") was introduced into the 113th Congress in 2013 in both the U.S. Senate on January 28, 2013 and U.S. House of Representatives on February 14, 2013. The Bill would convey, via a direct sale to the City of Yerington ("City"), for fair market value, 10,400 acres of BLM-administered federal lands to the City to facilitate Pumpkin Hollow mine development, and other economic and recreational uses. Nevada Copper has financed all of the work to evaluate and develop this proposal and will finance 100% of the cost to acquire the lands. In return, it will be able to use the land needed to develop Pumpkin Hollow. As part of the mine capital costs, the Company anticipates significant expenditures on water, sewer, road, and power infrastructure required for mine services. These improvements will also benefit any adjacent local development.
House of Representatives Subcommittee Hearing
The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation held a hearing on H.R. 696, on Thursday, April 18, 2013. An archived video of the hearing is on the House website: http://resources.edgeboss.net/wmedia/resources/113/2013_04_18_pler.wvx
Congressmen Steven Horsford and Yerington Mayor George Dini testified in favor of the Bill. Lyon County also submitted written testimony strongly supporting the Bill. There was no testimony in opposition to the Bill. Both the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management testified on the Bill and supported it subject to resolving several minor administrative technical issues. Congressman Mark Amodei, a co-sponsor of the Bill, questioned the two agencies on the Bill, encouraging them to address the technical issues and process the land conveyance expeditiously once passed into law. The Bill will now be sent to the full House Natural Resources Committee for a vote. Once reported out of committee it can be sent to the floor of the House for a vote. Nevada Copper expects that this Bill will pass in the House.
Yerington Mayor George Dini, Lyon County Manager Jeff Page and Timothy M. Dyhr, Vice President Environment and External Relations attended the House hearing and met with members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation and respective Committee representatives to urge timely passage of the Lyon County Bill in order to expedite the Pumpkin Hollow Project.
Mayor Dini stated in his testimony: "The timely passage of this legislation cannot be overstated. We are operating on a tight timeline. With the financing they have received, Nevada Copper is initiating detailed siting, engineering and design of project infrastructure. This legislation will allow Yerington to work with the Nevada Copper to locate infrastructure for water, sewer, and power for both mine development and the other uses contemplated by the City. Both the City and Lyon County will be able to share in property, sales, utility and net proceeds of mines taxes from the operations."
Senate Subcommittee Hearing
In the Senate, the companion Bill, S. 159, was heard in the Public Lands Subcommittee on April 25, 2013. There was no testimony in opposition to the Bill.
An archive of the hearing can be viewed at: http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings-and-business-meetings?ID=5832cf6a-fd18-4046-bb7c-5c4ba9ae7853
Nevada Senators Harry Reid and Dean Heller personally testified in the Senate Subcommittee with very strong support for the Bill. Senator Reid's and Heller's testimony can be viewed here: http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings-and-business-meetings?ID=5832cf6a-fd18-4046-bb7c-5c4ba9ae7853
Senator Reid stated in his testimony: "This bill will provide a huge positive economic impact to Lyon County. Nevada has been hit hard by the economic downturn. No state in the union has come close to the economic problems we've had in Nevada. For 20 years, we led the nation in economic vitality. For the last 4-5 years, we've been on the other end of the spectrum."
Senator Heller commented: "There is no more urgent legislation for Nevada than the Lyon County Economic Development and Conservation Act. I authored this legislation initially to answer the desperate needs in Lyon County for economic development and activity. This bill is an excellent example of the balance between conservation and development."
The Bill has now been referred to the Senate Natural Resources Committee for a vote, where both the Chairman, Senator Ron Wyden and Ranking Member, Senator Lisa Murkowski have made a commitment to pass high priority bills like the Lyon County Bill quickly.
Nevada State Support
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval submitted written testimony for the hearing record noting that: "We in Nevada believe that this is an incredible opportunity to not only benefit in the near term from mine development and operation, but to use that investment to support other economic development that will survive long after mining is complete."
Also at the Nevada State level, the Nevada State Senate unanimously passed Senate Joint Resolution 14 (SJR 14) on April 15, 2013, that urges Congress to pass the Lyon County Bill: https://nelis.leg.state.nv.us/77th2013/App#/77th2013/Bill/Overview/SJR14.
That resolution will now be heard in the Nevada State Assembly and is expected to receive overwhelming support there.
Now that the Bill has been heard in the House and Senate, the City of Yerington, Lyon County and Nevada Copper believe, and with overwhelming support from the local community, the Nevada Delegation, the Nevada Legislature, and many other members in Congress, this Bill can be moved to passage in Congress expeditiously.
Full coverage of the hearings, testimony, support and press can be found at:
http://www.pumpkinhollowcopper.com/mine-community/category/yerington-economic-bill-in-congress/
Status of State Permits
State permitting of the Stage 1 underground project is advancing on schedule. The draft Reclamation Permit was published on May 1, 2013. The draft Water Pollution Control Permit is expected to be made public next week. The third major permit, the Air Quality Permit, is well-advanced. At the county level, the Special Use Permit ("SUP") is advancing on schedule. A meeting with Lyon County officials was held on May 1, 2013 to review the SUP application was very productive and indicated there were no significant issues that would delay receiving this permit from Lyon County.
For additional information about Nevada Copper please visit our website at www.nevadacopper.com.
NEVADA COPPER CORP.
Giulio T. Bonifacio, President & CEO
Cautionary Language: We seek safe harbour.
