VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jul 30, 2014) - Nevada Copper Corp. (NCU.TO) ("Nevada Copper" or "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the Lyon County Economic Development and Conservation Act (the "Lyon County Bill"). Passage of the Lyon County Bill will accelerate the permitting timeline for its Stage 2 Open Pit Mine at its 100% owned Pumpkin Hollow copper project located in Yerington, Nevada.
Highlights:
- Nevada Copper advances the Lyon County Bill in the House of Representatives ("House") by a unanimous vote in the House Committee on Natural Resources ("House Committee");
- On Wednesday, July 30, 2014, the House Committee passed a revised bill (H.R. 5205) that includes the Lyon County Bill. This bill was first on the Committee's agenda and was "reported favourably" meaning it is recommended for passage by the House;
- Passage of the Lyon County Bill by the House, Senate and signature into law, will accelerate permitting and development of the much larger Stage 2 Open Pit Mine (described below) by 2 to 3 years.
The bill that was reported, H.R. 5205, the Northern Nevada Land Conservation and Economic Development Act, includes several land conveyances involving public lands in northern Nevada designed to promote economic development and conservation, and for other purposes. http://naturalresources.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hr5205amodei_.pdf.
The Lyon County Bill is included in H.R. 5205, along with other northern Nevada bills. The language of the Lyon County Bill within H.R. 5205 is the same as previous versions of the Lyon County Bill introduced as H.R. 696 in February 2013 and H.R. 433 introduced in January 2014. H.R. 433 was marked up by the House Committee with amendments, and reported favorably on January 28, 2014. However, objections by some members of the House Committee to those amendments made passage in the House of Representatives more difficult. None of the objections related to the Lyon County Bill, but rather to another section of H.R. 433. This new House bill (H.R. 5205) includes amendments to resolve those objections and sets it up for passage with bipartisan support. The House of Representatives returns on September 8 and is expected to take up and pass a number of non-controversial bills, including H.R. 5205.
Timothy M. Dyhr, Vice President, Environment and External Relations, stated: "Though the Lyon County Bill is categorized as a land bill, it is really one of the most significant economic jobs bills in the 113th Congress. It is a balanced, bipartisan bill that has overwhelming local and State support, including that of Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. The bill has been in development for several years and has not changed since introduced in late 2012. It would be a major accomplishment for the House to pass such a significant, bipartisan economic bill as one of new House Majority Leader Congressman Kevin McCarthy's first actions."
In the Senate, on July 24th Senator Dean Heller introduced amendments to Senate Bill S.2569 - the Bring Jobs Home bill - that also includes the Lyon County Bill. This move indicates that the Nevada delegation is aggressively pursuing passage in the Senate. http://passbillscreatejobs.com/2014/07/24/breakthrough-heller-files-job-creating-amendments-to-bring-jobs-home/.
Nevada Congressman Mark Amodei and Congressman Steven Horsford continue to make the Lyon County Bill their top priority. In the Senate, both Nevada Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Dean Heller support the Lyon County Bill and are working together to make sure it gets passed as soon as possible on a bipartisan basis.
Passage of the Lyon County Bill in 2014 would expedite the large Stage 2 open pit by 2-3 years with receipt of State permits in 2015. Stage 2 would add over 950 jobs to the Stage 1 Underground mine (450 jobs), creating a combined total of over 1,400 direct jobs and thousands of construction and indirect jobs in Lyon County, a county with the highest unemployment rate in Nevada (10.6%).
About Nevada Copper
The Company's advanced stage Pumpkin Hollow project in Nevada consists of a fully permitted, 6,500 tons/day Stage 1 underground copper mine development, currently in construction, and a nearby Stage 2, 70,000 tons/day open pit mine project in the advanced permitting phase. Expected average copper production for the first five years is 75 million lbs/year from the Stage 1 underground mine and 221 million lbs/year from the Stage 2 open pit mine.
The project is located near Yerington, Nevada, close to road, rail, and power infrastructure, and with all future water supply requirements met.
For further information please visit the Nevada Copper corporate website (www.nevadacopper.com) and the Pumpkin Hollow project website (www.pumpkinhollowcopper.com).
NEVADA COPPER CORP.
Giulio T. Bonifacio, President & CEO
We seek safe harbour.