VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Dec 22, 2014) - Nevada Copper Corp. (NCU.TO) ("Nevada Copper" or the "Company") is extremely pleased to announce that on December 19, 2014 United States President Barack Obama signed into law the Congressional bill authorizing the conveyance of Federal land to the City of Yerington within 180 days.
Section 3009 of the National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA"), the bill signed by President Obama, directs the sale of 10,400 acres of land from the federal government to the City of Yerington ("Yerington" or "City"). This section of the NDAA is entitled the "Land Conveyance to Yerington, Nevada". The Company will work with the BLM, consultants and others to ensure the land conveyance is completed before June 17, 2015 within the 180 day period provided for in the law.
Giulio T. Bonifacio, President and CEO, stated: "The land transfer is now law. Nevada Copper has already begun to advance the much larger Stage 2 open pit project on an accelerated basis. In anticipation of enactment, the Company had already initiated preparation of an updated and optimized Stage 2 feasibility study, finalization of State permits and preparation of the development agreement with the City. Since 2008, the Company has a proven track record of getting necessary approvals and permits in a timely fashion, having received them for the advanced exploration shaft and Stage 1 underground mine."
Pumpkin Hollow Project - A Clear Path to Production
Pumpkin Hollow has overwhelming support from the community, Yerington, Lyon County and the State of Nevada. Environmental baseline studies have been conducted and there are no land use conflicts, endangered or threatened species, critical wildlife habitat, sage grouse, nesting golden eagles, surface waters, groundwater conflicts with adjacent agricultural areas, cultural resources, Native American sites, wilderness areas near the project, or other issues that could delay development of the project. The Company has a water service agreement with the City sufficient to supply both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the project and will complete the land use development agreement for both mine and adjacent commercial and industrial development with the City within six (6) months. The key permit from the State of Nevada, the Water Pollution Control Permit, has been received for both the underground and open pit stages of the project. The other two key permits, the reclamation and air quality permits have been issued for the Stage 1 underground and only require modification to include the Stage 2 open pit facilities. Once the project is located within the City, the project will be governed by the development agreement with the City and there will be no further need for a Lyon County Special Use Permit. All necessary Stage 2 state permits are expected to be completed in Q2-2015, at which time construction could begin, subject to arrangement of appropriate financing.
With completion of the land acquisition set for June 2015, the Pumpkin Hollow Stage 1 and 2 development footprints will be entirely within private lands owned or controlled by Nevada Copper, and with all key development and operating permits in hand.
A fully-permitted large open pit project and adjacent high grade underground mine located entirely on private ground in Nevada is unprecedented for a junior copper developer. This situation allows the Company to conduct a thorough reassessment of its development plans for Pumpkin Hollow with the goals of optimizing the copper production profile and utilization of capital, as well as lowering of copper unit production costs.
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 copper project in the advanced permitting phase. Assuming development as separate mines, 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. Total proven and probable reserves include 5.2 billion lbs. of copper; 989,000 ounces of gold and 32.9 million ounces of silver1. The project is located near Yerington, Nevada, close to roads, rail, and power infrastructure, and with all future water supply requirements met.
[1] The associated mineral reserve tonnages and grades are supported by Technical Reports filed on SEDAR and disclosed on the company website at www.nevadacopper.com.
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