GENERAL MOLY
PROVIDES PROJECT UPDATE
LAKEWOOD, COLORADO � May 12, 2011, General Moly,
Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE Amex and TSX: GMO) provided an update to
the Mt. Hope project's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) progress, water
rights applications, as well as a financing update.
Bruce D. Hansen, Chief
Executive Officer, said, �We are continuing to make good progress permitting
the Mt. Hope project. We believe the Preliminary Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (PDEIS) is a thorough and defensible document and look forward
to working with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the reviewing agencies
to resolve the comments submitted. We remain extremely confident that our
water applications before the State Engineer�s office will be granted and
support the degree of care and diligence the State Engineer�s office has taken
to create a complete and carefully considered record and believe the additional
time for this process is helpful to the receipt of the Company�s water
appropriations. Lastly, Hanlong (USA) Mining
Investment Inc. (Hanlong) continues to be a supportive,
long-term strategic finance partner and is dedicated to the success of the Mt.
Hope project. We continue to work hand-in-hand with Hanlong
on the Chinese bank financing, which is progressing well.�
MT. HOPE EIS UPDATE
On May 6, 2011, comments from
Cooperating and Reviewing agencies on the Mt. Hope project�s second PDEIS were
received by the BLM. Based on the comments the Company has reviewed, most
relate to grammar, formatting, and the clarification of previously raised
issues. Overall, the Cooperating and Reviewing agencies have improved
upon the PDEIS and have strived to collectively produce a solid PDEIS.
The Company expects the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be
completed toward the end of the second quarter and published late in the second
quarter or third quarter of the year.
MT. HOPE WATER
RIGHTS UPDATE
On May 10, 2011, the Nevada
State Engineer completed a brief continuation hearing to allow protestants� counsel to cross examine the Company�s water
balance and basin use, as requested by the State Engineer subsequent to the
December 2010 hearing. The hearing was brief, lasting approximately three
hours. The Company remains very optimistic that its water applications
will be granted. The Company owns approximately 16,000 annual acre-feet
of agricultural water rights in Kobeh Valley.
All mining companies must acquire or convert agricultural water rights to
mining water rights prior to commencement of operations. Applications to
transfer the type of use and points of diversion are common and routine in
Nevada. The State Engineer�s ruling will most likely be issued in the
third quarter but could come as early as late June.
FINANCING UPDATE
Mr. Hansen and David A. Chaput (Chief Financial Officer) traveled to Chengdu, China
the week of April 18th, to meet with Hanlong and
Chinese banking officials pertaining to Hanlong�s
previously-announced agreement to procure a $665M bank loan for the Mt. Hope
project. In turn, the week of May 9th, the Company and Hanlong hosted representatives from the China Development
Bank on a due diligence trip to visit with the Mt. Hope engineering consultants
at M3 Engineering in Tucson, Arizona and to tour both the Mt. Hope and Liberty
projects in Nevada. CACS, a Chinese engineering firm, has completed the
translation and formatting of the Mt. Hope Full Feasibility Study into Chinese,
and the Company, together with Hanlong, is actively
moving forward with assisting the Chinese banks� due diligence, including
negotiations on specific loan terms and documentation. The Company
continues to work toward having a debt facility available for drawdown
following receipt of Mt. Hope�s permits.
Hanlong agreed to a three month extension
to the May 31, 2011 deadline for the BLM to publish the DEIS in the Federal
Register to August 31, 2011. The extension will increase the break fee
associated with termination of the Hanlong agreement
by up to $3 million, as discussed further in the Company�s first quarter 10-Q.
* * * *
General Moly
is a U.S.-based molybdenum mineral development, exploration and mining company
listed on the NYSE Amex (formerly the American Stock Exchange) and the Toronto
Stock Exchange under the symbol GMO. Our primary asset, our interest in the Mt.
Hope project located in central Nevada, is considered one of the world's
largest and highest grade molybdenum deposits. Combined with our second
molybdenum property, the Liberty project that is also located in central
Nevada, our goal is to become the largest primary molybdenum producer by the
middle of the decade. For more information on the Company, please visit our
website at http://www.generalmoly.com.
Contact Information
� General Moly:
Investors - Seth
Foreman
(303)
928-8591
sforeman@generalmoly.com
Media � Zach
Spencer
(775)
748-6059
zspencer@generalmoly.com
Website: http://www.generalmoly.com
info@generalmoly.com
