General Moly (NYSE AMEX: GMO) (TSX: GMO) announced that the Company will allocate $2.5 million in its 2011 budget to advance the Company's Liberty project, located in central Nevada.
Bruce D. Hansen, Chief Executive Officer, said, "In early 2009, with the collapse of the global markets, we suspended evaluation activities at the Liberty project. However, given our positive outlook for both the moly and copper markets, and the Liberty project's potential economics, we will begin advancing our second world-class project toward production. We also have non-Mt. Hope-related funding from the early exercise of warrants which have already provided approximately $18.5 million in proceeds and are anticipated to provide approximately $4 million in further proceeds by mid-February."
A pre-feasibility study released in April of 2008 indicated annual moly production of 19 million pounds and annual copper production of 18 million pounds per year, at moly cash costs of $6.15 per pound (net of copper credits) for the first five years of operations. That cost figure was based on a copper price assumption of $1.50 per pound. Based on today's copper prices of over $4 per pound, the Liberty project's cash cost could be closer to $4 per pound of salable molybdenum with copper credits over the first five years of operations.
Over the year, the Company's evaluation program at Liberty will focus on collecting baseline data for the Nevada State-issued permits, hydro-geological groundwater characterization of the open pit, infill drilling, and logging and assaying prior drill core to improve and update the existing geologic model. The Company anticipates an update to the pre-feasibility study by the end of the year, including an evaluation of full feasibility study options.
The Liberty project is substantially located on private land and is anticipated to require Nevada state-issued permits only, simplifying permitting requirements relative to permitting on Federal land. Permitting requirements for the Liberty project include an Air Quality permit, a Water Pollution Control permit, a Dam Safety permit (relating to the tailings facility), and a Reclamation Permit.
Following the pre-feasibility update and full feasibility analysis that is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2011, the Company will move forward with a full bankable feasibility study and permit applications. Construction at Liberty could be started in 2014 with production able to commence by the end of 2015 or early 2016.
The 2008 pre-feasibility study indicated a capital cost requirement of approximately $500 million (2008 dollars). Funding for the Liberty project is anticipated to be largely financed out of free cash flow from the Mt. Hope project; however, the Company will consider off-take and strategic partner financing for the project.
Source: General Moly, Inc.