US-based mineral development company General Moly has received the final permit required for its Mt Hope molybdenum project, which is now fully permitted and construction ready.
The record of decision (ROD) from the Bureau of Land Management was received last week, marking the completion of the National Environmental Policy Act process.
With the ROD in hand, General Moly CEO and CFO Bruce Hansen said this week that the company would intensify its efforts in seeking incremental liquidity, project financing and strategic alternatives.
General Moly believes its Mt Hope project, located in central Nevada, to be one of the world's biggest and highest-grade molybdenum deposits. Engineering is about 65% complete at the project. Some preconstruction site work also was previously completed.
General Moly received water permits for Mt Hope in July, having previously settled with a Kobeh Valley, Nevada ranching family, who protested the water rights application.
"We believe the Mt Hope deposit is the best undeveloped and lowest-cost primary moly project in the world with leverage to anticipated rising moly prices from improving market fundamentals. As we continue to closely monitor the moly market, we are encouraged by moly's stable prices over the past two years,” said Hansen.
The molybdenum price averaged at about $12.18/lb in the second quarter of this year.
Once developed, the mine is forecast to operate for 30 years, producing 40-million pounds a year at a cash operating cost of $6.28/lb.
Capital expenditure of $1.03-billion is required to bring the mine to production.
The project is owned and operated by Eureka Moly, of which General Moly has an 80% interest and POS-Minerals, a subsidiary of the South Korean steel company Posco, has a 20% interest.
Molybdenum is used as an alloy agent in steel manufacturing.