LAKEWOOD, COLORADO � April 26, 2010, General Moly (NYSE
Amex and TSX: GMO) announced that on Friday, April 23, 2010, the Company
received a ruling from a Nevada District Court overturning the Nevada State
Engineer's decision to grant water applications for the Mt. Hope project.
The Court's decision remands the water rights applications back to the State
Engineer to reconsider in a new hearing, a date for which has not been set.
The Court ruled that the
Petitioners' (Eureka County and certain farmers in the Diamond Valley) due
process rights to a full and fair hearing were violated when the State Engineer
considered and relied upon an updated version of the Company's hydrology model
that had not been presented to the Petitioners.
Bruce D. Hansen, Chief
Executive Officer, said, "this procedural flaw is disappointing given the
strong legal and technical findings by the State Engineer to determine that the
Company's water applications should be granted for the Mt. Hope project. The
updated model referenced in the State Engineer's decision had substantially the
same conclusions as the model the petitioners had reviewed. With our final
hydrology models being completed this week, all parties involved will now be
reviewing a single, final model, so this procedural issue can be avoided moving
forward."
The Company anticipates the
State Engineer will promptly schedule a new hearing, again grant the Company�s
water rights applications, and does not believe the new hearing will impact the
Mt. Hope construction or production time lines. The Company continues to
believe it has every right to be granted access to water for the Mt. Hope
project. The District Court's decision is separate from and does not impact the
Federal permitting process and the work associated with the Environmental
Impact Statement.
Tim Arnold, Mt. Hope
General Manager, said, "We are clearly disappointed that the State
Engineer's original ruling was not upheld. We will continue to work with the
Commissioners of Eureka County and the farmers in Diamond Valley to find a
solution to their opposition to our water applications. Our scientific studies
continue to indicate that our water pumping in Kobeh Valley, 15 miles to the
west of Diamond Valley, will have virtually no impact to their water table and
we will continue to engage and educate all stakeholders on that issue. Additionally,
we will continue to develop a comprehensive long-term monitoring and mitigation
plan.
"The overwhelming
support by the citizens of Eureka County is a real positive for our project and
we hope they will more fully engage to vocally support our project and help us
move Mt. Hope forward in an environmentally sound manner and help us create badly
needed jobs and tax revenue in their community and Nevada."
* * * *
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 next 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
AT generalmoly.com
Business Development � Greg
McClain
(303)
928-8601
gmcclain AT generalmoly.com