EA Process Completed On Mt. Hamilton Project

DENVER - Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp. reported that the Environmental Assessment (EA) process undertaken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service has been completed. The completion of the EA process represents the most important permit approval for initiating development and operations for the mine. The EA will become effective upon initial bonding of the mine, which is currently in process. The Mt. Hamilton Gold Project is situated in White Pine County of east-central Nevada.

The EA evaluated environmental impacts and developed operational guidance and mandates to mitigate project impacts. Solitario has also received final approval of the Water Pollution Control Permit from the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection and a Right of Way Grant from the Bureau of Land Management. Three other key permits are nearing completion: two Reclamation Permits and an Air Quality Permit, all issued by the state of Nevada. Other permitting requirements of federal, state and local agencies are also expected to be completed in the coming months well in advance of commencement of major construction activities in the spring of next year.

Chris Herald, President and CEO of Solitario commented, The completion of the EA process represents the most important project milestone to date. I would like to thank our in-house and outside technical teams for their hard work in completing the EA process in less than two years. I would also like to acknowledge the diligent and professional work of all the permitting agencies involved in this process. We now look forward to completing the remaining permitting activities and moving the project into development.

We are excited to move into the development phase at Mt. Hamilton. The robust economics of the project will allow us to evaluate financing options and establish our construction timeline. Mt Hamilton will provide local jobs and economic stimulus for eastern Nevada;  stated Trey Wasser, Ely Gold’s President & CEO.

Solitario and Ely Gold formed the Mt. Hamilton LLC (MH-LLC), a limited liability company which holds 100% of the Mt. Hamilton project assets under an Operating Agreement (MH-Agreement). Per the terms of the MH-Agreement, DHI-US, Ely Gold’s wholly owned US subsidiary, has a 20% interest in the MH-LLC and Solitario has an 80% interest.