General Moly Completes Pre-Feasibility Study
LAKEWOOD, CO - General Moly Inc. has re-named the Hall-Tonopah project the Liberty project and announced the completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study in respect of the Liberty Project which estimates production and capital and operating cost parameters along with project economics. Highlights of the Pre-Feasibility Study include:
¥ After-tax, Net Present Value (NPV) of $356 million, discounted at 10%, and NPV of $514 million, discounted at 8%;
¥ Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 22% and capital payback of 3.5 years from initial production;
¥ Anticipated molybdenum production of approximately 19 million pounds and anticipated copper production of approximately 18 million pounds annually over the first five years through a mill processing 36k short tons per day (tpd);
¥ Anticipated molybdenum cash costs, inclusive of copper byproduct credits, of $6.21 per pound over the first five years;
¥ Anticipated average grades of 0.091% molybdenum estimated to be processed over the first five years;
¥ 503 million pounds of molybdenum estimated to be produced over a 33 year mine life including 24 years of primary mining operations and 10 years of low-grade production; and
¥ Estimated initial capital expenditures of $492 million (in 2008 dollars), excluding working capital and bonding requirements.
Bruce D. Hansen, Chief Executive Officer, said, "I am extremely pleased with the results of the Pre-Feasibility Study, which positions Liberty as one of the world's top three molybdenum projects currently being considered for development. Given the conservative molybdenum and copper price assumptions utilized in the study and the five years of discount applied to future positive cash flows, we believe that an NPV of $356 million demonstrates the robustness of this project. On a cumulative basis, the NPV of our equity portion in the Mt. Hope project and the Liberty project are estimated at $1.76 billion.
"We will continue to prudently advance the Liberty project as we position it as a follow-on to Mt. Hope, with initial production at the Liberty project currently expected in 2013. With both projects in production, we would expect to reach steady state production of approximately 50 million pounds per year positioning General Moly as the world's largest pure-play primary molybdenum producer with cash anticipated costs well below many other projected primary molybdenum mines."
The company's address is 1726 Cole Blvd., Suite 115, Lakewood, CO 80401, (303) 928-8599, fax: (303) 928-8598.