- Historical Drill Intercepts Indicate Potential For
High-Grade, Copper-Silver Target
- New Results from Geophysical Survey Highlight
Anomalies for Follow-Up Drilling
LAKEWOOD, Colo., March 1, 2018 /CNW/ -- General Moly, Inc.
(the "Company" or "General Moly") (NYSE American and TSX: GMO), the
only western-exchange listed, pure play molybdenum development
company, reports that based on a review of historic drill
results, the Company has identified a potential high-grade,
copper-silver exploration target along with a significant zinc
mineralized area at the Mt. Hope Project site, southeast of the
Mt. Hope's molybdenum deposit in
central Nevada.
Given the presence of this copper-silver target ("Cu-Ag Target")
and zinc mineralization, General Moly undertook a high-intensity,
ground-based Induced Polarization ("IP") survey to determine if
potential continuity and the size of the mineralization would
justify additional exploration and evaluation. The IP survey was
completed in February 2018 by Quantec
Geoscience and indicates a fairly continuous group of high
chargeability anomalies that appear aligned with the recently
identified Cu-Ag Target.
These anomalies lie between 100 feet and 1,000-plus feet from
the surface and trend northeast for over 1,000 feet. The IP survey
indicates that the anomalies could continue further to the
north-northeast and to the south where they appear to dip to the
east. (Please refer to Appendix Illustration 1: Plan Map
below.)
Historic Data Review & Historical Drill Results Reveal
Copper-Silver-Zinc Potential
The evaluation of historic information by General Moly and the
results of the IP survey form the basis to commence a robust
geologic review and further evaluation via a new 2018 exploration
program, focused primarily on a high-grade Cu‑Ag Target, subject to
further financing.
From as early as 1886, and sporadically until circa 1975, the
Mt. Hope area produced zinc as
well as by-product lead, copper, silver, and cadmium from
small-scale underground mines. With the strong recovery in
zinc prices last year, General Moly staff conducted an evaluation
of past exploration and drill data from the 1930s to 2008 from
prior explorers, including Universal Exploration (a subsidiary of
U.S. Steel), Callahan Mining Company, the U.S. Bureau of Mines,
Mount Hope Mines Inc. ("MHMI"), Phillips Petroleum, Asarco, Exxon,
Cyprus Amax, and Phelps Dodge, as
well as General Moly.
From this review, the General Moly staff defined an anomalous
zinc mineralized area of interest, characterized by skarn
mineralization of carbonate rock ("Skarn Area"), slightly
overlapping the southeastern portion of the ultimate pit outline of
the Mt. Hope molybdenum open pit
mine plan. The Company examined and re-cataloged the historic drill
holes, and prioritized the drill data for zinc intercepts at a 0.5%
cutoff and within 400 feet of the surface as a potential surface
mineable target.
The attached Appendix Illustration 1: Plan map shows the
Company's interpretation of a halo of 2% zinc historic drill
intercepts. The Skarn Area, measuring approximately 17 acres in
size, covers past historic underground mining of mostly zinc.
In addition to examining the zinc mineralization, the Company
keyed in on a high-grade Cu-Ag Target that was initially identified
in the 1930s by one hole drilled by Universal Exploration, and
followed up by MHMI's fan-pattern drilling of six holes in 1968 -
1969 from an underground platform at roughly the 6,540-foot
elevation in the lower section of historic underground workings.
MHMI's total program encompassed drilling a total of 1,905
feet. Phillips Petroleum also intersected this target area
with 3 holes drilled in 1971 as part of a broad-based 18-hole,
16,270-foot program.
This Cu-Ag Target appears to be about 600 to 700 feet from the
surface and, if it warrants ultimate development, it could be
potentially accessed by a decline from either the surface or the
ultimate Mt. Hope molybdenum pit.
(Please refer to Appendix Illustration 1: Plan Map.)
Historic Drill Data Highlights
Historic drill intercept highlights at the Cu-Ag Target
include:
- MHMI Jensen DDH-3:
-
- 2.24% Cu and 4.9 opt Ag over 9 feet
- 6.34% Cu over 21 feet, including 6.18% Cu and 13.7 opt Ag over
2 feet, and 7.0% Cu over 17 feet
- MHMI Jensen DDH-5:
-
- 4.88% Cu and 9.6 opt Ag over 14 feet, including 13.91% Cu and
29.6 opt Ag over 2 feet and 3.58% Cu and 7.0 opt Ag over 8
feet
- Phillips UPMH-2:
-
- 1.98% Cu and 4.55 opt Ag over 23 feet, including 3.00 % Cu and
7.3 opt Ag over 12 feet
Holes DDH-3 and UPMH-2 are 347 feet apart. And, holes
DDH-5 and UPMH-2 are 417 feet apart. Additional historic drill
highlights are in Appendix Table 1.
To date, given this represents an early-stage copper-silver-zinc
exploration program of the Skarn Area, most of the historic data
discussed here comes from historic reports and cannot be
independently confirmed and lacks the modern standards of quality
assurance and controls for samples and assays. Such data may not be
relied upon for any evidence or likelihood of a mineral resource,
mineral reserve or mineral deposit. The Skarn Area does not contain
any mineral resource estimate as defined by the Canada National
Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") or any proved or probable reserves
as defined by the United States Securities and Exchange Industry
Guide 7, nor is there any certainty that further exploration will
result in any targets becoming part of a mineral resource or
mineral reserve.
Ground IP Survey Results Highlights
The IP survey, which focused on the Cu-Ag Target, comprised six
lines each of a 2,400-foot length with 2 lines running SW to NE
(lines 1 and 6) and 4 lines (lines 4, 3, 2 and 5) running SE to NW
and perpendicular to lines 1 and 6. (Please refer to Appendix
Illustration 1: Plan Map.)
The survey found an anomalous high chargeability zone located at
between 100 to 1,000 feet of depth with thicknesses between 200 and
800 feet, up to 1,000 feet of width and measuring over 1,000 feet
trending north-northeast. (Please refer to the cross section of
Line 3 shown below and to Appendix Illustration 2. High
chargeability is indicated by the orange, red and pink colors.)
In addition, results from all the IP lines indicate that the
anomalous zone remains open at depth. Parallel IP lines 1 and 6
also indicate that the anomalous zone appears to trend to the
northeast dipping towards the southwest, remaining open.
Based on the IP results and historic drilling data, the Cu-Ag
Target appears to lie at a 40-degree angle down dip.
Permitting and Water Rights
The projected boundaries of the Skarn Area are located on
private land that are subject to leasehold rights held by the
Mt. Hope project operator, Eureka
Moly, LLC ("EMLLC"). General Moly holds an 80% membership
interest in EMLLC, along with its joint venture partner
POS-Minerals, a division of POSCO, a large South Korean steel
company. As a result of the private land ownership, it is
expected that minimal federal and state permitting would be
required to further explore the Cu-Ag Target.
In the event of a successful exploration program and economic
studies warranting development, the existing Plan of Operations for
the adjacent Mt. Hope molybdenum
project would likely be amended to contemplate either
offsite-processing or onsite-processing in the future. The
Company anticipates working with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
("BLM") to determine the appropriate level of documentation that
would be required to comply with the National Environmental Policy
Act ("NEPA").
In addition, the state of Nevada Department of Environmental
Protection will review the scope of any proposed mining and
processing plans to determine modifications to the Water Pollution
Control, Air Quality, and Reclamation Permits that could be
required. The Company controls existing water rights for mining and
processing at the Mt. Hope Project site under EMLLC's lease with
MHMI, independent of the adjacent Mt.
Hope molybdenum project. The Company believes its rights are
sufficient to support anticipated proposed mine and processing
needs at the Cu-Ag Target.
Lease Amendment
As disclosed in the Company's interim report on Form 8K filed on
February 28, 2018, EMLLC and MHMI
entered into an amendment to their lease agreement at the Mt. Hope
Project. The amendment primarily concerns non-molybdenum
royalty arrangements that are applicable to the Cu-Ag Target and
zinc mineralization. The amendment provides for net returns
production royalties of 4% for all non-molybdenum
minerals.
With respect to zinc production only, there is the potential to
increase the 4% royalty to 5% dependent on increasing zinc
prices. These royalties are consistent with other royalty
mining practices in Nevada. The full text of the amendment was
filed with the 8K report and is
available for review at sec.gov and the Company's website.
2018 Exploration Program
The Mt. Hope molybdenum project
is located 21 miles north of Eureka,
Nevada, and has approximately 65% of engineering completed
with no current engineering work in progress, while it is
undergoing final phases of permitting to reobtain its water permits
and Record of Decision.
The Company exploration thesis for the Cu-Ag Target is to
demonstrate that the apparent copper and silver mineralized
envelope lies unexploited below the previously mined horizontal
bands of zinc, and is open at depth and to the northeast. The
Company's goal is to define sufficient tonnage to economically
justify an underground operation with either toll milling or
development of a small mill with throughput of approximately 1,000
to 2,000 short tons per day, and, if built, could also process
zinc-lead-copper-silver material in the future.
Commenting on the path ahead, General Moly Chief Executive
Officer Bruce D. Hansen said, "We
are extremely excited by the exploration findings to date, which
were driven by our internal efforts and exceeded our expectations
in terms of the scope of targets. We look forward to moving ahead
with further geologic assessment and further exploration efforts
later this year, in what we feel is an improving commodities'
market environment of rising molybdenum, copper, zinc, and silver
prices. We also feel that the future successful development of any
of these non-moly opportunities, if warranted, should be value
added and synergistic to our ultimate goal of building one of the
world's largest primary moly mines."
A small mill, if built to process ore from the Skarn Area, could
be used for processing copper, zinc, lead, and silver ores that
will be encountered during the much longer life of the molybdenum
operation.
To date the preliminary work was undertaken solely by General
Moly. The Company has presented the promising findings described
herein to POS-Minerals, and is discussing value-sharing investment
options. Any mining operation to exploit economic mineralization
will require the approval of POS-Minerals.
Further exploration work expected in 2018 will entail review of
historic logs and core to update the geologic interpretation of the
Skarn Area, potential re-assaying of historic drill samples,
further review of the IP results, and geologic and lithological
interpretation to define a new drilling program. General Moly
engaged Independent Mining Consultants of Tucson, Arizona, to support compilation and
review of the historic drill database.
The Company may require financing to fund the full exploration
program for 2018. The pace and scope of the exploration program
will be subject to the working capital needs of General Moly.
About General Moly
General Moly is a U.S.-based, molybdenum mineral exploration and
development company listed on the NYSE American (NYSE AMER),
recently known as the NYSE MKT and former American Stock Exchange,
and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol GMO. The
Company's primary asset, an 80% 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 the
Company's wholly-owned Liberty Project, a molybdenum and copper
property also located in central Nevada, General Moly's goal is to become the
largest primary molybdenum producer in the world.
Molybdenum is a metallic element used primarily as an alloy
agent in steel manufacturing. When added to steel, molybdenum
enhances steel strength, resistance to corrosion and extreme
temperature performance. In the chemical and petrochemical
industries, molybdenum is used in catalysts, especially for cleaner
burning fuels by removing sulfur from liquid fuels, and in
corrosion inhibitors, high performance lubricants and polymers.
Contact:
Scott
Roswell
(303)
928-8591
info@generalmoly.com
Website: www.generalmoly.com
Qualified Person's Statement
The scientific and technical information in this news release
was reviewed by John M. Marek,
President of Independent Mining Consultants, Tucson, Arizona. Mr. Marek is a
"qualified person" as defined by NI 43-101. He is a Licensed
Professional Engineer, and a Registered Member of the Society of
Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration. Mr. Marek has more than
40 years of minerals industry experience that is relevant to the
evaluation of the style and nature of mineralization described
above.
Forward Looking Statement
Statements herein that are not historical facts are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and are intended to be covered by
the safe harbor created by such sections. Such
forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those projected, anticipated, expected, or implied by the
Company. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to metals price and production volatility, global economic
conditions, currency fluctuations, increased production costs and
variances in ore grade or recovery rates from those assumed in
mining plans, exploration risks and results, political, operational
and project development risks, including the Company's ability to
obtain a re-grant of its water permits and Record of Decision,
ability to maintain required federal and state permits to continue
construction, and commence production of molybdenum, copper,
silver, lead or zinc, ability to identify any economic mineral
reserves of copper, silver, lead or zinc; ability of the Company to
obtain approval of its joint venture partner at the Mt. Hope
Project in order to mine for copper, silver, lead or zinc, ability
to raise required project financing or funding to pursue an
exploration program related to potential copper, silver lead or
zinc deposits at Mt. Hope, ability
to respond to adverse governmental regulation and judicial
outcomes, and ability to maintain and /or adjust estimates related
to cost of production, capital, operating and exploration
expenditures. For a detailed discussion of risks and other
factors that may impact these forward looking statements, please
refer to the Risk Factors and other discussion contained in the
Company's quarterly and annual periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and
10-K, on file with the SEC. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update forward-looking statements.
Appendix Table 1: Historic Drill Highlights at Copper-Silver
Target, Southeast of Mt.
Hope
(See Notes on page 9. NA below means No
Assay.)
MHMI
Jensen
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hole
ID
|
From,
ft
|
To,
ft
|
Intercept,
ft
|
Cu
%
|
Ag
oz/st
|
Collar
Elevation,
ft
|
|
DDH-1
|
305
|
306
|
1.0
|
2.11
|
5.71
|
6,540
|
|
DDH-1
|
306
|
307
|
1.0
|
1.35
|
3.47
|
|
|
DDH-1
|
307
|
308
|
1.0
|
0.52
|
1.10
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
3.0
|
1.33
|
3.43
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DDH-1
|
315
|
316
|
1.0
|
6.27
|
15.62
|
6,540
|
|
DDH-1
|
316
|
317
|
1.0
|
0.20
|
0.40
|
|
|
DDH-1
|
317
|
318
|
1.0
|
0.46
|
1.56
|
|
|
DDH-1
|
318
|
319
|
1.0
|
2.22
|
7.01
|
|
|
DDH-1
|
319
|
320
|
1.0
|
0.96
|
2.08
|
|
|
DDH-1
|
320
|
321
|
1.0
|
0.65
|
1.36
|
|
|
DDH-1
|
321
|
322
|
1.0
|
1.15
|
2.54
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
7.0
|
1.70
|
4.37
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DDH-2
|
260
|
265
|
5.0
|
2.86
|
NA
|
6,540
|
|
Subtotal
|
260
|
265
|
5.0
|
2.86
|
NA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
167
|
168
|
1.0
|
2.52
|
5.56
|
6,540
|
|
DDH-3
|
168
|
170
|
2.0
|
2.72
|
6.30
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
170
|
172
|
2.0
|
2.41
|
5.60
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
172
|
174
|
2.0
|
2.02
|
4.38
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
174
|
176
|
2.0
|
1.66
|
3.16
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
9.0
|
2.24
|
4.94
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
230
|
232
|
2.0
|
1.56
|
3.72
|
6,540
|
|
DDH-3
|
232
|
234
|
2.0
|
6.18
|
13.70
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
234
|
236
|
2.0
|
10.45
|
NA
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
236
|
238
|
2.0
|
5.64
|
NA
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
238
|
240
|
2.0
|
4.57
|
NA
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
240
|
242
|
2.0
|
2.50
|
NA
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
242
|
244
|
2.0
|
9.36
|
NA
|
|
|
Hole
ID
|
From,
ft
|
To,
ft
|
Intercept,
ft
|
Cu
%
|
Ag
oz/st
|
Collar
Elevation,
ft
|
|
DDH-3
|
244
|
246
|
2.0
|
8.86
|
NA
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
246
|
248
|
2.0
|
7.81
|
NA
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
248
|
250
|
2.0
|
5.44
|
NA
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
250
|
251
|
1.0
|
8.45
|
NA
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
21.0
|
6.34
|
NA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
262
|
264
|
2.0
|
1.63
|
15.70
|
6,540
|
|
DDH-3
|
264
|
266
|
2.0
|
3.77
|
15.70
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
266
|
268
|
2.0
|
3.27
|
15.70
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
268
|
270
|
2.0
|
1.39
|
15.70
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
8.0
|
2.52
|
15.70
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
290
|
292
|
2.0
|
1.74
|
3.70
|
6,540
|
|
DDH-3
|
292
|
294
|
2.0
|
3.26
|
3.70
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
294
|
296
|
2.0
|
1.00
|
3.70
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
296
|
298
|
2.0
|
0.20
|
3.70
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
298
|
300
|
2.0
|
1.17
|
3.70
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
300
|
302
|
2.0
|
1.39
|
3.70
|
|
|
DDH-3
|
302
|
304
|
2.0
|
2.15
|
3.70
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
14.0
|
1.56
|
3.70
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DDH-5
|
278
|
280
|
2.0
|
1.68
|
2.24
|
6,540
|
|
DDH-5
|
280
|
282
|
2.0
|
1.41
|
2.24
|
|
|
DDH-5
|
282
|
284
|
2.0
|
0.47
|
2.24
|
|
|
DDH-5
|
284
|
286
|
2.0
|
0.76
|
2.24
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
8.0
|
1.08
|
2.24
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DDH-5
|
300
|
302
|
2.0
|
4.01
|
5.84
|
6,540
|
|
DDH-5
|
302
|
304
|
2.0
|
0.15
|
5.84
|
|
|
DDH-5
|
304
|
306
|
2.0
|
3.74
|
5.84
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
6.0
|
2.63
|
5.84
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DDH-5
|
315
|
317
|
2.0
|
0.67
|
6.62
|
6,540
|
|
DDH-5
|
317
|
319
|
2.0
|
5.25
|
6.62
|
|
|
DDH-5
|
319
|
321
|
2.0
|
13.91
|
29.62
|
|
|
DDH-5
|
321
|
323
|
2.0
|
4.29
|
7.02
|
|
|
Hole
ID
|
From,
ft
|
To,
ft
|
Intercept,
ft
|
Cu
%
|
Ag
oz/st
|
Collar
Elevation,
ft
|
|
DDH-5
|
323
|
325
|
2.0
|
2.44
|
7.02
|
|
|
DDH-5
|
325
|
327
|
2.0
|
3.50
|
7.02
|
|
|
DDH-5
|
327
|
329
|
2.0
|
4.09
|
3.30
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
14.0
|
4.88
|
9.60
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Phillips
Petroleum
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PMH-03
|
720.0
|
725.0
|
5.0
|
2.00
|
NA
|
6,961
|
|
PMH-03
|
725.0
|
730.0
|
5.0
|
5.30
|
NA
|
|
|
PMH-03
|
730.0
|
733.5
|
3.5
|
1.45
|
NA
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
13.5
|
3.08
|
NA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PMH-07
|
641.5
|
643.0
|
1.5
|
3.20
|
NA
|
6,910
|
|
PMH-07
|
643.0
|
647.0
|
4.0
|
1.65
|
NA
|
|
|
PMH-07
|
647.0
|
650.0
|
3.0
|
0.07
|
NA
|
|
|
PMH-07
|
650.0
|
654.0
|
4.0
|
1.10
|
NA
|
|
|
PMH-07
|
654.0
|
658.0
|
4.0
|
1.15
|
NA
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
16.5
|
1.25
|
NA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UPMH-2
|
336.0
|
339.0
|
3.0
|
0.67
|
1.46
|
6,800
|
|
UPMH-2
|
345.0
|
349.0
|
4.0
|
3.70
|
9.19
|
|
|
UPMH-2
|
349.0
|
353.0
|
4.0
|
2.65
|
6.42
|
|
|
UPMH-2
|
353.0
|
357.0
|
4.0
|
2.65
|
6.27
|
|
|
UPMH-2
|
357.0
|
362.5
|
5.5
|
0.60
|
1.07
|
|
|
UPMH-2
|
362.5
|
365.0
|
2.5
|
1.70
|
2.71
|
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
23.0
|
1.98
|
4.55
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UPMH-2
|
475.0
|
480.0
|
5.0
|
1.55
|
4.38
|
6,800
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
5.0
|
1.55
|
4.38
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Universal
Exploration
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UNIV-1
|
340
|
356
|
16.0
|
4.20
|
7.90
|
6,680
|
|
Subtotal
|
|
|
16.0
|
4.20
|
7.90
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
169.0
|
2.96
|
NA
|
|
Total excluding
absent Ag assays (See Note iii below)
|
|
113.0
|
2.58
|
6.22
|
|
Notes to Table 1:
(i) The intervals may not represent true widths.
(ii) The laboratories for these assay results and any quality
control measures are not known.
(iii) NA means No Assay. Some drill hole intervals were not assayed
for silver and shown above with no values.
(iv) Jensen DDH-4 does not appear to have been drilled far enough
to encounter high-grade copper-silver mineralization, Jensen DDH-6
was reported to have had copper mineralization observed, but was
not assayed.
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SOURCE General Moly, Inc.