General Moly Inc. (fka GMOLQ)

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CEO Bruce Hanson's letter to the editor of the Reno Gazette, posted on the Nevada Mining Association Blog.

Here's the link to the blog post and here's the article text:

Dear Editor,

In response to Bob Fulkerson’s op-ed in the Reno Gazette-Journal entitled “Weakening government oversight results in workers being hurt, not hired”, Mr. Fulkerson doesn’t let factual inaccuracies contaminate the story he wants to spin in regard to mine permitting and Governor Sandoval’s request to speed the Federal permitting processes in Nevada.

Governor Sandoval did not, nor did anyone from the industry, suggest that any critical studies including groundwater modeling be eliminated or that the public’s right to question or contribute to the NEPA process be suspended or limited. The Governor’s request was centered on eliminating unnecessary or bureaucratic delays, which have in certain instances added more than a year to NEPA timelines. These delays are associated with getting an initial Plan of Operations, a Draft Environmental Impact Study (EIS) and Final EIS released from the U.S. Department of Interior and published in the Federal Register. The U.S. Department of Interior cannot publish in the Federal Register until after these documents have been reviewed extensively and approved by Nevada’s BLM office. Once the project is published the public can review the project and provide comments.

Mr. Fulkerson needs to look closely at the processes associated with the permitting of General Moly’s Mt. Hope Molybdenum mine as an indication of the current industry requirements in the permitting process. General Moly is a public, American company and the majority of our employees are based in Nevada. We are ready to begin putting more than 400 Nevadans to work, and yet we have been working with the BLM on permitting the Mt. Hope project for more than 5 years, with comprehensive studies and extensive input from Eureka County as a cooperating agency. In total, since 2006, the County of Eureka has spent nearly $3 million, or almost $1,500 per citizen, on studies, consultants and lawyers related to the Mt. Hope project and its potential impacts.

Eureka County has established its own NEPA committee that has reviewed and provided comments on all 24 baseline studies, as well as two versions of the Preliminary Draft EIS, before the Draft EIS was published in December 2011. After 5 years of analysis, Eureka County, its citizens and the general public can review and provide comments on the Draft EIS during a 90-day public comment period, which was extended from the base period of 45 days. Further, two separate independent surveys of the public showed overwhelming support, with more than 70 percent of the Eureka County residents surveyed indicating support for the Mt. Hope project.

We look forward to being a valuable contributor to the Eureka County community for a long time. Moreover, Eureka County’s citizens, General Moly management, our employees and their families are fully aware of our project’s potential impact to schools, water and public infrastructure. The Mt. Hope project will have a life of more than 40 years, and during that time it will provide more than $300 million in tax revenue to Eureka County and its school district to support schools and public infrastructure. In regard to water, Mt. Hope has committed to fund a $4 million Diamond Valley water sustainability trust and is working cooperatively with the Nevada State Engineer and Eureka County on an extensive and robust Water Monitoring, Management and Mitigation plan. General Moly is committed to a responsible environmental effort during the entire lifetime of the Mt. Hope project.

With more than 400 high-paying jobs, a project life of more than 40 years and an anticipated contribution of more than $700 million in tax revenues to the state, the county and the local school district, Mt. Hope is right for Eureka County and right for Nevada.

Sincerely,

Bruce D. Hansen – CEO of General Moly Inc. and Chairman of the Nevada Mining Association

(Posted on Friday, January 13th, 2012)