More good news for CBAG!
For Immediate Release
U.S. ENERGY CORP. REPORTS AFFIRMATION OF RULING ON
MT. EMMONS PATENT CLAIMS LITIGATION
BY FEDERAL APPEALS COURT
RIVERTON, Wyoming (November 6, 2006) -- U.S. Energy Corp. (NASDAQ Capital Market: “USEG” or “USE”) and its subsidiary, Crested Corp. (OTC BB: “CBAG” or “Crested”), both natural resource exploration and development companies, today announced that the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an order dated October 27, 2006 reaffirming the decision of a panel of the 10th Circuit, upholding the validity of nine patented mining claims at the “Lucky Jack” molybdenum property on Mt. Emmons in west central Colorado. USE and Crested own these nine claims plus 16 other patented mining claims and about 500 nearby unpatented mining claims.
In a letter dated April 2, 2004, the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) issued additional patents on nine mining claims on the Mt. Emmons property about 5 miles west of Crested Butte, CO. The patents now consist of a total of 25 patented claims or approximately 350 patented or fee acres. A lawsuit was later filed by the High Country Citizens’ Alliance, Town of Crested Butte, Colorado, and the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Gunnison, Colorado (“Appellants”) in the U. S. District Court of Colorado against the defendants: BLM, certain officials of that agency, and certain private defendants including Phelps Dodge Corporation. The District Court dismissed the Appellants’ allegations and held that they had no right to challenge the BLM’s issuance of the patents. The Appellants appealed the District Court’s ruling to the 10th Circuit and on July 21, 2006, the panel of the 10th Circuit ruled that Appellants have no federal right of action against the defendants.
On September 5, 2006, the Appellants filed a Petition for Rehearing En Banc of the foregoing case before the entire 10th Circuit. The October 27, 2006 Order from the 10th Circuit denied the Appellants’ Petition for Rehearing En Banc.
The property, known as the Lucky Jack molybdenum project, contains a significant deposit of molybdenum. The United States Department of the Interior, in a report dated April 2, 2004, estimated that the Lucky Jack deposit contains approximately 23 million tons of mineable reserves averaging 0.689% molybdenite, and that about 267 million pounds of molybdenum trioxide should be recoverable from the Project. This report covered the high-grade mineralization, which represents only a portion of the total mineral deposit delineated to date.
On October 10, 2006, USEG announced the signing of a Letter Agreement with Kobex Resources Ltd. (TSX Venture Exchange: “KBX.V”) whereby Kobex can acquire a 50% interest in the Lucky Jack molybdenum project. Further details of the Letter Agreement are available in a Form 8-K filed by USE and Crested with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 10, 2006.
“We are very pleased with this ruling to uphold the validity of the patented mining claims at Lucky Jack”, stated Mark Larsen, President of U.S. Energy Corp. “We are confident that we will close our transaction with Kobex in the coming weeks and look forward to continuing our efforts with Kobex towards permitting and developing this ‘world class’ deposit side by side with local communities, organizations and governing bodies”, he added.
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Disclosure Regarding Mineral Resources
Under SEC and Canadian Regulations;
And Forward-Looking Statements
USE and Crested (the “Company”) own or may come to own stock in companies which are traded on foreign exchanges, and may have agreements with some of these companies to acquire and/or develop the Company’s mineral properties. Examples of these other companies are Sutter Gold Mining Inc., Uranium Power Corp., sxr Uranium One, and Kobex Resources Ltd. These other companies are subject to the reporting requirements of other jurisdictions.
United States residents are cautioned that some of the information available about our mineral properties, which is reported by the other companies in foreign jurisdictions, may be materially different from what the Company is permitted to disclose in the United States.
This news release includes statements which may constitute “forward-looking” statements, usually containing the words “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “expect," or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, future trends in mineral prices, the availability of capital, competitive factors, and other risks. By making these forward- looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revision or changes after the date of this release.
For further information on the differences between the reporting limitations of the United States, compared to reports filed in foreign jurisdictions, and also concerning forward-looking statements, please see the Company’s Form 10-K (“Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements”; ”Disclosure Regarding Mineral Resources under SEC and Canadian Regulation,”; and “Risk Factors”); and similar disclosures in the Company’s Forms 10-Q.
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For further information, please contact:
Keith G. Larsen, CEO or Mark Larsen, President
U.S. Energy Corp. (307) 856-9271
