Curis provides an update on the near term development of the Florence Copper Project
Monday, Oct 24, 2011
VANCOUVER, Oct. 21, 2011 /CNW/ - Further to a news release on October 11, 2011 which provided an update on the near term development of the Florence Copper property, Curis Resources Ltd. (TSX: CUV) ("Curis" or the "Company") has announced its voluntary withdrawal of its requests to amend the Town of Florence General Plan and rezone a portion of its property.
Curis continues to pursue the completion of state and federal permit amendments required to advance Florence Copper towards full development. The process is well advanced, involves an extensive and in-depth review by state and federal environmental and technical experts, and is in the final phase which includes a 30-day public comment period that is anticipated to be initiated by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency in the near term. Curis believes that the completion of this process and amendment of the permits will give the Town of Florence and all stakeholders greater confidence on environmental and technical matters and the opportunity to focus their attention on matters relating to land use. In withdrawing the requests for amendments to the Town's General Plan and rezoning during this year's planning cycle, the Company will focus on finalizing the environmental permit amendments early in 2012 and intends to re-engage in these discussions with the Mayor, Town Council and Town staff.
"A significant number of the permits required for the development and operation of Florence Copper are already in place", commented Michael McPhie, President and CEO of Curis. "This includes important water use approvals from the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) and air quality permits from Pinal County. The permit amendments from ADEQ and EPA represent the final significant step in the overall environmental approvals required for the development and operation of Florence Copper."
"Our primary goal has been that upon the receipt of our updated major environmental operating permits, we would move forward with Florence Copper operations in 2 phases. Phase 1: the Production Test Facility (PTF); and Phase 2: full commercial operations," commented Mel Lawson, Vice President of Project Development with Curis Resources in Arizona. "Nothing with respect to our overall project development timeline has changed as a result of today's announcement," he said.
"Our sincere desire is to build a constructive and meaningful working relationship with the Town and our neighbors this year, next year and in the many years to come," said McPhie. "In withdrawing our applications, our hope is that we can have an open and meaningful dialogue with the Town after receipt of our amended environmental permits and work to address any concerns that Council and Town staff may have in the weeks and months ahead."
McPhie noted that about one-half of the recoverable oxide copper contained in the 429 million ton copper oxide resource1 hosted on Florence Copper lands lies beneath a 160 acre block of State Land. Curis holds the rights to recover and process minerals under a mineral lease from the State on this land parcel. The Company intends to complete its feasibility study and initiate operations utilizing in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) technologies within this State land parcel next year, beginning with a Phase 1 production test and ramping up to commercial production by 2014.
The technical information in this release has been reviewed by David Copeland, PEng, who is a qualified person that is not independent of the Company.
About Curis
Curis Resources Ltd. is a mineral development company associated with Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI), a diversified global mining company with a 25-year history of mineral development success. Curis is focused on the acquisition, development and operation of high-quality next-generation copper properties in progressive jurisdictions around the world. It is currently focused on advancing its 100%-owned Florence Copper project in Arizona USA to production.
Numerous feasibility level optimization and design studies for the Florence Copper project are well advanced with the feasibility study on track for completion by the end of the year. Phase 1 development is scheduled to be constructed beginning in Q1 of 2012, following the receipt of amended commercial operating permits currently under review by State and Federal agencies. This project "start-up" phase will consist of an initial 24-well copper extraction field constructed to simulate full scale operations.
For more project-level information, sign up for the Florence Copper project's e-Newsletter.
Michael McPhie
President & CEO
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