From Yahoo Boardhttps://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_G/threadview?m=te&bn=51364&tid=8273&mid=8273&tof=3&frt=2I'd like to thank Mr. Seth Foreman for his quick response to the questions asked. The following was his response..
To your questions:
1. Is there a possibility for financing to be obtained for the Mt. Hope project anytime bafore the permits are secured (hopefully) in Q3?
Our plan is to secure financing for the Mt. Hope project prior to receiving our permits in Q3 so that we are able to commence construction immediately following permit receipt. We have been working on a variety of financing paths, most recently focusing on securing bi-lateral agency and off-take supported debt financing, and hope to have progress to announce in the first half of the year. We continue to have both Credit Suisse and Barclays engaged as lead bankers for project finance bank-sourced debt. However, given the ongoing credit contraction we began to experience late in 2008, we continue to feel that debt sourced through agencies is a better solution and is our primary focus.
2. In the event permits are denied for Mt. Hope, are you prepared to move forward with the Liberty project ahead of schedule?
We have never felt that outright permit denial at Mt. Hope is a realistic scenario and continue to feel that way. Nevada remains one of the highest-ranked mining jurisdictions in the world (Frasier institute) and Mt. Hope is located in a community, county, and general region very familiar with, and supportive of, large-scale mining operations. Permitting is subject to a number of uncertainties related to timing, and we have always maintained that permits for Mt. Hope were more a question of timing than anything. In late October and early November, our permitting team submitted the final technical reports for Mt. Hope, both related to hydrology. All other scientific reports have been approved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as complete. We currently anticipate receipt of all permits in Q3 2010.
Permitting at the Liberty Project is a more simple process primarily because Liberty is on private property, where Mt. Hope is on BLM (federal) land. Therefore, permitting at Liberty will require a less-onerous Nevada Environmental Assessment (EA) approval rather than the Federal EIS process. We anticipate commencing permitting activities at Liberty following successful permitting at Mt. Hope if the market (moly and copper prices) remain supportive.
Part 2 coming..