Steve Twyerould provides updateThis is an email update from Steve Twyerould received today. Many of you may have already received this if you subscribe to updates from the company.
Excelsior continues to close in on first-copper production at our Gunnison Copper Project.
The only permit that remains outstanding is a federal Underground Injection Control permit, which is scheduled to be obtained before year-end. Shortly thereafter, we expect to secure a project financing package that will allow us to commence construction.
Because the initial processing facilities are already in place at our100-percent-ownedJohnson Camp Mine, the construction phase promises to be quick, efficient, and extremely unobtrusive. Our current timeline would see us producing pure copper cathode as early as the latter half of next year.
The main message that I would like to impart to you today is that WE ARE READY.
We are ready to make the leap fromdevelopment company to copper producer. We have been working toward in-situ copper production at Gunnison for close to a decade; during this time more than $80 million has been invested to confirm that this project will be one of the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective producers in the United States.
In anticipation of the successful conclusion of the permitting process, we have been dramaticallyramping-up the number of employees at the mine site. We now employ 40 people! You can read more below about some of the individuals who are helping to make our transition to copper producer a reality. These people are just like you – they live, work and play within these extraordinary Arizona communities that we call home. Our employees are your neighbors, and all of them are equally committed to the long-term prosperity of our state, and the continued well-being of this remarkable environment.