VANCOUVER, Oct. 11, 2011 /CNW/ - Following recent recommendations from the Town of Florence Planning and Zoning Commission on applications filed by Curis Resources Ltd.
('Curis' or the 'Company') for its Florence Copper property, the Company has announced its intent to advance project operations in early 2012.
'Once we have finalized our operating permit updates with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a process which is currently scheduled to complete in the first quarter of 2012, the Florence Copper project will commence the first phase of our in-situ copper recovery operations on State land,'confirmed Michael McPhie, President & CEO of Curis Resources Ltd.
McPhie noted that about one-half of the 429 million ton copper oxide measured and indicated resource(1) 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 Town of Florence Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z Commission), a volunteer body that makes recommendations to the Town's Mayor and Council, heard two General Plan Amendment applications made on behalf of Curis at public hearings this fall. The first was an application for a text amendment to the Town's General Plan that would create a new 'overlay' category to allow natural resource and alternative energy development to take place on a property within town limits. Often used by municipal planning staff and Arizona town councils to allow temporary uses of the land within respective jurisdictions, an overlay can be an effective economic development tool. The second application requested to amend the town's General Plan to allow for ISCR to take place for the life of the Florence Copper project, and thereafter for residential and related categories of development to apply to the property (the 'General Plan Amendment').
At a regularly scheduled hearing on October 6, the P&Z Commission voted 2-2 in relation to Curis' primary application for a General Plan Amendment. The commission also voted 1-3 against the proposed Text Amendment. P&Z Commission Chairman Jeff Woolley and Town of Florence Community Development Director Mark Eckhoff acknowledged that the 'overlay' was a creative approach to facilitating a temporary land use but that it required further definition before it could be adopted.
'The recommendations of the P&Z Commission will be forwarded to Florence Town Council but are not determinative of the position that Council will ultimately take' said Curis Legal Counsel Xenia Kritsos. 'We do have some concerns about procedural issues that arose both before and during the P&Z Commission hearings, and will be reviewing how we proceed with our applications in the weeks ahead.'
On August 24, 2011, Curis received confirmation that the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) supports development of the Florence Copper project on its land holdings. A full copy of the letter from ASLD Commissioner Maria Baier can be viewed on the Company's project web site at www.florencecopper.com
McPhie said Curis will continue to advance detailed engineering and permitting activities to commence construction of the project on State lands in 2012, while also working with the Town of Florence to achieve an overall land use proposal that meets the desires of all Florence residents in the future. General Plan amendment requests are heard at a minimum annually by cities and towns in Arizona and there is no restriction on any given application being re-submitted the following year.
'With a tie vote on our primary application from the P&Z Commission, and the consistent and strong support from residents and businesses in the community (many of whom spoke in favour of the project during these hearings), it is clear that Florence Copper has tremendous potential value to the town and should be pursued and embraced,' said McPhie. 'Our overall project development schedule for Florence Copper remains on track, as does our commitment to working with the Town's staff and elected officials to make 'Made in Florence' a reality.'
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.
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(1) Measured and indicated resources are 429 million tons grading 0.331% total copper at a 0.05% total copper cutoff (see news release dated November 25 2010).
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
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed 'forward-looking statements'. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include fluctuations in market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary environmental, land use and other permits, approvals, licenses and title on a timely basis and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
Information Concerning Estimates of Measured and Indicated Resources
This news release uses the terms 'measured resources' and 'indicated resources'. The Company advises investors that although these terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations (under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves.
Curis Resources Ltd.
CONTACT: For further details on the Company, please
visit www.curisresources.comor contact:
Susie Bell
Manager, Investor Relations
Tel: 604-684-6365
Within North America: 1-800-667-2114
Email: Susiebell@hdimining.com
