The US Government has invoked emergency permitting procedures to accelerate the development of domestic critical minerals.
The US Government said the measures would fast-track permitting reviews from "a multi-year process down to just 28 days at most."
US Copper's Moonlight-Superior Copper Project is an historically operating mine with the potential to restart and become a domestic supplier of copper.
Permitting uncertainty has been the most significant obstacle standing in the way of developing new mining projects like US Copper's Moonlight-Superior Project.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2025) - US Copper Corp., (TSXV: USCU) (FSE: C730) ("US Copper" or the "Company") is strongly supportive of the recent proposal by the US Department of the Interior to implement emergency permitting procedures to accelerate the development of domestic critical minerals and other energy projects, in response to US President Donald Trump's declaration of a "National Energy Emergency" on his first day in office.
In a news release on April 23, 2025, The US Department of the Interior outlined that the new permitting procedures would fast-track projects from "a multi-year process down to just 28 days at most."
"The US cannot afford to wait," Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said. "We are cutting through unnecessary delays to fast-track the development of American energy and critical minerals - resources that are essential to our economy, our military readiness, and our global competitiveness."
"By reducing a multi-year permitting process down to just 28 days, the Department will lead with urgency, resolve, and a clear focus on strengthening the nation's energy independence," he added.
The US Interior Department is using emergency authorities through the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act to reduce review timelines, including those for environmental assessments from one year to around 14 days and for a full environmental impact statement from two years to roughly 28 days.
US Copper could directly benefit from this unprecedented policy change by the US Government. The Company is developing the Moonlight-Superior Project, which includes a historically operated copper mine in California, located approximately 125 miles Reno, Nevada. . Copper is a critical material for an extensive range of important applications ranging from renewable power generation to electric vehicles. As such, it is vital that the US has a strong and viable domestic source of copper supply.
Stephen Dunn, CEO of US Copper, commented, "The new andunprecedented US permitting policy change announced last week by the US Government is just what US Copper and the mining industry needs to attract the billions in new investment required for the building of the new mines that the country requires. The primary risk for our project has always been permitting delays which as noted above delay US-based mining by decades. With this exciting policy change, permitting uncertainty will be minimized and investment decisions will become more straightforward. US Copper is looking forward to accelerating the development of its Moonlight-Superior project so that it becomes an integral supplier of copper metal to the U.S. domestic market."
About US Copper Corp.
US Copper controls approximately 10 square miles of patented and unpatented federal mining claims in the Light's Creek Copper District in Plumas County, NE California; essentially, the entire District. The District contains substantial copper (silver) sulfide and copper oxide resources in three deposits - Moonlight, Superior and Engels, as well as several partially tested and untested exploration targets.
The Superior and Engels Mines operated from about 1915 to 1930 producing over 161 million pounds of copper from over 4 million tons of rock containing 2.2% copper with silver and gold credits.
The Moonlight deposit was discovered by Placer Amex during the 1960s and a resource was calculated after the drilling of over 400 holes. A development decision was made but then put on hold in 1972 when copper prices were weak. US Copper has owned the project since 2013 and has advanced the project with three different drill programs and a number of engineering studies.
US Copper recently reported an after-tax NPV of US$1.075 billion in a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") prepared by Global Resource Engineering Ltd ("GRE") dated Dec 16, 2024 with a life of mine production of 1.8 billion pounds of copper (See news release dated Jan 6, 2025).
GRE calculated a new mineral resource for the purposes of this PEA that included all recent drill programs on the property. This resource is summarized below:
Notes: 1. The effective date of the Mineral Resource is December 16, 2024. 2. The Qualified Person for the Mineral Resource Estimate is Terre Lane of GRE. 3. Mineral resources are reported at a 0.16% Cu cutoff for oxide and transition material and at a 10.45 NSR cutoff for sulfide material. The oxide and transition cutoff is calculated based on a long-term copper price of US$4.00/lb; assumed combined operating costs of US$7.50/ton (process and G&A); metallurgical recovery of 75% for copper. The sulfide cutoff is calculated as the breakeven NSR, which is equal to the combined process and G&A costs for the sulfide material.
Further details of this Resource, and the Preliminary Economic Assessment NI43-101 Technical Report on the Moonlight-Superior Project, Plumas County, California, USA with an effective date of December 16, 2024 can be found on SEDAR+ at sedarplus.ca or at the Company's website at www.uscoppercorp.com.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves under CIM Definition Standards. Readers are advised that there is no certainty that the results projected in this preliminary economic assessment will be realized.
For Further Information Contact: Mr. Stephen Dunn, President, CEO and Director, US Copper Corp. (416) 361-2827 or email info@uscoppercorp.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws and regulations, including statements regarding the future activities of the Company. Forward-looking statements reflect the current beliefs and expectations of management and are identified by the use of words including "will", "hopes", "anticipates", "expected to", "plans", "planned" and other similar words. Actual results may differ significantly. The achievement of the results expressed in forward-looking statements is subject to a number of risks, including those described in the Company's management discussion and analysis as filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedarplus.ca. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements.
