[Ferro-Alloys.com] General Moly reported a loss for its second quarter, and the company continues its search for a new financial backer.

 

The company announced its unaudited financial results Aug. 2.

 

General Moly owns 80 percent of Mt. Hope, a molybdenum mine in development about 21 miles north of the town of Eureka.

 

Net loss for the quarter ended June 30 was $14.3 million, or $0.16 per share, compared with a loss of $2.7 million, or $0.03 per share, for the same period a year ago. The primary reason for the net loss during the second quarter was an $11.5 million non-cash charge relating to the May 14 warrant cancellation associated with the mutually terminated $125 million subordinated debt agreement between General Moly and Hanlong Mining.

 

Excluding restricted cash, the company's cash balance at June 30 was about $35 million compared with $68 million at December 31, 2012 and $57 million at March 31. During the second quarter, cash use of $24 million was the result of Mt. Hope Project development costs, as well as general and administrative expenses partially offset by the receipt of $2 million in contribution payments from POS-Minerals Corp.

 

General Moly was told in March that China Development Bank had provided instructions to its legal counsel to suspend work on the $665 million Term Loan. This suspension relates to reports that Liu Han, chairman of Sichuan Hanlong Group, has been detained by Chinese authorities.

 

In December, General Moly and POS-Minerals, as members of Eureka Moly, LLC, agreed to hold $36 million of the approximately $100 million received from POS-Minerals’ December 2012 contributions in a reserve account to maintain additional liquidity until the company arranges full project financing.

 

“We have spent the past few months in discussions with a number of potential strategic partners and investors as we explore a variety of financing alternatives including equity investments, project level investments and debt financings to determine which would provide the best outcomes for our shareholders in the current market,” said General Moly Chief Executive Officer Bruce Hansen. “While we expect the financing process to take time, the company has received interest from potential strategic investors both in and outside of China. Multiple parties have signed non-disclosure agreements and are currently engaged in due diligence on the project.

 

“As we proceed toward full financing at Mt. Hope, the company will continue to prudently manage our unrestricted cash position of $35 million at the end of the second quarter with an additional $36 million in restricted cash. Steps we have taken to trim our cash burn rate include significantly reducing construction activities and engineering expenditures at Mt. Hope and deferring payments on equipment orders.”

 

Mt. Hope Project

 

construction

 

Substantial progress has been made on the preliminary construction activities at the Mt. Hope project site including cultural clearance, clearing and grubbing, wood harvesting, and the development of early construction water.

 

Kautz Environmental Consultants completed adequate field mitigation so that, once financing is secured, construction can proceed unencumbered by cultural sites, according to General Moly. Ames Construction has cleared and grubbed approximately 1,800 acres in preparation for starting major earthworks. The mine, process plant, and tailings dam areas and associated roads have been substantially cleared. Ames Construction also has completed four miles of water pipeline — about 50 percent of total planned — to supply construction water from the permitted well field to the plant site. Further activities have been substantially reduced as a result of the delay in financing for the Mt. Hope Project and will resume as alternative financing becomes available.

 

Mt. Hope Project water rights and permit appeals

 

In 2012, the Nevada State Engineer completed issuance of all water permits for the Mt. Hope Project and approved the company's Monitoring, Management and Mitigation Plan, also known as the 3M Plan.

 

In April 2013, the 3M Plan was challenged in an appeal and the appeal was rejected by the Nevada State District Court. The petitioners recently filed an appeal of the District's Court Order to the Nevada Supreme Court, and petitioners' opening briefs were filed July 26. Eureka Moly response brief is due August 26.

 

The water permits were also challenged in an appeal to the District Court by Eureka County and two parties of water rights holders in Diamond and Kobeh Valley, and the appeal was rejected by the District Court in June 2012. The petitioners thereafter filed an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court. Briefing has recently been completed including appearances by Amicus Curiae supportive of the company and the State Engineer's position. The Nevada Supreme Court has consolidated the 3M Plan appeal and the water permits appeal. Presently, the Supreme Court has not issued a ruling or set a hearing date for the appeal, until the 3M Plan matter is fully briefed later in the third quarter of this year. Notwithstanding, the water remains available to the company for use at the Mt. Hope Project.

 

In February, Great Basin Resource Watch and the Western Shoshone Defense Project filed a complaint, and a motion for preliminary injunction, against the U.S. Department of Interior and Bureau of Land Management in the U.S. District Court in Nevada, seeking relief under the National Environmental Policy Act and other federal laws challenging issuance of the record of decision for the Mt. Hope Project. Eureka Moly has intervened and, along with the federal government, filed its opposition to the motion for a preliminary injunction. The court set oral argument regarding the motion for a preliminary injunction on Sept. 3. The process for issuing the ROD involved an exhaustive environmental analysis and review that lasted more than six years, and included extensive public and cooperating agency input. The company supports the very robust and legally and technically defensible work completed by the BLM and believes that the ROD complies with all federal statutes and rules.

 

Mt. Hope Project engineering and equipment procurement

 

Engineering is about 65 percent complete at the Mt. Hope Project. Through June 30, Eureka Moly has made deposits of $73 million on equipment orders and has paid $12 million into an escrow arrangement for electricity transmission services.

 

Eureka Moly has ordered or purchased most of the long-lead milling equipment, haul trucks, mine production drills and has entered into a letter of intent for the purchase of two electric shovels.

 

The company is planning the placement of firm orders for other mining and process equipment pending timing of full project financing. Approximately 70 percent of the planned spend on process equipment has been defined through hard bids and purchase orders and is estimated to remain on budget. Further, about 75 percent of planned spending on mining equipment has been committed with cancelable purchase agreements and is also estimated to remain on budget. Some of the committed spending is subject to Producer Price Index-based escalation and additional holding costs if there are extended delays, and some agreements would be subject to cancellation. The project remains in a construction-ready status pending final financing.

 

Molybdenum market

 

During 2012, molybdenum prices traded in a relatively narrow dollar range between $10.83 and $14.95 per pound, according to Ryan’s Notes, a ferro-alloy industry news and pricing publication. In the second quarter of 2013, molybdenum prices traded between $10.23 and $11.25 per pound, and are currently trading at $9.30 per pound amid a sluggish demand environment.