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August 31st, 2010
Vancouver, British Columbia
Dome Mountain Mine Permits Issued
Management is pleased to announce that the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and the Ministry of the Environment have issued two permits (Mine Permit and Effluent Permit) necessary to commence mining on the Dome Mountain Project. The issuances of the permits represent an important milestone in the Company’s history and enable management to forge forward with the ultimate goal of advancing the Dome Mountain Project into commercial production.
Mines Act Permit M-237 and Environmental Management Act Permit 104869 were issued, in the name of Gavin Mines Inc. to honor the late Gavin Tattersall (former President, CEO and Senior Founder), on August 25th and 26th of 2010. Gavin Mines Inc. was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Metal Mountain Resources and will be the operating company for the Dome Mountain Mine.
Two main permits were required for the Dome Mountain Project: a Mines Act (MA) Permit from the Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources and an Environmental Management Act (EMA) Permit from the Ministry of Environment. The MA Permit approves the mine plan and the reclamation program. The EMA Permit is for the discharge of effluent (water from a treatment plant) to Fedral Creek. The permitting process was coordinated by the Northwest Mine Development Review Committee (NWMDRC), which consisted of representatives from various Provincial Ministries including Mines, Environment, Forestry and Highways, the Lake Babine First Nation (LBN), and Environment Canada (Federal Government).
History of the Permitting Process February 2009 – August 2010
In February 2009, Eagle Peak Resources (an associated company of MMR) entered into the permitting process to operate the Dome Mountain Gold-Silver Mine at a rate of 75,000 tonnes per year with off-site milling. The project is located 38 km due east of Smithers in northwest BC. In October of 2009 Metal Mountain Resources acquired the Dome Mountain Project from Eagle Peak Resources and from that time became responsible for the permitting process moving forward.
To make application for the MA and EMA permits required an extensive baseline study of the project study area including meteorology, water quality, surface hydrology, groundwater hydrology, wildlife, fish and fish habitat, vegetation, aquatic ecology, archeology, wetlands, acid rock drainage/metal leaching, soils and bio-terrain, and stream and wetland sediments. Additionally, consultation was required with members of the Lake Babine First Nation on valued ecosystem components and traditional land use. These studies and their reports were completed in March 2010.
The joint EMA and MA application also required significant engineering studies and design. A major component of the joint application is an engineered sediment control pond with a capacity of 5000 m3. This pond will collect the water from the underground workings and settle out the suspended solids before the water is recycled to the mine. A water treatment plant will remove dissolved zinc and cadmium from the excess water before it is released to Fedral Creek. Another critical part of the application that required significant engineering was the mine plan. After drilling 5700 metres of HQ diamond drilling in August and September 2009 to verify the historic drilling, the Boulder Vein System was modeled in 3-dimension and a NI 43-101 mineral resource was calculated. The vein model was then used to create the mine plan covering the mining method, ventilation and ground support. The engineering work was completed in April 2010.
In addition to the baseline environmental and engineering work, water management, sediment control, waste management, emergency response, fuel management, wildlife management and reclamation plans were produced for the joint application.
A joint EMA and MA application was submitted by Metal Mountain Resources Inc. (MMR) to the NWMDRC (North West Mine Development Review Committee) on April 18, 2010 and at the May 18th meeting of the NWMDRC, all outstanding issues related to the project were resolved conditional on a meeting with the Lake Babine First Nation regarding aboriginal rights in their traditional territory. The meeting with LBN Chief and Council, MMR, MEMPR and MOE was held on June 28th and on July 15 LBN advised that their issues have been adequately addressed by MMR's commitment to training, jobs, contracting opportunities, and engagement on the future plans and development of the project.
The company has commissioned Linden Mining & Consulting of Kamloops, BC, to prepare a report which will include production of a working mine plan and a pre-feasibility level economic assessment of the project. Linden Mining & Consulting has estimated that the economic assessment portion of this work will be completed in the Fall of 2010 and that reporting on all commissioned work will be completed in January 2011. In the event the pre-feasibility study indicates the potential economic viability of production, then upon receipt of such information the company intends to proceed to commencement of production on the Dome Mountain Project, assuming it has obtained the necessary funding required to do so. In the event that the pre-feasibility study indicates that it is not economically viable to commence production, the company will re-assess its options at such time in consultation with its geological consultants.
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in National Instrument 43-101. Daryl Hanson, P.Eng. is contracted as a consultant to the company and acted as the company's Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the full contents of this news release.
METAL MOUNTAIN RESOURCES INC.
Lloyd Tattersall
President/CEO
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