TORONTO, April 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hudbay Minerals Inc. (“Hudbay” or the “company”) (TSX, NYSE: HBM) received confirmation from the Army Corps of Engineers (“ACOE”) that Hudbay’s previous surrender of the Section 404 Clean Water Act permit for the former Rosemont project (“404 Permit”) was formally accepted and revoked as requested. The ACOE also reaffirmed the validity of the March 2021 approved jurisdictional determinations (“AJDs”) whereby the ACOE determined there are no waters of the U.S. on the property, and therefore, a 404 Permit is not required.

State permitting for the Copper World project was initiated in June 2021 with the submission of Hudbay’s Mined Land Reclamation Plan, which has been approved. In April 2022, Hudbay surrendered the 404 Permit to the ACOE as there is no evidence of jurisdictional waters of the U.S. on the former Rosemont project site. In May 2022, Judge Soto from the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona issued a favourable ruling that affirmed Hudbay’s surrender of the 404 Permit was effective and that the new Copper World project is not connected to the previous federal permitting process. In late 2022, Hudbay submitted the state-level applications for an Aquifer Protection Permit and an Air Quality Permit to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality ("ADEQ"). Hudbay continues to expect to receive these two remaining state permits in 2023. In January 2023, Hudbay received an approved right-of-way from the Arizona State Land Department that will allow for infrastructure, such as roads, pipelines and powerlines, to connect between the properties in the company’s private land package at Copper World.

Clearing and grading work to prepare for the Copper World site, including the construction of roads and other facilities, continues to be underway. Phase I of Copper World reflects a 16-year standalone operation with processing infrastructure on Hudbay’s private lands and mining occurring on patented mining claims, requiring only state and local permits. Pre-feasibility activities for the private land Phase I of the Copper World project are well-advanced and a pre-feasibility study is expected to be released in mid-2023. Upon receipt of the state level permits, the company expects to conduct a bulk sampling program at Copper World to continue to de-risk the project by testing grade continuity, variable cut-off effectiveness and metallurgical strategies. Hudbay also intends to initiate a minority joint venture partner process following receipt of permits, which will allow the potential joint venture partner to participate in the design and funding of definitive feasibility study activities in 2024.

Forward-Looking Information

see & read more on
https://www.hudbayminerals.com/news-media/default.aspx#2023#Hudbays-Copper-World-Project-Receives-Positive-Permitting-Update