US Copper Welcomes Fast-tracking of Mining Permits by the US Government
US Copper Welcomes Fast-tracking of Mining Permits by the US
Government
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, CANADA, April 28, 2025 – US Copper Corp., (“ US Copper” or the “ Company”)
(TSX-V: USCU, FSE: C73) is strongly supportive of the recent proposal by the US Depart ment
of the Interior to implement emergency permitting procedures to accelerate the development of
domestic critical minerals and other energy projects, in respon se 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 I nterior 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 us ing emergency authorities throu gh the National Environmental
Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Histor ic 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 and unprecedented 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 fo r 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 deci sions 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 an d unpatented federal mining
claims in the Light’s Creek Copper District in Plumas County, NE California; essentially, the entire
District. The District contains s ubstantial copper (silver) sul fide and copper oxide resources in
three deposits – Moonlight, Superior and Engels, as well as sev eral 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 discove red 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 billio n 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.
Mass
(million
tons)
Total 402.83 0.31 2,533,771 1.85 21,692,531 0.012 140,042
Total 64.59 0.31 394,199 0.77 1,448,154 0.005 9,440
Table 1: Moonlight Superior Mineral Resource Estimate
Ag Grade
(ppm)
Ag Content
(troy oz.)
Au Grade
(ppm)
Au
Content
(troy oz.)
Indicated
Inferred
Cu Grade
(%)
Cu
Content
('000 lb)
3. Mineral resources are reported at a 0.16% Cu cutoff for oxide a nd transition material and at a 10.45 NSR cutoff for sulfide
material. The oxide and transition cutoff is calculated based o n 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
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 refle ct the current beliefs and expectations of
management and are identified by the use of wo rds 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 Canadi an securities regulatory author ities which are available at
www.sedarplus.ca. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking
statements.