Excelsior Mining Corp’s Class III Underground Injection Control Area Permit for the Gunnison Copper project (the UIC Permit) is now active and good for production of up to 125 Mlb/y of pure copper cathode. All required state and federal operating permits have now been successfully obtained.

Stephen Twyerould, President & CEO, said, “I’m extremely proud of our team that have worked so diligently with regulatory agencies, community and stakeholders to deliver this significant milestone. It represents a tremendous value-creation step as we continue moving towards production in what will be one of the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective copper projects in North America.”

The Chairman of Excelsior Mining, Mark Morabito, added, “With the appeal process officially exhausted, we now have a fully permitted project that is genuinely on the cusp of achieving low cost copper production through the most environmentally friendly process available within the industry today. I congratulate the entire Excelsior team on achieving this positive outcome, and I look forward to seeing Excelsior unlock the true value of this tremendous asset.”

With the UIC Permit becoming effective. The permitting process is now completed with all key operating permits in place and effective.

Excelsior will be ready to commence construction upon the completion of its project financing plan. The Gunnison Copper project remains on-track to be the next new copper producer in the US, with initial production scheduled for 2019.

Excelsior Mining’s (‘The Copper Solution Company’) Gunnison project is in Cochise County, Arizona. It is an advanced staged, low cost, environmentally friendly in-situ recovery copper extraction project. The feasibility study projected an after-tax NPV of $807 million and an IRR of 40% using a $2.75/lb copper price and a 7.5% discount rate.