LAKEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- General Moly (NYSE Amex: GMO) (TSX: GMO) announced that on Friday, April 23, 2010, the Company received a ruling from a Nevada District Court overturning the Nevada State Engineer's decision to grant water applications for the Mt. Hope project. The Court's decision remands the water rights applications back to the State Engineer to reconsider in a new hearing, a date for which has not been set.

The Court ruled that the Petitioners' (Eureka County and certain farmers in the Diamond Valley) due process rights to a full and fair hearing were violated when the State Engineer considered and relied upon an updated version of the Company's hydrology model that had not been presented to the Petitioners.

Bruce D. Hansen, Chief Executive Officer, said, "This procedural flaw is disappointing given the strong legal and technical findings by the State Engineer to determine that the Company's water applications should be granted for the Mt. Hope project. The updated model referenced in the State Engineer's decision had substantially the same conclusions as the model the petitioners had reviewed. With our final hydrology models being completed this week, all parties involved will now be reviewing a single, final model, so this procedural issue can be avoided moving forward."

The Company anticipates the State Engineer will promptly schedule a new hearing, again grant the Company’s water rights applications, and does not believe the new hearing will impact the Mt. Hope construction or production time lines. The Company continues to believe it has every right to be granted access to water for the Mt. Hope project. The District Court's decision is separate from and does not impact the Federal permitting process and the work associated with the Environmental Impact Statement.

Tim Arnold, Mt. Hope General Manager, said, "We are clearly disappointed that the State Engineer's original ruling was not upheld. We will continue to work with the Commissioners of Eureka County and the farmers in Diamond Valley to find a solution to their opposition to our water applications. Our scientific studies continue to indicate that our water pumping in Kobeh Valley, 15 miles to the west of Diamond Valley, will have virtually no impact to their water table and we will continue to engage and educate all stakeholders on that issue. Additionally, we will continue to develop a comprehensive long-term monitoring and mitigation plan.

"The overwhelming support by the citizens of Eureka County is a real positive for our project and we hope they will more fully engage to vocally support our project and help us move Mt. Hope forward in an environmentally sound manner and help us create badly needed jobs and tax revenue in their community and Nevada."

General Moly is a U.S.-based molybdenum mineral development, exploration and mining company listed on the NYSE Amex (formerly the American Stock Exchange) and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol GMO. Our primary asset, our interest in the Mt. Hope project located in central Nevada, is considered one of the world's largest and highest grade molybdenum deposits. Combined with our second molybdenum property, the Liberty project that is also located in central Nevada, our goal is to become the largest primary molybdenum producer by the middle of the next decade. For more information on the Company, please visit our website at http://www.generalmoly.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements herein that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated, expected, or implied by the Company. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, metals price and production volatility, global economic conditions, currency fluctuations, increased production costs and variances in ore grade or recovery rates from those assumed in mining plans, exploration risks and results, political, operational and project development risks, including the Company’s ability to obtain required permits to commence production and its ability to raise required financing, adverse governmental regulation and judicial outcomes. Investments by Hanlong and a loan from a Chinese Bank are subject to a number of consents, approvals and conditions precedent that may not be obtained and met. Acceptable loan terms with a Chinese bank require negotiation. For a detailed discussion of risks and other factors that may impact these forward looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors and other discussion contained in the Company’s quarterly and annual periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K, on file with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Source: General Moly