SPOKANE, Wash., May 14, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MINES MANAGEMENT, INC. (NYSE-MARKET: "MGN", TSX: "MGT"; the "Company") is pleased to announce that a three member commission, appointed by the Federal District Court (the "Court") for the District of Montana to determine just compensation for the Company's easements across certain unpatented mineral claims in the area of the Montanore Silver-Copper Project, reported that claimholders lost no value and are entitled to no compensation from the Company.
The Defendants in the case, a group known as Optima Inc. headed by former Montana governor Brian Schweitzer and Frank Duval, Spokane, had publicly asserted that the Company owed them $10 million for right of access through the Libby adit, which was constructed across the claims by previous operators as part of the evaluation and future development of the Montanore Silver-Copper Project.
Although the Company's access to and operations within the Libby adit were never interrupted, the Company obtained its easements and other access rights through a preliminary condemnation order and injunction issued against the defendants on April 29, 2014.
The three person commission, the members of which were selected by the U.S. District Court and are considered experts in mineral law, heard the case over the three day trial which concluded on April 10, 2015. Defendants have three weeks to challenge the commission's findings. Mines Management fully expects it will continue to prevail through any future challenges or appeals.
About Mines Management
Mines Management, Inc. is engaged in the business of acquiring and exploring, and if exploration is successful, developing mineral properties containing precious and base metals. The Company's primary focus is on the advancement of the Montanore silver-copper project located in northwestern Montana. The Montanore is an advanced stage exploration project, which deposit contains mineralized material of approximately 81.5 million tons with average grades of 2.04 ounces silver per ton and 0.74% copper into two mineralized zones.
In 2011, in accordance with Canadian National Instrument (NI) 43-101, the Company completed a 3rd party Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) which indicated robust potential economics. The mineral resource is considered to contain the following:
| Tons | Silver Grade (oz. per ton) | Copper Grade | |
| Measured | 4,026,000 | 1.85 | 0.74% |
| Indicated | 77,480,000 | 2.05 | 0.75% |
| Inferred | 35,080,000 | 1.85 | 0.71% |
Additional information is available on the Company's website at www.minesmanagement.com.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors concerning estimates of Measured and Inferred Mineral Resources: This press release uses the terms "Measured Mineral Resource", "Indicated Mineral Resource", and "Inferred Mineral Resource." We advise U.S. investors that while those terms are recognized and required by Canadian NI 43-101, the Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into mineral reserves. Inferred Mineral Resources have a greater amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to their economic and legal feasibility. In accordance with Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources cannot form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that part or all of the Inferred Mineral Resources exists, or is economically or legally mineable. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute 'reserves' by SEC standards as "in place" tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. Accordingly, the information contained in this press release may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies that are not subject to NI 43-101.
Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information:
Some statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable U.S. and Canadian securities laws. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including comments regarding no obligation to pay compensation for the taking of easements and other rights at the Montanore project, estimates of mineralized material and mineral resources, potential robust economics for the Montanore project. Actual results may differ materially from those presented. Factors that could cause results to differ materially include potential adverse decisions in the condemnation litigation; continued disputes regarding claim ownership and rights in the Montanore project area and potential unfavorable results, changes in interpretation of geological and other technical information, which could affect amounts of reported mineralized material and mineral resources whether additional permitting may be required at Montanore in the future; the results of delineation drilling and feasibility studies and their effects on reported mineralized material and mineral resources and on the potential economics of the Montanore project; whether external financing for the Company's business can be obtained on acceptable terms or at all; continued decreases and future fluctuations in silver, gold and copper prices; and world economic conditions. Mines Management, Inc. assumes no obligation to update this information. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Mines Management, Inc. will be those anticipated by management. Please refer to the discussion of risk factors in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.