TTM Resources Inc. has raised more money, nearly $500,000, to finance development of the proposed $1-billion Chu molybdenum project in northern B.C.
The money was raised from the sale of units that consisted of a common share and warrant that allows purchase of another share.
The project - in the pre-application stage of the province's environmental review - is located 150 kilometres southwest of Prince George.
In October, TTM Resources raised nearly $2 million through the same method, also to fund development of the Chu project.
Recently, the Vancouver-based company granted 250,000 in stock options to its Chinese fiscal agent, Weiguo Lang. The options, which are subject to regulatory approval, can be bought at a price of 50 cents until Oct. 7, 2014. The current price of TTM Resources is 29 cents.
The company has laid out a preliminary project description, filed with the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, that indicates the mine life could be as long as 30 years, depending on how high production is set. If the mine is built, it would need 350 to 400 workers.
The proposed mine site is accessible on an existing resource road, the Kluskus-Ootsa Forest Service Road, but would need a 106-kilometre power line extension.
The capital cost of the mine is estimated at $727 million to $1.043 billion depending on whether new or used mining equipment is utilized.
Molybdenum is already mined in the region, at Endako's long-lived mine near Fraser Lake, just west of Vanderhoof.
The Chu molybdenum project is one of several mining projects in northern B.C. working their way through the provincial and federal environmental review processes.
Northern Interior communities have been looking to the mining sector as a critical element in diversifying the region's economy, particularly as the mountain pine beetle epidemic is forecast to reduce the timber simply.
The reduction in timber supply - as much as 40 per cent in some areas - is expected to result in a reduction of forestry jobs.
