Administrative Appeal findings and recommendation submitted to Water Quality Appeals Board

VANCOUVER, Oct. 1, 2014 /CNW/ - Curis Resources Ltd. ("Curis" or the "Company") (TSX:CUV) announces that Judge Milhasky, the administrative law judge ("ALJ") assigned to case no. 12-005-WQAB in the Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings, has made a recommendation in the appeal of the Arizona Department of Water Quality ("ADEQ") decision to issue a Temporary Individual Aquifer Protection Permit ("APP") to Florence Copper Inc.  Judge Milhasky's order is a non-binding recommendation to the Water Quality Appeals Board, which will make the final determination on the permit.

The ALJ explicitly stated that Florence Copper's proposed Production Test Facility ("PTF") will not have any impact on the drinking water wells in the Town of Florence, nor will it impact the wells owned and operated by Johnson Utilities located northwest of the project.  Overall, the ALJ recommendation is supportive of the PTF moving forward with additional monitoring.

"Although we are disappointed that the judge chose to take the unwarranted step of recommending rescission of the permit even when the appellants' sole expert witness did not make such a recommendation, we are pleased she agreed Florence Copper's PTF will not have an impact on local sources of drinking water," said Rita Maguire, Florence Copper's executive vice president and general counsel. "The APP issued by the ADEQ contains requirements that go well beyond current environmental regulations, ensuring that public health and safety are protected."

The ADEQ's APP requires permittees to meet stringent water quality standards and demonstrate that they are using the best available technology to control solutions discharged to an aquifer. The program has been protecting Arizona's aquifers for over 25 years.

"We are pleased that the ALJ sustained only a limited number of the of the issues raised in the appellants' complaint," said Dan Johnson, vice president and general manager of Florence Copper Inc. "Most of these remaining issues involve additional monitoring requirements and geochemical analysis which have already been addressed in our pending Underground Injection Control ("UIC") permit application before the EPA, and we believe that the Water Quality Appeals Board ("WQAB") will take this into consideration when it makes the final determination on the permit."

Mr. Johnson continued, "The ALJ raised the issue about whether Florence Copper was going to include and model arsenic and nitrate during the PTF process.  Florence Copper testified at the hearing that they were undertaking hydro-geochemical testing at SGS METCON as part of the technical work for the UIC application which was ongoing at the time.  The test results demonstrate that these constituents will not exceed water quality guidelines. Testing for these constituents will be undertaken during the PTF process.  When presenting to the WQAB, Florence Copper will advise the Board that this testing is completed and is available for review in the UIC application."

Florence Copper Inc. has always been committed to the highest level of regulatory protection and we are confident that we can address each of the issues identified in the ALJ's recommendation to the WQAB.  Florence Copper Inc. intends to move forward in the near future with the PTF, which will be a test program demonstrating to local residents and regulators that in-situ copper recovery is a safe and technically-advanced method of copper recovery.

About Curis Resources Ltd

Curis is focused on the acquisition, development and operation of high-quality next generation copper properties in progressive jurisdictions around the world. Its current goal is to advance the Florence Copper project, owned by its subsidiary Florence Copper Inc. to production.  Curis is associated with Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI), a diversified global mining company with a 25-year history of mineral development success.

Additional details on the Curis and Florence Copper are available at on the website: www.curisresources.com.

About Florence Copper Inc

Florence Copper is engaged in the final stages of permitting for the Phase 1 Production Test Facility ("PTF") for an in-situ copper recovery project in Arizona, USA.  The PTF includes a 24-well in-situ recovery well field and a state of the art solvent extraction/electrowinning plant that will produce copper cathode. The PTF will assist in the demonstration of the science and safety of the in-situ process and provide an opportunity for the public to fully engage and understand this modern copper extraction technology.  Concurrently, Florence Copper continues to advance engineering, testwork, environmental studies and permitting for Phase 2 commercial operations.

For more information about Florence Copper and its projected economic impacts and benefits to the local community, please visit www.florencecopper.com.  Sign up to receive project-level information at News and Updates.

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by David Copeland, PEng, who is a qualified person that is not independent of the Company.

No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the information contained in this news release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Assumptions used by the Company to develop forward-looking statements include the following: the Florence Copper project will obtain all required environmental and other permits and all land use and other licenses for construction of the Production Test Facility and full commercial facilities, the Florence Copper project will achieve targeted production levels;  studies and development of the Florence Copper project will continue to be positive; contracted parties will provide goods and/or services on the agreed timeframes; equipment necessary for construction and development will be available and will not incur unforeseen breakdowns; no material labour slowdowns or strikes will be incurred; plant and equipment will function as specified; geological or financial parameters will not necessitate future mine plan changes; and no geological or technical problems will occur.   Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include fluctuations in market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary environmental, land use and other permits, approvals, licenses and title on a timely basis and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, the final outcome of any lawsuits, the continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE: Curis Resources Ltd.

Susie Bell
Manager Investor Relations
Tel: [phone]
Email: [email protected]