NEW YORK — General Moly Inc. has started preliminary construction activities at its Mount Hope molybdenum project in Nevada.

The Lakewood, Colo.-based company has hired Burnsville, Minn.-based Ames Construction Inc. to clear the administrative office and mill site areas as well as the water pipeline corridor, according to a company statement.

Heavy construction on the projected 40-million-pound-per-year project is expected to start in the spring, chief executive officer Bruce Hansen said in a statement.