LAKEWOOD, CO, Feb. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels Inc.
(NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the
"Company"), a leading producer of uranium and vanadium in
the United States, is pleased to
announce that it is now producing high-purity vanadium at
commercial rates of approximately 175,000 to 200,000 pounds of
V2O5 per month and that shipments of vanadium
have commenced for sale to customers. Ramp-up is expected to
continue in the coming weeks, and the Company continues to expect
to reach full production rates of 200,000 to 225,000 pounds of
high-purity V2O5 per month by the end of
Q1-2019 or sooner.
As previously announced, Energy Fuels recently commenced a
campaign to recover vanadium pentoxide
("V2O5") from existing tailings pond
solutions at its 100%-owned White Mesa Mill (the "Mill"). During
January 2019, the Company continued
to ramp-up vanadium production, including achieving increasingly
higher production rates, purities, and the completion of further
process refinements and optimization.
The Company is further pleased to announce that it has begun
vanadium shipments, with initial quantities being allocated for
conversion to ferrovanadium that will be sold into spot
metallurgical markets. The Company expects to continue to sell
finished vanadium product into the metallurgical industry, as well
as other markets that demand a higher purity product, including the
aerospace, chemical, and potentially the vanadium battery industry.
The Company expects to sell to a diverse group of customers in
order to and maximize revenues and profits.
Vanadium markets have strengthened during 2019, following
short-term softening observed in late-December 2018. The year-end 2018 mid-point
spot price of V2O5 in Europe, as reported by Metal Bulletin, was
$15.50 per pound of
V2O5, while the current reported price is
$17.25 per pound of
V2O5—an increase of approximately 11%. The
Company believes that the basic market fundamentals that led to the
price increases observed in 2018 have not changed, including
significant production cuts in China for pollution control and new
specifications for rebar in China
that mandate increased vanadium content. The Company believes that
these basic market fundamentals should support today's high price
levels for the foreseeable future.
In addition, the Company's previously announced test mining
campaign targeting vanadium at the La Sal Complex is proceeding
well. The Company expects to update markets on this program in the
coming weeks.
Mark S. Chalmers, President and
CEO of Energy Fuels commented: "We are extremely pleased with
Energy Fuels' vanadium production to date. We believe our
methodical ramp-up is paying dividends, as we are now producing an
excellent vanadium product at increasingly higher rates and
purities. The Company has discussed vanadium sales with potential
buyers for the past several months, and now that we are producing
commercial quantities of finished product, we are beginning to make
shipments that will initially be converted and sold as
ferrovanadium. We also soon expect to sell into other industries
that demand higher-purity product. In addition, we are very
encouraged to see vanadium prices remain strong, and at levels that
we believe will support attractive margins. We expect to continue
the planned ramp-up, and we will provide markets with further
updates on our vanadium production at the Mill, as well as on our
vanadium test mining program at the La Sal Complex, in the coming
months."
About Energy Fuels: Energy Fuels is a leading
US-based uranium mining company, supplying
U3O8 to major nuclear utilities. The Company
also produces vanadium from certain of its projects, as market
conditions warrant. Its corporate offices are in Denver, Colorado, and all of its assets and
employees are in the United
States. Energy Fuels holds three of America's key uranium
production centers, the White Mesa Mill in Utah, the Nichols Ranch ISR Project in
Wyoming, and the Alta Mesa ISR
Project in Texas. The White Mesa
Mill is the only conventional uranium mill operating in the U.S.
today, has a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of
U3O8 per year, and has the ability to produce
vanadium when market conditions warrant. The Nichols Ranch ISR
Project is in operation and has a licensed capacity of 2 million
pounds of U3O8 per year. The Alta Mesa ISR
Project is currently on care and maintenance. In addition to the
above production facilities, Energy Fuels also has one of the
largest NI 43-101 compliant uranium resource portfolios in the
U.S., and several uranium and uranium/vanadium mining projects on
standby and in various stages of permitting and development. The
primary trading market for Energy Fuels' common shares is the NYSE
American under the trading symbol "UUUU", and the Company's common
shares are also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the
trading symbol "EFR". Energy Fuels' website is
www.energyfuels.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements: Certain information contained in this
news release, including any information relating to: the Company
being a leading producer of uranium and vanadium in the
U.S.; any expectations about expected pounds of vanadium
that may be recovered at the White Mesa Mill including current
rates of 175,000 to 200,000 pounds of
V2O5 per month and/or full production
rates of 200,000 to 225,000 pounds of V2O5
per month in the future; any total amount of vanadium expected to
be recovered from the Mill's pond solutions, and the product
quality or purity of such current or future recovered vanadium;
any expectations relating to the continued successful ramp-up of
the Mill pond vanadium recovery campaign; any expectations
regarding the Company's expected margins, sales strategy, and/or
ability to maximize profits on vanadium, including conversion to
ferrovanadium for sale into the metallurgical market and/or sales
into the aerospace, chemical or energy storage industries; any
expectations regarding current and/or future vanadium markets,
including whether current vanadium prices may continue to support
production; any expectations regarding the test mining program at
the La Sal Complex; and any other statements regarding
Energy Fuels' future expectations, beliefs, goals or prospects;
constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of
applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking
statements"). All statements in this news release that are not
statements of historical fact (including statements containing the
words "expects", "does not expect", "plans", "anticipates", "does
not anticipate", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects",
"potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" and similar
expressions) should be considered forward-looking statements. All
such forward-looking statements are subject to important risk
factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Energy Fuels'
ability to control or predict. A number of important factors could
cause actual results or events to differ materially from those
indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements, including
without limitation factors relating to: the Company being a leading
producer of uranium and vanadium in the U.S.; any
expectations about expected pounds of vanadium that may be
recovered at the White Mesa Mill including current rates of 175,000
to 200,000 pounds of V2O5 per month
and/or full production rates of 200,000 to 225,000 pounds of
V2O5 per month in the future; any total
amount of vanadium expected to be recovered from the Mill's pond
solutions, and the product quality or purity of such current or
future recovered vanadium; any expectations relating to the
continued successful ramp-up of the Mill pond vanadium recovery
campaign; any expectations regarding the Company's expected
margins, sales strategy, and/or ability to maximize profits on
vanadium, including conversion to ferrovanadium for sale into the
metallurgical market and/or sales into the aerospace, chemical or
energy storage industries; any expectations regarding current
and/or future vanadium markets, including whether current vanadium
prices may continue to support production; any expectations
regarding the test mining program at the La Sal Complex; and
other risk factors as described in Energy Fuels' most recent annual
report on Form 10-K and quarterly financial
reports. Energy Fuels assumes no obligation to update
the information in this communication, except as otherwise required
by law. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties
is contained in Energy Fuels' filings with the various securities
commissions which are available online at www.sec.gov and
www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are provided for the
purpose of providing information about the current expectations,
beliefs and plans of the management of Energy Fuels relating to the
future. Readers are cautioned that such statements may not be
appropriate for other purposes. Readers are also cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, that
speak only as of the date hereof.
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SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.