LAKEWOOD, CO, April 13, 2020 /CNW/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE
American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company"),
the leading producer of uranium in the U.S., is pleased to announce
its entry into the Rare Earth Element ("REE") sector. The Company
will host a webcast and conference call to discuss this
opportunity, along with its current views on the improving global
uranium market, on April 15, 2020, at
4:15 p.m. EDT. Details on how to join
the webcast and conference call are provided at the bottom of this
news release.
Energy Fuels believes its fully licensed and constructed White
Mesa Mill ("WMM"), which is the only uranium and vanadium mill in
operation in the U.S. today, can play a key role in bringing the
REE supply chain back to the U.S. from China. The Company's primary business is – and
will remain – uranium mining and production. However, Energy Fuels
believes it can leverage its existing licenses, infrastructure and
capabilities at the WMM to also produce REEs. Key highlights of
this plan include:
- Energy Fuels is embarking on a program to evaluate the
production of REEs at its White Mesa Mill, in addition to its
current business as the largest uranium producer in the United States and a significant vanadium
producer when market conditions warrant.
- The U.S. government has declared REEs critical to national
defense and has made government funds available to private
companies to develop domestic REE production capabilities.
- As the only licensed, constructed and operating conventional
uranium processing facility in the U.S., Energy Fuels' White Mesa
Mill is uniquely positioned to play a key role in the processing of
REE ores, which if successful, may reduce the need to process a
number of different types of REE ores in China.
- Licensing is a major impediment to the construction and
operation of REE processing facilities in the U.S. due to the
uranium and other radioactive elements often associated with REE
ore streams; the Company believes the White Mesa Mill can be
utilized to allow for the recovery of REEs, along with uranium,
from those ore streams.
- Energy Fuels has engaged ANSTO based in Sydney, Australia, one of the world's leading
experts in the REE sector and management of radioactive materials,
to assist in testing, mineralogy, flowsheet development and pilot
plant engineering at the White Mesa Mill, to help advance this
initiative.
Energy Fuels made the decision to enter the REE space following
several months of review and testing, including discussions with
various technical experts and the U.S. government. The U.S.
government is actively seeking a domestic source of REE minerals
which are needed for national defense. In July 2019, President Donald J. Trump issued a series of five
presidential determinations declaring domestic REE production
essential to national defense. Citing the Defense Production Act in
his determinations, the president directed the U.S. Department of
Defense to take action to support domestic REE production,
including funding for pilot-scale projects and the direct purchase
of REEs.
Energy Fuels believes the WMM, located near Blanding, Utah, is uniquely suited to
potentially receive and process a number of different types of ores
for the recovery of REEs (along with uranium), which, if achievable
on a commercial basis, would eliminate the current need to ship
those ores to China for
processing. If successful, the Company expects to offer customers
tolling or processing arrangements at the WMM. Energy Fuels does
not plan to mine or produce REE ore itself at this time.
While Energy Fuels is, first and foremost, a uranium mining
company, the Company believes REE production has the strong
potential to complement its primary uranium business. In addition
to high-value REEs, many REE ores contain material quantities of
recoverable uranium. Perhaps most importantly, the WMM is the only
licensed, constructed and operating uranium (and vanadium) mill in
the U.S. today. The facility has 40+ years of experience processing
uranium and uranium/vanadium ores and is also the only facility in
North America licensed and capable
of recycling alternate feed materials for the recovery of uranium
along with other minerals like tantalum and niobium. This makes it
uniquely qualified to process REE ores. From a health, safety and
environmental protection standpoint, REE ores are relatively
similar to the ores and alternate feed materials the WMM has
responsibly processed for the past 40+ years.
REEs are a group of 17 chemical elements (the 15 elements in the
lanthanum series, plus yttrium and scandium) that have a
variety of industrial, energy, military and defense uses, including
automotive components, communications technology, clean energy
production, consumer electronics, weapons systems, advanced
magnets, lasers and numerous of other applications. According to a
2017 report by the United States Geological Survey ("USGS"),
China has controlled more than 90%
of the global supply of REEs since the late-1990s and has placed
restrictions on REE exports since 2010.
To assist in evaluating and developing this REE opportunity,
Energy Fuels has engaged the international mining consultancy group
and one of the world's leading experts in the REE sector and
management of radioactive materials, ANSTO, based in Sydney, Australia. ANSTO has substantial
experience in testing, mineralogy, flowsheet development, and
pilot/demonstration plant engineering and operation related to
REEs. In addition, the Company will solicit other expertise as
required. Based on this engineering analysis, the Company will
identify and seek any license amendments or additional permitting
requirements that may be required.
Energy Fuels' president and CEO Mark S.
Chalmers commented: "At Energy Fuels, we pride ourselves on
being the leading U.S. uranium miner. But, we're also
entrepreneurs, and there is literally no other facility in
North America with the diverse
capabilities and licensing flexibility of the White Mesa Mill. We
are always examining ways to leverage this unique asset to generate
cashflow. This is where we expect REE's will come into play. Over
the past several months, we have received a number of inbound
communications, from both private entities and the U.S. government,
inquiring about REE processing at the WMM. After several months of
evaluation, we are ready to announce our entry into the REE sector.
To assist in this endeavor, we have engaged ANSTO, one of the
world's leading technical consultants with extensive experience in
REEs, and a group with which I personally have many years of
experience. We believe we have the opportunity to turn the WMM into
a 'one-stop-shop' for U.S. critical mineral processing, thereby
reducing our reliance on China.
Perhaps most importantly, the WMM is already licensed, constructed
and operating today, it has extensive experience processing and
handling uranium and vanadium ores and other low-level radioactive
materials, and we believe it can recover REEs under our existing
mill license and existing permits with only minor or routine
amendments required, if any. The Trump Administration has
prioritized bringing REE production back to the U.S., and they are
willing to invest significant dollars into supporting domestic REE
infrastructure. We believe Energy Fuels holds a distinct advantage
as an early mover in this high-value, high-growth sector, and we
look forward to engaging with the U.S. government on this important
national security initiative."
Webcast to Discuss REE Opportunity:
The Company has scheduled a conference call for Wednesday, April 15 at 4:15 pm (ET) to discuss this REE opportunity. We
will also update call participants with our perspectives on the
current uranium and vanadium markets, particularly in light of
recently announced shutdowns of uranium production in Canada, Namibia and Kazakhstan due to the COVID-19 crisis.
To join the webcast, please dial 1-888-664-6392 (toll free
in the U.S. and Canada) or 416-764-8659. The
webcast slides can be accessed through the following link:
Energy Fuels – Webcast Link
A link to a recorded version of the proceedings will be
available shortly after the webcast by calling
1-888-390-0541 (toll free in the U.S. and Canada) or
416-764-8677 and entering the code 201052#. This recording will be
available until April 21, 2020.
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 near 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 in-situ recovery
("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 standby. 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 Notes: This news release
contains certain "Forward Looking Information" and "Forward Looking
Statements" within the meaning of applicable United States and Canadian securities
legislation, which may include, but is not limited to, statements
with respect to: any expectation that the Company may have
the opportunity to process uranium-bearing ores for the recovery of
REEs, at all or on commercial terms; any expectation that the
Company will be able to recover REEs and/or uranium from such ores
on a commercial basis; any expectation that any such ores may be
processed within the Mill's existing licenses and permits with
minimal or routine amendments, if any; and any expectation that any
required amendments would be obtained at all or on a timely
basis. Generally, these forward-looking statements can
be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"plans," "expects," "does not expect," "is expected," "is likely,"
"budgets," "scheduled," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends,"
"anticipates," "does not anticipate," or "believes," or variations
of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or
results "may," "could," "would," "might" or "will be taken,"
"occur," "be achieved" or "have the potential to." All statements,
other than statements of historical fact, herein are considered to
be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may
cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the
Company to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements express or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements include risks associated with:
any expectation that the Company may have the opportunity to
process uranium-bearing ores for the recovery of REEs, at all or on
commercial terms; any expectation that the Company will be able to
recover REEs and/or uranium from such ores on a commercial basis;
any expectation that any such ores may be processed within the
Mill's existing licenses and permits with minimal or routine
amendments, if any; any expectation that any required amendments
would be obtained at all or on a timely basis; and
the other factors described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the
Company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is
available for review on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml, on SEDAR
at www.sedar.com, and on the Company's website at
www.energyfuels.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein
are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company
disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update
any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, results, future events, circumstances, or if
management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will
prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to
update the information in this communication, except as otherwise
required by law.
It should further be noted that the ability of the Company to
successfully enter into the rare earth sector is subject to a
number of technical, regulatory, commercial and government funding
factors, and there can be no certainty with respect to those
factors. Therefore, the outcome of this initiative remains
uncertain.
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SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.