LAKEWOOD, Colo., Aug. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels Inc.
(NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the
"Company"), the leading uranium producer in the United States, is pleased to announce that
it is making a number of changes to its management team in order to
reduce costs, flatten the organizational structure, and focus on
the ongoing growth of a new generation of U.S. uranium and rare
earth element ("REE") professionals, including the following,
effective September 1, 2020:
- Mr. Scott Bakken, the current
Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs, will become the Vice President
of Regulatory Affairs. Mr. Bakken has been with the Company since
2014, where he has held senior positions over permitting and
regulatory matters relating to both the Company's conventional mine
and mill operations and its in situ recovery ("ISR")
operations. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Bakken held several
positions with Cameco Corporation's U.S. subsidiaries, Power
Resources, Inc. and Cameco Resources, and with MDU Resources Group,
Inc.'s mining and construction materials subsidiary, Knife River
Corporation, through which he gained extensive experience in
permitting and regulatory activities at mining and ISR uranium
recovery facilities since 1997. In his new role, Mr. Bakken will be
responsible for permitting and regulatory matters relating to all
of the Company's operations, both conventional and ISR, and will
also assume the overall responsibility for worker health and safety
matters at the Company.
- Mr. Bernard Bonifas, the current
Director, Wyoming Operations, will become the Director of ISR
Operations. Mr. Bonifas, a veteran in both ISR and conventional
uranium mining over a career that has spanned over 30 years, has
been with the Company since March
2015, and has primarily been responsible for the Company's
Nichols Ranch ISR facility operations in Wyoming. Prior to joining the Company, Mr.
Bonifas was General Manager of Cameco Corporation's Smith Ranch and
Highland ISR facility in Wyoming
from November 2013 to June 2014, Senior Managing Director of COMUF in
Gabon from December 2010 to March
2012, and General Manager of the Shirley Basin and Lucky Mc Mines and the
Christensen Ranch ISR facility in Wyoming from February
2007 to January 2010. Prior
thereto, Mr. Bonifas worked for Areva (now Orano Cycle) in a number
of capacities on uranium projects around the world, including in
France, Zambia, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Argentina, Mexico and Texas. In his new role, Mr. Bonifas will be
responsible for all of the Company's ISR operations, including its
Nichols Ranch ISR project in Wyoming and its Alta Mesa ISR project in
Texas.
- Ms. Sarai Luksch, CPA, will join
the Company as Controller. Ms. Luksch comes from Crimson Midstream,
LLC, a provider of crude oil transportation and storage services,
where she served as Controller and Manager of Financial Reporting
since November 2016. Prior to that
time, she was a Senior Associate within Transaction Services and an
Experienced Associate within Assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers,
LLP, and has audit experience within the rare earth mining
industry. She also spent a year with Opportune, LLP, a privately
held global business advisory firm specializing in the energy
industry. Ms. Luksch has experience in all facets of public and
private company financial statement preparation and in managerial
reporting. Ms. Luksch has a Dual Bachelor of Science degree in
Business Administration with concentrations in International
Business and Accounting, as well as a Master of Accountancy, both
from the University of Denver.
- Ms. Dee Ann Nazarenus, the
current Director, Human Resources & Administration, will become
the Vice President of Human Resources & Administration. Ms.
Nazarenus has been with the Company for 14 years, and prior to
joining the Company held human resource and administration
management positions with a number of different organizations since
1995. She has been an integral part of the Company in overseeing
all aspects of human resources and administration. As Vice
President of Human Resources & Administration, Ms. Nazarenus
will be responsible for planning, developing, organizing,
implementing, directing and evaluating all human resource functions
of the Company, in addition to being responsible for directing and
managing all administrative functions of the Company.
- Mr. Logan Shumway, the current
Manager of the Company's White Mesa Mill, will become Director of
Conventional Operations, including advancement of the Company's REE
objectives. Mr. Shumway has been with the Company for 10 years and
has been instrumental in a number of innovative initiatives at the
White Mesa Mill, including the development and implementation of
the Mill's uranium and vanadium pond return recycling programs and
the Company's current REE initiative, in addition to being
responsible for overall White Mesa Mill management. In his new role
as Director of Conventional Operations, Mr. Shumway will add
responsibility over the Company's conventional uranium and
uranium/vanadium mines and abandoned uranium mine clean-up
initiatives to his continuing responsibilities over all activities
at the White Mesa Mill.
In addition, and in support of the objective to reduce costs,
effective as of August 31, 2020,
Chief Operating Officer, Mr. W. Paul
Goranson, and effective as of October
31, 2020, Chief Accounting Officer, Mr. Matt Tarnowski, will each be leaving the Company
to pursue other opportunities.
Energy Fuels' President and CEO Mark S.
Chalmers stated: "While the U.S. uranium mining and rare
earth element industries are small, there are excellent
opportunities, and we have some extremely talented and
knowledgeable rising professionals who have shown a true dedication
to the values we uphold at Energy Fuels, including safety,
environmental protection, social responsibility, meeting and
exceeding regulatory standards, creativity, and continuous
improvement. This is the reason why I am proud to announce the
promotions of Scott Bakken,
Bernard Bonifas, Dee Ann Nazarenus and Logan Shumway. I am also very pleased to
introduce Sarai Luksch to the team.
These individuals will be the leaders of our industry in the years
and decades to come, and I look forward to witnessing their
continued professional growth as we work to bring U.S. uranium and
rare earth production back to global prominence.
"At the same time, I wish to personally thank Paul Goranson for his leadership and service to
the Company over the past several years. Paul was instrumental in a
number of initiatives for the Company, including playing an
important role in our rare earth element processing initiative. In
addition, he has played a leading role nationally in Energy Fuels'
efforts to gain U.S. government recognition of domestic uranium
mining. Paul is a consummate professional and one of the leading
U.S. authorities in the uranium sector. We wish Paul the very best
as he moves onto new opportunities, and we look forward to working
with him in the future on industry-wide initiatives. Likewise, I
would like to thank Matt Tarnowski
for his service and dedication to the Company for many years as it
grew from a small company to the Company it is today, and wish him
the very best in his future endeavors."
About Energy Fuels: Energy Fuels is the leading
U.S.-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 on standby and has a licensed capacity of 2 million
pounds of U3O8 per year. The Alta Mesa ISR
Project is also on standby and has a licensed capacity of 1.5
million pounds of U3O8 per year. In addition
to the above production facilities, Energy Fuels 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: 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 are not limited to, statements with respect to:
any expectation that the management changes will reduce
costs; any expectation as to the future performance of management
or the Company as a result of these changes; any expectation that
there are excellent opportunities in the U.S. uranium mining and
rare earth element industries; any expectation that U.S. uranium
and rare earth production may be brought back to global prominence;
and any expectation that the Company may continue to
be the leading U.S.-based uranium mining company.
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 herein, other
than statements of historical fact, 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 of 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 management changes will reduce
costs; any expectation as to the future performance of management
or the Company as a result of these changes; any expectation that
there are excellent opportunities in the U.S. uranium mining and
rare earth element industries; any expectation that U.S. uranium
and rare earth production may be brought back to global
prominence; any expectation that the Company may
continue to be the leading U.S.-based uranium mining company;
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 as a result
of changes in management's estimates or opinions, 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.
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SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.