DENVER, March 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels
Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the
"Company"), a leading uranium producer in the
U.S., is pleased to announce that it has achieved a major
environmental milestone at its Alta Mesa Uranium Project ("Alta
Mesa") in Texas. On March 16, 2018, the Company received a notice
from the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality ("TCEQ") confirming that the Company
accomplished final groundwater restoration at Production Area 1
("PAA1"). Now that TCEQ has deemed wellfield restoration complete,
the Company can proceed to well plugging and final closure of PAA1,
including a reduction of the reclamation bond on the project and
the return of restricted cash. Groundwater restoration following
uranium recovery is one of the most important environmental
compliance milestones that every U.S. in situ recovery
("ISR") facility must complete following production.
Mark S. Chalmers, President and
CEO of Energy Fuels stated: "We are extremely proud to receive
government confirmation of final restoration of the wellfield at
Alta Mesa. Energy Fuels and the rest of the U.S. uranium industry
operate under the highest health, safety, and environmental
standards in the world, including state-of-the-art protection of
groundwater and drinking water. This is a major milestone for
Energy Fuels and further proof of our commitment to environmental
stewardship. I congratulate our team on the ground in Texas and the support staff here in
Denver for their hard work and
professionalism on this important achievement."
Alta Mesa is a fully-permitted and constructed ISR uranium
project located in South Texas.
The project (including PAA1) was in production from 2005 until
2012, during which time it produced approximately 4.6 million
pounds of U3O8, or enough uranium to provide
clean, carbon-free electricity from an average sized nuclear
reactor for a little over eight years. At the current time, Alta
Mesa is being maintained by the Company on standby status, ready to
resume operations within approximately 12 months of a production
decision. In order to resume production, the Company would need to
complete minor facility improvements and install new wellfields.
Alta Mesa has a total project area of approximately 200,000 acres,
including a licensed and constructed ISR processing plant with a
total annual production capacity of 1.5 million pounds of
U3O8 per year.
According to a technical report ("Technical Report") prepared in
accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of
disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), Alta Mesa holds
a total of 1.6 million tons of Measured and Indicated Mineral
Resources with an average grade of 0.111%
U3O8 containing 3.6 million pounds of
uranium, along with 7.0 million tons of Inferred Mineral Resources
with an average grade of 0.121% U3O8
containing 16.8 million pounds of uranium. The Technical Report
also identifies certain exploration targets that include 2.6
million tons of mineralized material with an average grade that
could range from 0.077% - 0.123% U3O8. In
improved market conditions, the Company expects to resume
exploration drilling on the property to expand the uranium
resources and upgrade existing mineral resources into higher
categories.
About Energy Fuels: Energy Fuels is a leading
integrated U.S. uranium mining company, supplying
U3O8 to major nuclear utilities. Its
corporate offices are in Denver,
Colorado, and all of its assets and employees are in the
western United States. Energy
Fuels holds three of America's key uranium production centers, the
White Mesa Mill in Utah, the
Nichols Ranch Processing Facility in Wyoming, and the Alta Mesa Project in
Texas. The White Mesa Mill is the
only conventional uranium mill operating in the U.S. today and has
a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of
U3O8 per year. The Nichols Ranch Processing
Facility is an in-situ recovery production center with a licensed
capacity of 2 million pounds of U3O8 per
year. Alta Mesa is an in-situ recovery production center with a
licensed capacity of 1.5 million pounds of
U3O8 per year, which is currently on care and
maintenance due to low uranium prices. Energy Fuels also has the
largest uranium resource portfolio in the U.S. among producers, and
uranium mining projects located in a number of Western U.S. states,
including one producing in-situ recovery project, mines on standby,
and mineral properties in various stages of permitting and
development. Energy Fuels also produces vanadium as a by-product of
its uranium production from certain of its mines on the Colorado
Plateau, as market conditions warrant. 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.
John White,
P.E., is a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian
National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the
technical disclosure contained in this news release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements: Certain information contained in this news
release, including any information relating to: the Company being a
leading uranium producer in the U.S.; the Company's expectations
regarding well plugging and final closure of PAA1, including any
reduction of the reclamation bond on the project and any return of
restricted cash; any expectation that the project is ready to
resume operations and the timing thereof; the improvements required
in order to resume operations; resource and exploration target
estimates; any expectation to resume exploration drilling and
upgrade existing mineral resources into higher categories; 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 uranium producer in the U.S.; the Company's
expectations regarding well plugging and final closure of PAA1,
including any reduction of the reclamation bond on the project and
any return of restricted cash; any expectation that the project is
ready to resume operations and the timing thereof; the improvements
required in order to resume operations; resource and exploration
target estimates; any expectation to resume exploration drilling
and upgrade existing mineral resources into higher categories; 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.
Cautionary note to United
States investors concerning estimates of measured, indicated
and inferred resources. This news
release contains certain disclosure that has been prepared in
accordance with the requirements of Canadian securities laws, which
differ from the requirements of U.S. securities
laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all reserve
and resource estimates included in this news release have been
prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of
Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") classification
system. Canadian standards, including NI
43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of U.S.
securities laws, and reserve and resource information contained in
this news release may not be comparable to similar information
disclosed by companies reporting only under U.S.
standards. In particular, the term "resource"
does not equate to the term "reserve" under SEC Industry Guide
7. United
States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any
of Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will ever be converted
into mineral reserves. Investors
are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an "Inferred
Mineral Resource" exists or is economically or legally
minable. Energy Fuels does not
hold any Reserves as that term is defined by SEC Industry Guide
7. Please refer to the section
entitled "Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning
Disclosure of Mineral Resources" in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K dated March 9, 2018 for
further details.
SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.