LAKEWOOD, CO, Dec. 28, 2016 /CNW/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE
MKT: UUUU; TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company"), a leading
producer of uranium in the United
States, is pleased to announce that it has intercepted
additional high-grade areas of uranium mineralization at its Canyon
Mine, a fully-permitted conventional underground mine being
developed in northern Arizona. These new intercepts,
including 28.5 feet of mineralization with an average grade of
2.41% eU3O8, further expand the mineralized
zone at the mine. While dynamic in nature, the image depicts
the current uranium envelope (at greater than 0.15%
eU3O8), along with the status of the 8' x 20'
production shaft currently being constructed at the Canyon
Mine.
The Company previously announced drilling results from the first
mine level (1,000 feet below surface) in August and October 2016, including the discovery of
high-grade copper. Drilling from the second mine level (1,230
feet below surface) started in November
2016, and to date 5,922 feet of drilling has been completed
in a total of 35 holes (25 percussion and 10 core holes) up to the
current pause during the Holidays. On January 3rd, core drilling is expected
to resume, and the Company plans to drill approximately 11,000
additional feet in the New Year.
This news release focusses solely on certain
eU3O8 results gathered through gamma
analysis. Sampling and analysis is also ongoing for the
latest core drill holes, and the Company expects to report on those
results, including uranium, copper, and silver mineralization,
later in January 2017. The Company is currently awaiting
assay results for over 860 samples, representing two- and four-foot
core intercepts, taken from both the first and second mine
levels. The assay analysis is being performed at the
Company's White Mesa Mill near Blanding,
Utah, with a portion of these samples being verified by an
independent third-party laboratory. The Company is also
evaluating the potential to process copper and silver
mineralization currently being identified in the deposit into
marketable products at the White Mesa Mill, as co-products of
uranium recovery.
Gamma analysis from the current round of drilling at the Canyon
Mine continues to confirm and expand the zones of known uranium
mineralization in the deposit. The Company believes that
drilling completed to date has expanded the envelope and increased
the tonnage of the mineralization over what is described in the
existing technical report from 2012. In addition to being
larger than previously expected, the deposit is also appearing to
be more continuous as underground drilling advances. These
drilling results continue to increase the Company's level of
confidence that production costs from the Canyon Mine have the
potential to be low-cost and competitive with the best underground
uranium mines globally, including mines in Canada, based on industry-published cost
estimates. In addition, the possibility of recovering copper
and silver as co-products of uranium recovery has the potential to
make the economics of the Canyon Mine even better.
The Company expects to file a new technical report in accordance
with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 – Standards for Disclosure
for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") in mid-2017 describing the
uranium mineralization, and potentially copper and silver
mineralization.
On August 18, 2016, the Company
reported ten (10) individual high-grade uranium intercepts drilled
from the first mine level (1,000 feet below the surface). The
table below summarizes ten (10) additional high-grade
intercepts.
Hole
Number
|
Thickness
(feet)
|
Avg.
Grade
(%
eU3O8)
|
GT
(Grade x
Thickness)
|
19
|
28.5
|
2.41
|
68.7
|
21
|
13.5
|
1.42
|
19.2
|
23
|
23.5
|
0.77
|
18.0
|
17
|
13.0
|
1.14
|
14.8
|
12
|
9.0
|
1.59
|
14.3
|
16
|
9.5
|
1.47
|
14.0
|
16
|
5.5
|
1.80
|
9.9
|
14
|
4.0
|
2.42
|
9.7
|
12
|
7.5
|
1.24
|
9.3
|
23
|
10.0
|
0.82
|
8.2
|
All holes were logged for gamma by trained Company personnel to
calculate eU3O8%. Gamma logging tools
were calibrated prior to the drilling program and verified by an
independent 3rd party geophysicist. All
mineralized core samples are also in process of being analyzed at
the Company's White Mesa Mill laboratory for further
verification.
Stephen P. Antony, President and
CEO of Energy Fuels stated: "We continue to see excellent results
from the underground drilling programs at the Canyon Mine, which is
the highest-grade uranium project being developed in the U.S.
today. The uranium grades, thicknesses, and continuities we
have encountered so far are continuing to confirm our high
expectations for the deposit. As we extend core holes beyond
the known zones of mineralization, we are identifying new areas of
high-grade uranium and copper mineralization. As a result, we
believe we are expanding the size of the deposit, including the
tonnage that we expect to mine. The Canyon Mine enjoys other
important advantages as well. It is fully licensed and
permitted. It is at a very advanced stage of construction,
with all surface development completed and the production shaft
nearing completion. The mine is located within trucking
distance of our White Mesa uranium mill, which is licensed,
operating, and has the capacity to process the Canyon material into
finished uranium concentrate. Finally, as we previously
announced in October, we are identifying substantial areas of
high-grade copper mineralization. If we are able to monetize
the copper, the economics for the Canyon mine could improve
significantly.
"We have recently observed some small improvements in uranium
prices, and U.S. government policies seem to be turning in favor of
U.S. nuclear energy and uranium production. The Canyon Mine
is expected to be an important aspect of Energy Fuels' near- and
mid-term uranium production, in addition to our ongoing production
from the Nichols Ranch ISR Project in Wyoming and the potential to place our Alta
Mesa ISR Project back into production in Texas. We look
forward to providing more updates on the uranium, copper and silver
mineralization at the Canyon Mine as the drill program
advances."
About Energy Fuels: Energy Fuels is a
leading integrated US-based uranium mining company, supplying
U3O8 to major nuclear utilities. 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 ISR production center
with a licensed capacity of 2 million pounds of
U3O8 per year. Alta Mesa is an ISR production center currently
on care and maintenance. Energy Fuels also has the largest NI
43-101 compliant 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 ISR project, mines on
standby, and mineral properties in various stages of permitting and
development. The Company also produces vanadium as a
co-product of its uranium production form certain of its mines on
the Colorado Plateau, as market conditions warrant. The
Company's common shares are listed on the NYSE MKT under the
trading symbol "UUUU", and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the
trading symbol "EFR".
Stephen P. Antony, P.E., President & CEO of Energy
Fuels, 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, including
sampling, analytical, and test data underlying such
disclosure.
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 in the U.S.; the
drilling results to date from the Canyon mine and any conclusions
which may be drawn from such results; the total number of holes and
feet the Company expects to drill in the current delineation
program; the conclusions contained in the 2012 Technical
Report and any future technical reports which may be prepared in
accordance with NI 43-101; the final depth of the shaft; the
potential that the mineralization and/or tonnage may be expanded
beyond what is described in the 2012 Technical Report; the expected
costs of production and competitiveness of the Canyon deposit
compared to other mines globally; the factors which the Company
believes makes the Canyon deposit unique; any expectation that
copper and/or silver can be recovered as co-products of uranium
recovery at the White Mesa mill; 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 in the U.S.; the drilling results to
date from the Canyon mine and any conclusions which may be drawn
from such results; the total number of holes and feet the Company
expects to drill in the current delineation program; the
conclusions contained in the 2012 Technical Report and any future
technical reports which may be prepared in accordance with NI
43-101; the final depth of the shaft; the potential that the
mineralization and/or tonnage may be expanded beyond what is
described in the 2012 Technical Report; the expected costs of
production and competitiveness of the Canyon deposit compared to
other mines globally; the factors which the Company believes makes
the Canyon deposit unique; any expectation that copper and/or
silver can be recovered as co-products of uranium recovery at the
White Mesa mill; 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.
SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.