LAKEWOOD, CO, Feb. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - 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 provide the following update on the
underground drill program currently occurring at the Company's
Canyon Mine, which is a high-grade uranium mine being developed by
the Company in northern Arizona.
The Company is continuing to discover large and high-grade
areas of uranium mineralization, which the Company expects will
result in a larger recoverable uranium resource than what is
currently described in the existing technical report for the Canyon
Mine, prepared in accordance with National Instrument NI 43-101,
Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI
43-101"). The Company is also continuing to discover
additional zones of high-grade copper mineralization, both inside
and outside the areas of potentially recoverable uranium
mineralization.
As has been previously reported, the Company has completed all
surface development and is currently sinking the production shaft
at the Canyon Mine. The shaft is nearing completion, as it is
currently sunk to a depth of approximately 1,400-feet (out of a
total planned depth of 1,470-feet). From the shaft, which is
being sunk adjacent to the vertically aligned "breccia pipe", the
Company is conducting underground drilling to more accurately
define and delineate the deposit. As core holes are
completed, the Company first conducts a gamma analysis of the drill
holes to estimate uranium content. Then, the core material is
sent to the Company's laboratory at the White Mesa Mill for
chemical assay.
The Company's October 27, 2016
news release provided chemical assay data, including estimated
uranium, copper and other mineral content, for core that had been
drilled up until that date. The Company's August 18, 2016 and December 28, 2016 news releases provided gamma
results, including only estimated uranium content, for holes that
had been drilled up until those respective dates. This news
release provides additional chemical assay data for core that has
been analyzed since the October 27,
2016 news release. Some of the uranium data described
below is a confirmation of previously reported gamma results.
All of the copper data is new.
The results discussed in this news release were drilled from the
first level (1,000-foot depth) and second level (1,230-foot depth)
of the mine. The below table summarizes the eleven best
uranium intercepts as determined by chemical assay of the core, in
addition to the copper data for each:
Hole
No.
|
Intercept
Length
(feet)
|
Uranium
Avg.
Grade
(%
U3O8)
|
Uranium
GT
(Grade x
Thickness)
|
Copper
Avg.
Grade
(%
Cu)
|
11
|
6.0
|
16.99%*
|
102.0
|
1.20%
|
7
|
46.0
|
1.37%*
|
62.9
|
13.52%
|
14
|
4.0
|
8.35%
|
33.4
|
1.64%
|
6
|
44.0
|
0.74%*
|
32.6
|
10.22%
|
16
|
58.0
|
0.51%*
|
29.5
|
5.57%
|
11
|
18.0
|
1.23%
|
22.2
|
7.74%
|
12
|
12.0
|
1.78%*
|
21.3
|
3.81%
|
14
|
20.0
|
0.93%*
|
18.5
|
9.30%
|
25
|
28.0
|
0.61%
|
17.1
|
10.08%
|
26
|
24.0
|
0.56%
|
13.4
|
18.17%
|
13
|
12.0
|
0.95%*
|
11.4
|
6.83%
|
|
* This intercept
overlaps with previously reported gamma results.
|
|
Below are four additional high-grade copper intercepts that had
lower uranium grades:
Hole
No.
|
Intercept
Length
(feet)
|
Copper
Avg.
Grade
(%
Cu)
|
Uranium
Avg.
Grade
(%
U3O8)
|
12
|
8.0
|
26.20%
|
0.16%
|
15
|
8.0
|
25.74%
|
0.02%
|
27
|
32.0
|
11.54%
|
0.29%
|
4
|
7.0
|
9.95%
|
0.01%
|
The information presented represents the assay results from
110 samples that were taken from split NQ size core ranging from 2
to 4-feet in length. The intercepts were constructed using a
nominal cutoff grade of 0.30% U3O8 or 4.00%
Cu. In general, the breccia pipe mineralized zone where the
samples were collected is orientated vertically, varies in diameter
from 140 to 190 feet, begins approximately 1,200-feet below the
surface, and is open at depth. The holes described in the
table above were drilled from the 1,000 and 1,230 foot levels of
the mine to depths below surface ranging between 1,221- and
1,618-feet, azimuths ranging between 180- and 250-degrees, and dips
ranging between -20 and -78-degrees. Assay analysis was
performed at Energy Fuels' White Mesa Mill Laboratory ("WMM") near
Blanding, Utah. U3O8 is analyzed using
spectrophotometry, and copper is analyzed using ICP-OES. A
QA/QC program has been implemented for the Canyon core drilling
campaign. The QA/QC program includes: fine duplicates (2 per
100 samples are split and both samples are analyzed by the WMM lab
and compared); coarse duplicates (2 per 100 samples are split and
both samples are analyzed by the WMM lab and compared); standards
and blanks (8 per 100 samples are certified standards or blanks and
the WMM lab results are compared to the certified values, and 3
different sample standards and 2 different sample blanks are used
in the program); and 3rd party laboratory analysis (a
split of 4 per 100 samples are sent to Inter-Mountain Labs, Inc.
(IML) in Sheridan, Wyoming for
independent uranium and copper testing; the IML results are then
compared to the WMM lab results; to date 5 IML results have been
received and confirmed to be consistent with WMM lab results, and
28 are in process).
The new results described above appear to be continuing to
expand the zones of high-grade uranium mineralization. These
results are also confirming the Company's belief that the uranium
resource is larger than what is reported in the existing technical
report. The Company is also continuing to intercept very
high-grade copper mineralization, indicating that copper appears to
occur extensively throughout the deposit. The copper has the
potential to improve the economics of this already low-cost uranium
mine.
Stephen P. Antony, President and
CEO of Energy Fuels stated: "Core drilling at the Canyon Mine
continues to produce exciting and, in some cases, unexpected
results for both uranium and copper. This is certainly a
fascinating deposit that appears to be full of valuable metals in
multiple zones. This is particularly exciting, as uranium
prices are showing recent strength. Kazakhstan, the World's largest producer of
uranium, recently announced 10% production cuts. In
December 2016, the State of Illinois passed legislation to save
three nuclear reactors previously slated for premature shutdown,
and the Institute of Energy Economics, a Japanese energy
think-tank, issued a report that estimated 14 reactors will have
restarted in Japan by March 31, 2018. We are also optimistic we
may see other positive developments in the nuclear energy and
uranium industries under the new Trump Administration. We
look forward to releasing future drill results from the Canyon Mine
as we produce them, and we plan to issue a new technical report
describing the resources in 2017."
Certain Upcoming Sales of Shares by Insiders for Tax
Withholdings
The Company also announces that members of the board of
directors and senior management team of the Company ("Insiders")
have reported sales of shares for the purpose of covering required
tax withholding obligations in connection with the vesting of
previously issued restricted stock units ("RSUs"). As an
integral part of the Company's long-term equity incentive program,
and in order to reduce cash compensation, the Company issues RSUs
from time to time to Insiders and other members of the Company's
management team. The RSUs typically vest over a three-year
period, and entitle the holders thereof to receive one common share
of the Company for each vested RSU. The value of the shares
at the time they are issued on vesting is treated as ordinary
income in the hands of the holder, and the Company is required to
make the required tax withholdings and remit those withholdings to
the applicable taxation authorities. As part of this RSU
program, a sufficient number of common shares of the Company issued
on the vesting of RSUs are sold on the open market and the proceeds
are provided to the Company to satisfy these withholding
requirements. Certain of the Company's RSUs vested on
January 27 and 28, 2017, and as a
result, a portion of the common shares issued on vesting were sold
during the period January 30, 2017
through February 1, 2017, to fully
satisfy these withholding requirements. Sales of such shares
by Insiders have been reported to the appropriate securities
authorities.
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 and any conclusions which may be drawn
therefrom; the expected final depth of the shaft; the potential
that the mineralization and/or tonnage may be expanded beyond what
is described in the existing NI 43-101 technical report; any
expectation that copper recovery may be economically feasible; any
potential improvement that any copper recovery may have on the
economics of the mine; the mine being a low-cost uranium mine; the
expected future drilling activities; the factors which the Company
believes makes the Canyon deposit unique; any expectation that
uranium prices are showing recent strength and related recent
events; any expectations regarding other positive developments in
the nuclear energy and uranium industries under the new Trump
Administration; the expected timing for issuing a new technical
report under NI 43-101; 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 and any conclusions which may be drawn
therefrom; the expected final depth of the shaft; the potential
that the mineralization and/or tonnage may be expanded beyond what
is described in the existing NI 43-101 technical report; any
expectation that copper recovery may be economically feasible; any
potential improvement that any copper recovery may have on the
economics of the mine; the mine being a low-cost uranium mine; the
expected future drilling activities; the factors which the Company
believes makes the Canyon deposit unique; any expectation that
uranium prices are showing recent strength and related recent
events; any expectations regarding other positive developments in
the nuclear energy and uranium industries under the new Trump
Administration; the expected timing for issuing a new technical
report under NI 43-101; 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.