LAKEWOOD, CO, April 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Energy
Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels"),
the leading producer of uranium in the United States, applauds
the Trump administration and the U.S. Nuclear Fuel Working Group
("NFWG") for developing the Strategy to Restore American Nuclear
Energy Leadership. This comprehensive strategy seeks to revive and
strengthen U.S. nuclear fuel capabilities, starting with uranium
mining, with the goals of supporting U.S. energy and national
security, preventing geopolitical adversaries (particularly those
in Russia) from using their
nuclear capabilities to influence the U.S. and the world, and
promoting global non-proliferation objectives and nuclear safety.
The report states that "the clear outcome of the Working Group's
efforts is confirmation that it is in the nation's national
security interests to preserve the assets and investments of the
entire U.S. nuclear enterprise and to revitalize the sector to
regain U.S. global nuclear leadership."
Mark S. Chalmers, president and
CEO of Energy Fuels stated: "President Trump initiated the most
comprehensive review in decades of our nation's nuclear fuel supply
chain when he established the U.S. Nuclear Fuel Working Group. By
appropriating and implementing the recommendations outlined in this
strategy, our nation will take bold and much-needed steps toward
reestablishing U.S. nuclear leadership, while protecting our
national security. We are extremely pleased that the U.S.
government has expressed such a strong commitment to supporting
domestic uranium mining and nuclear fuel capabilities. It is our
belief that this report is the first step toward reversing a
multidecade trend, where the U.S. has ceded global nuclear
leadership to Russia, China and other geopolitical
challengers."Stating that "the U.S. Government will take bold
action to revive and strengthen the uranium mining industry" and
"de-risk the fuel cycle" to counter the deliberate actions of
state-owned enterprises in Russia,
China and elsewhere to degrade
U.S. nuclear capabilities, the Strategy to Restore American Nuclear
Energy Leadership recommends:
- making direct U.S. government purchases of 17 – 19 million
pounds of uranium beginning in 2020 for a strategic uranium reserve
(which has already been reflected in the President's fiscal 2021
budget, which contemplates expenditures of $150 million per year over a 10-year period,
totaling $1.5 billion, to create this
strategic uranium reserve);
- ending the Department of Energy uranium bartering program that
has directly competed against domestic uranium miners in the
past;
- supporting the Department of Commerce's efforts to extend the
Russian Suspension Agreement ("RSA") to prevent dumping of Russian
uranium in the U.S., and "the consideration of further lowering the
cap on Russian imports under future RSA terms";
- enabling the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deny imports
of fabricated nuclear fuel from Russia; and
- streamlining regulatory reform and land access for
uranium.
The NFWG report goes on to state that, in addition to the
commitments above, "[s]ubsequent support will be considered as
deemed necessary across a 10-year period …"
In July 2019, President Trump
created the NFWG, which is comprised of several cabinet-level
secretaries and other high-ranking government officials, to address
the deterioration of the U.S. nuclear fuel industry. Today, U.S.
uranium mining is at its lowest level since record keeping began in
the 1940s. The only U.S. uranium conversion facility closed in 2017
and is at risk of closing permanently, and the U.S. has no
domestically owned uranium enrichment capabilities. State-owned
enterprises in Russia,
China and their allies are filling
the global vacuum left by the U.S., which has ceded leadership in
nuclear energy over the past several decades.
The NFWG report represents the largest U.S. government
commitment in decades to support U.S. uranium and nuclear fuel
production, and recognizes "the importance of taking focused,
deliberate action to prevent the near-term collapse of the domestic
uranium mining, milling and conversion industries and the need to
support U.S. strategic fuel cycle capabilities." The report
recognizes that "the U.S. national security interest is truly
integrated with the health of the entire front-end of the nuclear
fuel cycle – the United States
needs a strong civil nuclear industry to enable national defense."
The report recommends taking "immediate actions" directed toward
"assur[ing] defense needs," "removing strategic vulnerabilities
across the nuclear fuel cycle," and "restoring a world-class
workforce."
In recognizing the malign actions of geopolitical adversaries
attempting to increase market share in the U.S. and globally, the
report goes on to state that "American companies do not face
competition from other international companies – they face
competition from State actors." Therefore, the report recommends
"leveling the playing field against state-owned enterprises" in the
uranium and nuclear fuel sectors.
Energy Fuels Is the Largest Uranium Miner in
the U.S.
Energy Fuels has been the largest U.S. uranium miner since 2017,
and its assets have produced approximately 34% of all uranium
produced in the U.S. since 2006. Energy Fuels also holds more
uranium production capacity and more permitted uranium resources
than any other U.S. company. Based in Lakewood, Colorado, with mines, plants and
employees in Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Texas and New
Mexico, the Company expects to be a beneficiary of U.S.
government actions to support U.S. uranium miners.
Energy Fuels holds three (3) key U.S. uranium production
facilities, including the Nichols Ranch Plant in Wyoming; the Alta Mesa Plant in Texas; and the White Mesa Mill in Utah, the only conventional uranium mill
operating in the U.S. today. Energy Fuels was also the largest
producer of vanadium in 2019 and is evaluating options to utilize
the White Mesa Mill facility to produce rare earth elements.
Uranium, vanadium and rare earth elements are identified by the
U.S. government as minerals "vital to the Nation's security and
economic vitality."
Chalmers continued: "Energy Fuels is ready to play a significant
role in helping the U.S. restore nuclear leadership. We have
proven, low-cost uranium mines and constructed production
facilities in the western U.S. that can increase uranium production
more quickly and on a greater scale than any other U.S. company,
making us an obvious candidate to supply U.S. uranium requirements.
In addition, Energy Fuels had over 515,000 pounds of finished
uranium in inventory at the end of 2019, and we expect to produce
another 125,000 to 175,000 pounds of uranium by the end of 2020.
Therefore, we will have up to 690,000 pounds of uranum potentially
available for sale into the U.S. uranium reserve this year. We
believe our industry-leading production capabilities and
inventories place Energy Fuels in an unmatched position among U.S.
uranium producers. Finally, our record of safety and environmental
responsibility is exceptional, and we look forward to putting
Americans back to work in this critical clean energy industry."
Webcast & Conference Call Details
The webcast and conference call to discuss the NFWG
recommendations, and how Energy Fuels expects to benefit, will
occur on Friday, April 24 at
11:30 a.m. (ET).
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 on Energy Fuels' website (www.energyfuels.com) 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
391359#. This recording will be available until May 8,
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 NFWG's recommendations
will revive and expand the production of U.S. nuclear fuel,
including uranium mining; any expectation that the Company will be
a beneficiary of U.S. government actions to support U.S. uranium
miners; any expectation as to how the President's fiscal 2021
budget will be implemented and the timing of implementation; any
expectation with respect to the Company's plans to expand and/or
resume production at its various projects; any expectation with
respect to expected production, costs of production, timelines to
production, inventory levels and the Company's ability to maintain
its leading position as a producer; any expectation that Energy
Fuels is well-positioned to provide a significant portion of the
uranium needed for the reserve through our existing inventories and
U.S. uranium production portfolio; any expectation that Congress
will make the requested appropriations; and any expectation that
the Company may be able to utilize the White Mesa Mill facility to
produce rare earth elements. 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 NFWG's recommendations
will revive and expand the production of U.S. nuclear fuel,
including uranium mining; any expectation that the Company will be
a beneficiary of U.S. government actions to support U.S. uranium
miners; any expectation as to how the President's fiscal 2021
budget will be implemented and the timing of implementation; any
expectation with respect to the Company's plans to expand and/or
resume production at its various projects; any expectation with
respect to expected production, costs of production, timelines to
production, inventory levels and the Company's ability to maintain
its leading position as a producer; any expectation that Energy
Fuels is well-positioned to provide a significant portion of the
uranium needed for the reserve through our existing inventories and
U.S. uranium production portfolio; any expectation that Congress
will make the requested appropriations; any expectation that the
Company may be able to utilize the White Mesa Mill facility to
produce rare earth elements; 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 proposed budgeted
activities are subject to appropriation by the Congress of
the United States, and there can
be no certainty of the outcome of this budget or the NFWG's
recommendations. Therefore, the outcome of this process
remains uncertain.
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SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.