Focus Will Be Entirely on Graphite
Development Going Forward
Patent Application Submitted for Graphite
Purification Technology
Company Anticipates $4 Million Annual Cost
Reduction
Westwater Resources, Inc. (Nasdaq: WWR), an energy
materials development company, today announced a binding letter of
intent to sell its uranium assets located in New Mexico and Texas
to enCore Energy Corp. of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a
Toronto Venture Exchange-listed company (TSX.V:EU). Total
compensation accruing to Westwater as part of the deal is expected
to be in excess of $1.95 million in enCore shares and royalties
from future production from the New Mexico properties. All
remaining reclamation liabilities and bonding obligations for the
Company’s Texas uranium properties will be transferred to enCore at
the time of sale, with the transaction expected to close on or
before December 31, 2020. This transaction is subject to further
due diligence, the execution of a definitive agreement, and other
customary conditions. Westwater is retaining its uranium interests
in Turkey, which are subject to an ongoing international
arbitration proceeding.
Christopher M. Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Westwater said, “We are happy to place these uranium assets in the
hands of a company like enCore where they can be developed further
as part of a larger, consolidated land position, while we devote
our full focus and attention on advancing our battery-grade
graphite product business. We are excited to continue our
participation in the uranium sector as a significant shareholder of
enCore and royalty holder, while transferring responsibility for
remaining reclamation to them. We believe that the enCore
organization has a strong foundation of highly experienced former
operators of uranium mines and processing facilities, and we are
putting this business in good hands. At the same time, we expect to
save over $4 million per year for the next several years in land
payments, reclamation expenses and operating costs associated with
the uranium properties – money that can be used for our Coosa
Graphite Project.”
“The Coosa Graphite Project in Alabama is perfectly timed to
take advantage of the advances in the electrification of our
transportation system and grid electricity storage for renewable
energy here in the United States and the rest of the world. These
systems need graphite as a critical ingredient – and our
development plan puts battery graphite in the marketplace and
accelerates Westwater’s path to cash flow. Getting our foot in the
door early is good for business and good for our shareholders.”
William M. Sheriff, Chairman of enCore Energy Corp said, “Upon
the completion of the reclamation activities commenced by
Westwater, we look forward to the revitalization of the licensed
Rosita plant in Texas, located in one of the most progressive
uranium jurisdictions in the United States. In addition, with the
New Mexico assets, enCore is the first company to control and
consolidate the leading land position in New Mexico, the largest
uranium belt in the United States. With our team’s track record and
expertise, we have the capacity to take these valuable assets and
create a leader amongst domestic uranium producers.”
Graphite Purification Patent
Application
Westwater has applied for a Provisional Patent with the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office for its proprietary graphite
purification technology. This proprietary process, which does not
utilize hydrofluoric acid, is a purification methodology that has a
more sustainable footprint than those currently used in China and
elsewhere. Our purification process is an integral component in our
pilot plant program, which we announced on August 8, 2020.
Commenting on this important development, Chris Jones stated,
“This patent application, and all the hard work and innovation that
went into developing this technology by our technical teams, is
another example of Westwater’s dedication and energy –
characteristics that we believe will propel the Company further
down the road in the green energy storage space that our graphite
business is designed to serve.”
The invention claimed in the provisional patent application
relates to a method of obtaining highly purified graphite – having
a graphitic carbon (Cg) grade of at least 99.9% – from a natural
flake graphite concentrate sample. The method consists of three
steps: (1) caustic roasting of the graphite concentrate sample; (2)
acid leaching of the roasted sample; and (3) thermal treatment of
the sample. Additional steps involving water washing and drying are
included in some methods. The methods provided in the application
may further include any combination of varying the weight
percentage of the caustic solution, varying the temperature of and
time for the caustic roasting, varying the temperature of and time
for the acid leaching, and/or varying the temperature of, time for,
and the atmosphere used in the thermal treatment.
Pilot Plant Update
On August 20, 2020, Westwater announced it had engaged Dorfner
Anzaplan of Hirschau, Germany to execute its pilot plant that will
advance the development of processes needed to purify graphite
concentrates and to produce Westwater’s battery grade products:
ULTRA-PMGTM, ULTRA-CSPGTM and ULTRA-DEXDGTM. Dorfner Anzaplan is an
internationally recognized and highly regarded organization that
specializes in high-purity industrial and strategic metals
businesses. Dorfner Anzaplan will employ state-of-the-art
analytical methods and facilities and use innovative processing
technologies to provide effective solutions tailored to Westwater’s
requirements. Planning and construction of an operational pilot
plant is underway.
Westwater has developed proprietary processes for the production
of battery grade graphite from non-Chinese sources that are
designed to manufacture high performing products while ensuring a
sustainable environmental footprint and low production costs. Test
work on the products from these processes has been performed
already in laboratories in Germany and the United States, and those
results show that the performance of the Coosa Project’s graphite
is on par with or exceeds that of currently available battery
products. The next step in Westwater’s development process is the
operation of a pilot plant that is designed to process
approximately 30-tonnes of graphite concentrate and to produce more
than ten metric tons of ULTRA-PMGTM, ULTRA-CSPGTM and ULTRA-DEXDGTM
products, now scheduled for later this year and the first part of
2021.
The Company will provide updates on this exciting project as
they occur over the coming weeks and months.
Return of Lithium Claims
Westwater has returned its lithium claims in Nevada and Utah to
the United States government, thereby focusing all financial and
technical resources on the continued development of its graphite
business. Estimated savings from the return of these claims will be
on the order of at least $200,000 per year.
Conference Call
Westwater will host a conference call at 10:00 am Eastern Time
on September 9 to discuss these developments. Call in details are
below:
Participant Telephone Numbers:
USA/Canada 1-800-319-4610
International Toll +1-604-638-5340
Conference Replay:
USA/Canada 1-855-669-9658
International Toll +1-412-317-0088
Replay Access Code 5218
About Westwater
Resources
Westwater Resources (NASDAQ: WWR) is focused on developing
energy-related materials. The Company’s battery-materials projects
include the Coosa Graphite Project — the most advanced natural
flake graphite project in the contiguous United States — and the
associated Coosa Graphite Mine located across 41,900 acres (~17,000
hectares) in east-central Alabama. Commencement of the pilot plant
operations is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2020, producing
ULTRA-PMGTM, ULTRA-DEXDGTM and ULTRA-CSPGTM in quantities that
facilitate qualification testing at potential customers. For more
information, visit www.westwaterresources.net.
About enCore Energy
Corp.
enCore Energy Corp., with assets based entirely in the United
States, has a 100% interest, with no holding costs, on 115,000+
acres (46,400 ha) of private mineral rights in New Mexico,
including the Crownpoint and Hosta Butte uranium deposits. These
deposits contain an Indicated Mineral Resource of 26.6 million
pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.105% e U3O8. A portion of
these resources are under NRC license. The Company also holds the
Marquez and Treeline projects in New Mexico as well as other
properties in Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming. The Company owns or has
access to an extensive collection of proprietary North American and
Global uranium data including the Union Carbide, US Smelting and
Refining, UV Industries, Rancher’s Exploration databases in
addition to a leading geophysical data collection concerning the
high-grade Northern Arizona Strip district.
Cautionary Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and
assumptions and are identified by words such as "expects,"
"estimates," "projects," "anticipates," "believes," "could,"
“scheduled,” and other similar words. All statements addressing
events or developments that WWR expects or anticipates will occur
in the future, including but not limited to entry into a definitive
agreement with enCore for the sale of Westwater’s North American
uranium business; the final terms, timing, closing and benefits
from the proposed transaction; the commencement of operations at
the pilot plant; future production of battery grade graphite;
developments at the Company’s projects; and the Company’s liquidity
and cash demands, including future capital markets financing
activities, are forward-looking statements. Because they are
forward-looking, they should be evaluated in light of important
risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, (a) the Company’s
ability to successfully construct and operate a pilot plant capable
of producing battery grade materials in quantities and on schedules
consistent with the Coosa Graphite Project business plan; (b) the
Company’s ability to raise additional capital in the future
including the ability to utilize existing financing facilities; (c)
spot price and long-term contract price of graphite, vanadium and
uranium; (d) risks associated with our operations and the
operations of our partners such as Dorfner Anzaplan, including the
impact of COVID-19 and its potential impacts to the capital
markets; (e) operating conditions at the Company’s projects; (f)
government and tribal regulation of the graphite industry, the
vanadium industry, the uranium industry, and the power industry,
and government support for domestic uranium production and nuclear
power; (g) world-wide graphite, vanadium and uranium supply and
demand, including the supply and demand for lithium-based
batteries; (h) maintaining sufficient financial assurance in the
form of sufficiently collateralized surety instruments; (i)
unanticipated geological, processing, regulatory and legal or other
problems the Company may encounter in the jurisdictions where the
Company operates or intends to operate, including in Alabama,
Texas, and New Mexico; (j) the ability of the Company to enter into
and successfully close acquisitions or other material transactions,
including the proposed transaction with enCore; (k) any graphite,
vanadium or uranium discoveries not being in high-enough
concentration to make it economic to extract the minerals; (l)
currently pending or new litigation or arbitration; and (m) other
factors which are more fully described in the Company’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or
more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of
the Company’s underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual
results may vary materially from those currently anticipated. In
addition, undue reliance should not be placed on the Company’s
forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company
disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any
revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in
this news release.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200908005267/en/
Westwater Resources Contact: Christopher M. Jones, President
& CEO Phone: 303.531.0480 Jeff Vigil, VP Finance & CFO
Phone: 303.531.0481 Email: Info@WestwaterResources.net
Investor Relations Contact: Porter, LeVay & Rose
Michael Porter Phone: 212.564.4700 Email:
Westwater@plrinvest.com
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