LAKEWOOD, Colo., Nov. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels
Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or
the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has
produced a rare earth element ("REE") carbonate concentrate ("REE
Concentrate") on a pilot scale at its 100% owned White Mesa Mill
(the "Mill"), located near Blanding,
Utah. This REE Concentrate was produced using existing
infrastructure and technologies at the Mill from a sample of
monazite sands from a North American source. Monazite sands are a
valuable natural uranium ore, which also contain high
concentrations of REEs. The Mill recovered the high concentrations
of REEs in the monazite sands, in addition to the contained uranium
which will be sold into the nuclear fuel industry. The REE
Concentrate produced this weekend is of high purity and is ready to
be sent to a separation plant and further downstream REE processing
facility for final acceptance test work.
To the Company's knowledge, this is the first REE
Concentrate produced from monazite sands at any significant
quantity in North America in over
twenty (20) years.
Highlights:
- The Company announced its plan to enter the REE Sector on
April 13, 2020.
- In just over six (6) months, the Company has graduated from
laboratory scale testing to producing pilot scale REE Concentrate
from a one (1) tonne sample of monazite sands mined in North
America.
- The Company possesses three (3) tonnes of additional samples of
these monazite sands, which it intends to process in the next two
months to further refine the process for recovering REEs and
uranium from these types of ores.
- This pilot scale testing demonstrates the substantial steps the
Company has taken in recent months to re-establish the ability of
the U.S. to recover REEs from monazite sands using existing
facilities and technologies.
- The Company continues negotiations with various parties to
procure sources of monazite sands that can potentially be processed
on a commercial scale at the Mill for the recovery of REE
Concentrate and uranium.
- The Company is also in ongoing discussions on the possible sale
of REE Concentrate produced at the Mill to an REE separation
facility.
Mark S. Chalmers, Energy
Fuels' President and CEO, stated:
"This past weekend, Energy Fuels achieved a major milestone in
U.S. rare earth element production, when we successfully produced a
REE Concentrate from a sample of monazite sands at our White Mesa
Mill. Our Company literally accomplished REE production in months,
because we utilized existing resources, infrastructure and
technologies.
"While it is still early days, and we still have a lot of work
to do, this is a proud moment, not just for me, but for the entire
Energy Fuels team who has diligently worked on making REE
Concentrate production a reality.
"The White Mesa Mill has a long history of recovering other
metals along with uranium from uranium ores. Many of our ores from
the Colorado Plateau contain vanadium, and the Mill has recovered
over 54,000,000 pounds of vanadium as a co-product with uranium
from these ores over the life of the Mill, making Energy Fuels the
largest conventional vanadium producer in the U.S in recent years.
Similarly, the Mill has recovered tantalum and niobium from uranium
ores in the past. The recovery of REE Concentrate from monazite
sands is no different in concept than the recovery of these other
metals. As a result, the Mill is able to recover REEs along with
uranium from these monazite sands using existing infrastructure and
technologies at the Mill, with only minor routine process
adjustments.
"This is the reason we believe we have the potential to enter
commercial REE production more quickly and inexpensively than
others. By using existing infrastructure and technologies at the
Mill to recover the uranium and the REEs from monazite sands, we
are able to avoid the years of permitting and development, along
with the tens, or even hundreds, of millions of dollars of capital
that others would be faced with. Assuming the Company is able to
secure adequate quantities of monazite sands, we expect to be in a
position to produce commercial quantities of REE Concentrate by
early 2021.
"Successful testing at scale also demonstrates the importance of
the White Mesa Mill in helping the U.S. re-establish its domestic
REE supply chain. While the recovery and management of uranium and
other radionuclides is a critical hurdle in REE production for most
other facilities, it is a function the White Mesa Mill has
performed successfully and responsibly for over 40 years.
We are particularly excited about the potential of our REE
project in light of the President's October
1, 2020 Executive Order on Critical Minerals, which declared
a state of emergency to address America's overreliance on critical
minerals from foreign adversaries, including the REE's, uranium and
vanadium that we have the ability to produce at the White Mesa
Mill. Furthermore, our work with the U.S. Department of Energy and
Penn State on recovering REE's from
coal-based resources is complementary to the commercial REE
initiatives discussed in this release.
"Energy Fuels will always, first and foremost, be a uranium
producer. We have been the number one uranium miner in the U.S.
since 2017, a position we intend to keep for many years to come.
However, when other complementary business opportunities arise with
the potential to create significant cash flow utilizing our
existing facilities and workforce, we will always take a hard look
at them with an eye toward building shareholder value.
"We look forward to providing further updates on our REE
initiatives in the coming weeks and months as more milestones are
reached."
About Energy Fuels: Energy Fuels is a
leading U.S.-based uranium mining company, supplying
U3O8 to major nuclear utilities.
The Company also produces vanadium from certain of its projects, as
market conditions warrant, and is evaluating the potential to
recover rare earth elements at its White Mesa Mill. Its corporate
offices are in Lakewood, Colorado
near Denver, 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 on standby and has a licensed capacity of 2 million
pounds of U3O8 per year. The Alta Mesa ISR
Project is also on standby and has a licensed capacity of 1.5
million pounds of U3O8 per year. 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 Note: 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 are not limited to, statements
with respect to: any expectation that the REE concentrate produced
at the Mill under the pilot test will meet final acceptance
criteria at an REE separation facility; any expectation that the
Company will be able to recover uranium and REE concentrates from
ores on a commercial basis; any expectation that the Company has
the potential to enter commercial REE production more quickly and
inexpensively than others; any expectation that the Company may be
able to procure sources of monazite sand uranium ores that can be
processed on a commercial scale; any expectation that the Company
may enter into any commitments to sell REE concentrates to an REE
separation facility on a commercial basis; any expectation that the
White Mesa Mill may play a role in re-establishing the ability of
the U.S. to recover both uranium and REE concentrates from natural
uranium ores using existing facilities and technologies; and any
expectations as to the outcome of the Company's work with the U.S.
Department of Energy and Penn State on
recovering REE's from coal-based resources. 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 REE concentrate produced at the Mill under the
pilot test will meet final acceptance criteria at an REE separation
facility; any expectation that the Company will be able to recover
uranium and REE concentrates from ores on a commercial basis; any
expectation that the Company has the potential to enter commercial
REE production more quickly and inexpensively than others; any
expectation that the Company may be able to procure sources of
monazite sand uranium ores that can be processed on a commercial
scale; any expectation that the Company may enter into any
commitments to sell REE concentrates to an REE separation facility
on a commercial basis; any expectation that the White Mesa Mill may
play a role in re-establishing the ability of the U.S. to recover
both uranium and REE concentrates from natural uranium ores using
existing facilities and technologies; any expectations as to the
outcome of the Company's work with the U.S. Department of Energy
and Penn State on recovering REE's from
coal-based resources; 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.
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SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.