Energy Fuels expects to commercially produce
an intermediate rare earth element product at a stage more advanced
than any other U.S. company.
LAKEWOOD, Colo, March 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels
Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce that the first shipments
of natural monazite ore arrived at the Company's White Mesa Mill
(the "Mill") in Blanding, Utah
this past weekend. This material was separated by The Chemours
Company at its Offerman Mineral Sand Plant in Georgia and transported by truck to the Mill.
In the coming weeks, Energy Fuels expects to gradually ramp-up
production of an intermediate rare earth element ("REE") product,
called a "mixed REE carbonate." This product will then advance to
REE separation, which is the next stage in the REE value chain.
Energy Fuels also expects to recover the uranium in the ore, which
will be used as fuel for the generation of clean, carbon-free
nuclear energy.
Upon successful ramp-up, Energy Fuels expects to commercially
produce an REE product at a stage more advanced than any other U.S.
company. As previously announced, Energy Fuels expects to sell its
mixed REE carbonate to Neo Performance Materials ("Neo"), which
will process this material at its facility in Europe and manufacture separated rare earth
products available to U.S. and European markets. Energy Fuels is
also continuing to evaluate developing additional value-added U.S.
rare earth separation and other capabilities in Utah in the future.
Mark S. Chalmers, President and
CEO of Energy Fuels stated: "Over the past few months, Energy
Fuels, Neo and Chemours have quietly worked to create something
very significant: a new, fully-integrated, U.S.-Europe rare earth supply chain. This weekend's
shipments of monazite ore from Chemours to Energy Fuels marks the
beginning of operations for what we believe will become a
burgeoning supply chain. There is a lot of excitement building for
rare earths, because they make many clean energy and advanced
technologies possible, including electric vehicles, wind
generation, batteries and advanced electronics. Today's
announcement is a key milestone as our companies create, refine,
and grow a sustainable rare earth supply chain capable of supplying
growing demand for clean technologies in the U.S. and Europe.
"We believe Energy Fuels has done more to restore U.S. rare
earth production in one year than others have achieved in many
years. Less than one year ago, Energy Fuels announced that we were
entering the U.S. rare earth space. Now, we are receiving shipments
of rare earth bearing ore and are in the process of ramping up for
commercial production of an intermediate rare earth product at a
stage more advanced than any other U.S. company. We intend to
optimize our production of a mixed rare earth carbonate and then
move on to developing our own ability to manufacture separated rare
earth products at our plant in Utah. Our ultimate goal is to stand-up a
fully-integrated U.S. rare earth supply chain that is globally
competitive, quicker than any other U.S. company."
Monazite is one of the highest-value REE-bearing minerals in the
World, containing between 50% and 60%+ REEs, along with significant
quantities of recoverable natural uranium. Monazite also contains
22% - 24% NdPr (%TREO Basis), which are two of the key REEs and
which are needed for many permanent REE magnet technologies used in
electric vehicles (EVs) and other advanced technologies. Monazite
also contains excellent distributions of "heavy" rare earths, which
are needed for many advanced technologies.
Monazite is currently mined in the U.S., Australia, Africa, and elsewhere as a byproduct of heavy
mineral sand operations whose main products are zircon and
titanium.
Implementation of this initiative is subject to successful
commercial ramp-up, execution of definitive agreements between the
Company and Neo, and optimization of the companies' production
processes.
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 expects to commence commercial production
of rare earth element ("REE") carbonate in 2021. 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, has the ability to produce
vanadium when market conditions warrant, as well as REE carbonate
from various uranium-bearing ores. 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 Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements: This news release contains certain
"Forward Looking Information" and "Forward Looking Statements"
within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which
may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to:
any expectation that the Company will be successful in producing
REE Carbonate on a commercial basis; any expectation that Neo will
be successful in separating the Company's REE Carbonate on a
commercial basis; any expectation that Energy Fuels will be
successful in developing U.S. separation or other REE production
capabilities, or otherwise fully integrating the U.S REE supply
chain in the future; any expectations that ramp-up to
commercial-scale operations will be successful; any expectation
that the Company and Neo will successfully execute definitive
agreements and optimize their respective production processes; 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:
processing difficulties and upsets; available supplies of monazite
sands; the ability of the Company to produce REE Carbonate to meet
commercial specifications on a commercial scale at acceptable
costs; the ability of Neo to separate the REE Carbonate to meet
commercial specifications on a commercial scale at acceptable
costs; market factors, including future demand for rare earth
elements; the ability of Neo and Energy Fuels to finalize
definitive agreements; and the 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.
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SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.