LAKEWOOD, CO, Jan. 7, 2019 /CNW/ - Energy Fuels Inc.
(NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the
"Company"), a leading producer of uranium and vanadium in
the United States, is pleased to
announce that it has resumed vanadium production at its 100%-owned
White Mesa Mill (the "Mill"), making the Company the newest
producer in the World able to respond to today's vanadium market
strength. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has
launched a number of key initiatives intended to boost the ability
of the Company to quickly and effectively increase uranium
production in response to improved uranium market conditions that
may result from the ongoing Section 232 uranium investigation in
the United States or improvement
in global market fundamentals. Finally, the Company provides
uranium and vanadium production and sales guidance for 2019.
Vanadium Production Resumes
In December 2018, the Company
commenced a campaign to recover vanadium pentoxide
("V2O5") from existing tailings pond
solutions at the Company's White Mesa Mill, which result from past
mineral processing operations. In early January 2019, the Company produced its first
batches of vanadium concentrate, also known as "black flake". This
is Energy Fuels' first vanadium production since 2013, and the
first time the Company has recovered vanadium from tailings pond
solutions at the Mill. The Company is also pleased to announce that
the first batches of "black flake" are of excellent quality and
purity, and believed by the Company to meet or exceed the
commercial specifications of potential buyers of high quality
finished vanadium product. The Mill is the only operating
conventional uranium and vanadium production facility in
the United States and is highly
strategic, as uranium and vanadium are two (2) of the thirty-five
(35) "mineral commodities considered critical to the economic and
national security of the United
States", according to the Final List of Critical Minerals
published by the U.S. Government in May
2018.
The Company intends to continue to ramp-up vanadium production
from this campaign during Q1-2019, and at this time expects to
achieve full production rates of 200,000 to 225,000 pounds of
V2O5 per month by the end of the quarter,
subject to continued successful ramp-up, suitable sales prices, and
market conditions.
As previously announced, the Company estimates there are up to
four (4) million pounds of recoverable vanadium dissolved in these
Mill pond solutions. The Company had originally intended to
commence this campaign in November
2018, but elected to delay commencement to December 2018 in order to accommodate additional
uranium production at the Mill.
Enhanced Uranium Production Readiness and Scalability
The Company also expects to launch a number of key initiatives
in 2019 intended to enhance the Company's ability to more quickly
and effectively respond to improved uranium market conditions that
may result from the ongoing Section 232 uranium investigation in
the United States or improvements
in global uranium market fundamentals. During 2019, the Company
plans to invest a total of approximately $4.2 million in initiatives at the following
projects:
- La Sal Complex: The Company expects to continue the current
test-mining program targeting vanadium at the fully-permitted
La Sal mine. The Company is also
planning to begin refurbishing and potentially test-mining a second
uranium/vanadium mine within the La Sal Complex, the
fully-permitted Pandora mine. The La
Sal and Pandora properties are individual mines within the
Company's 100%-owned La Sal Complex, which is a series of several
past-producing uranium/vanadium mines along an 11-mile east-west
mineral trend located in eastern Utah. The purpose of the test-mining program
is to evaluate different mining approaches that selectively target
high-grade vanadium zones, thereby potentially increasing
productivity and mined grades for vanadium and decreasing mining
costs per pound of V2O5 and
U3O8 recovered. As previously announced on
October 24, 2018, the Company had
identified and mined zones of mineralization that averaged 1.67%
V2O5 and 0.10% U3O8
over approximately 420 tons of material from areas that were mined
in the past. As of December 31, 2018,
the Company had mined over 3,000 tons of material. The Company
expects to provide the market with further updates on this program
in Q1-2019, and depending on market conditions and continued
positive results, the Company may decide to expand and extend the
project. In addition, the Company expects to complete a surface and
underground drilling program at the La Sal Complex in 2019. The
purpose of the drilling program is to potentially expand the
uranium and/or vanadium resources, and to provide additional data
for a possible update to the existing March
25, 2014 technical report on the La Sal Complex.
- Nichols Ranch ISR Project: The Company has purchased and
expects to install new ion exchange capacity, and upgrade other
equipment, at the Company's 100% owned Nichols Ranch in situ
recovery ("ISR") Plant in Wyoming.
These upgrades will increase flow capacity through the plant, and
are thereby expected to reduce operating costs per pound and
significantly increase the uranium production capacity of Nichols
Ranch.
- Alta Mesa ISR Project: The Company expects to complete a
200-hole surface drilling program at the Company's 100%-owned Alta
Mesa ISR Project in South Texas,
in order to increase and upgrade the uranium resources and extend
the life-of-mine production profile of this project.
- Canyon Mine: The Company expects to continue to evaluate the
copper metallurgy and perform other development work at this key
low-cost uranium and copper project.
Mark S. Chalmers, President and
CEO of Energy Fuels, stated: "We have officially resumed vanadium
production at our White Mesa Mill in Q4-2018, and we have produced
our first batches of V2O5 'black flake' from
this campaign. Further, we are extremely pleased with the quality
and purity of our initial batches of finished vanadium product.
Energy Fuels is the newest vanadium producer in the World to
respond to today's relative market strength, and we are now one of
the only vanadium producers in North
America. I also wish to recognize all of our personnel at
the White Mesa Mill, who worked diligently around-the-clock over
the past several weeks in order to make this project a success. I
couldn't be prouder of their professionalism and commitment.
"We expect to continue to ramp-up vanadium production in the
coming weeks. Even though current vanadium prices of $15.50 per pound have dropped off of their
November 2018 highs of $28.75 per pound, markets remain strong and have
stabilized in recent weeks. Vanadium markets can be extremely
volatile, but we believe the relative strength we're seeing in
today's vanadium market is likely to continue throughout 2019, and
potentially into 2020. Energy Fuels should be able to generate
substantial revenue under current and expected vanadium market
conditions. In addition, now that we have upgraded the Mill's
vanadium circuit and proven-up the chemistry required to process
the tailings solutions, we can be extremely flexible in our current
and future vanadium production. We now have the ability to halt,
and later resume, vanadium production from pond solutions within a
matter of days and at little to no cost to us in response to
evolving market conditions. While our initial results are
outstanding, we expect to continue to refine our processes to
potentially improve purities and product quality to even higher
standards. We plan to provide the markets with further updates on
vanadium production throughout 2019.
"We are also investing in important critical-path items at our
low-cost, operating, and standby uranium projects. These
investments will put these projects in the very best position to
resume – and increase – production very quickly, as uranium prices
are expected to increase due to the ongoing Section 232
investigation into uranium imports into the U.S., or through
generally improved global uranium market conditions. When the
'starting-gun' goes off, Energy Fuels plans to be among the very
first companies to ramp-up production in an improved market."
2019 Uranium Production and Sales Guidance
As a result of current uranium market conditions, both ISR and
conventional uranium recovery are being maintained at reduced
levels until such time as market conditions improve sufficiently,
either as a result of potential relief under the ongoing Section
232 investigation or through improved market fundamentals. During
2019, the Company expects to produce approximately 50,000 to
125,000 pounds of U3O8, of which
approximately 50,000 to 75,000 pounds are expected to be produced
from its Nichols Ranch ISR Project as it winds down into standby
mode, pending expected improvements in uranium market conditions.
In addition, subject to further process test work, up to 50,000
pounds of uranium could be recovered from pond solutions at the
Mill, during the vanadium processing campaign discussed above. This
is expected to be the only source of uranium production from the
Mill in 2019, due to the Mill's expected focus on vanadium.
Further, the Company has entered into no uranium sales
commitments in 2019; therefore, all 2019 uranium production is
expected to be added to existing inventories. Energy Fuels'
significant uranium inventory provides the Company with financial
flexibility, and the Company believes its existing inventories and
new production may be worth significantly more in the future.
However, if suitable uranium price increases are observed in 2019,
or if cash needs arise, the Company may elect to complete some
discretionary uranium sales in 2019. The Company also expects to
stockpile alternate feed materials and/or other uranium-bearing
materials at the Mill during 2019 for future processing
campaigns.
2019 Vanadium Production and Sales Guidance
As previously announced, the Company currently estimates that a
total volume of up to four (4) million pounds of recoverable
vanadium is dissolved in the Mill's tailings pond solutions. As
stated above, the Company currently expects to achieve full
production rates of 200,000 to 225,000 pounds of
V2O5 per month during Q1-2019. The Company
expects this production to occur throughout 2019, and through at
least half of 2020, subject to continued successful ramp-up,
including acceptable sales prices and market conditions. Further,
while the Company expects vanadium prices to support vanadium
production throughout the campaign, in the event vanadium prices or
sales opportunities drop to unsuitable levels, the Company has the
ability to halt production at its discretion within a very short
period of time and at little to no cost, thereby preserving this
vanadium inventory for future recovery.
As the campaign continues, the Company expects to sell its
vanadium product within one to three months of production. At the
current time, the Company has not entered into any agreements for
the sale of vanadium in 2019, as the Company carefully ramps-up
production and ensures that its vanadium product meets all
commercial specifications. However, now that the Company believes
its vanadium production and product quality have been confirmed,
the Company expects to enter into vanadium sales agreements in the
coming weeks.
John H. White, P.E., Vice President, Technical Services of
Energy Fuels Resources (USA)
Inc., is a Qualified Person as defined by
Canadian National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") and has reviewed
and approved the technical disclosure, including sampling,
analytical, and test data underlying the information, contained in
this news release.
About Energy Fuels: Energy Fuels is a leading
integrated US-based uranium mining company, supplying
U3O8 to major nuclear utilities. Its
corporate offices are in Denver,
Colorado, and all of its assets and employees are in the
western United States. 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 along with its uranium production from certain of its
mines on the Colorado Plateau, as market conditions warrant. 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: Certain information contained in this
news release, including any information relating to: the Company
being a leading producer of uranium and vanadium in the
U.S.; any expectations about uranium and vanadium recovery
rates and expected pounds of uranium and vanadium that may be
recovered at the White Mesa Mill; any expected total amount of
contained vanadium in the Mill's pond solutions and expected
vanadium and uranium recoveries from such solutions; any
expectations relating to the continued successful ramp-up of the
Mill pond vanadium recovery campaign, including acceptable costs,
recoveries, product quality, and market conditions; any expectation
that vanadium production at the Mill may enable the Company to
generate substantial revenue under current market conditions; any
expectations that current vanadium prices may continue throughout
2019 and potentially into 2020; any expectation that the Company's
key initiatives may boost the ability of the Company to quickly
increase uranium production in response to improved uranium market
conditions; any expectation that improved uranium market conditions
may result from the ongoing Section 232 uranium investigation in
the United States or from
improvement in global market fundamentals; any expectation
that the Company plans to expand or extend the test mining program
at its La Sal Complex; any expectations relating to potential
increases in productivity and mined grades for vanadium and
decreases in mining costs at the La Sal Complex or any other mines
as a result of the test-mining program; any expectation that the
Company plans to conduct additional surface exploration drilling
that targets high-grade vanadium at the La Sal Complex, whether any
such drilling may increase resources and whether or not the Company
may update its NI 43-101 Technical Report on the La Sal
Complex; any expectation that the planned upgrades at
Nichols Ranch may increase flow capacity through the plant, thereby
reducing operating costs per pound and significantly increasing the
production capacity of Nichols Ranch; any expectation that the
planned drilling program at Alta Mesa may increase and upgrade the
uranium resources and extend the life-of-mine production profile of
that project; any expectations about potential copper recoveries
from resources mined from the Canyon mine or the expected costs of
production at that mine or any of the Company's other mines;
any expectations relating to the Company's uranium and vanadium
production and sales guidance for 2019; any expectation that the
Company's existing uranium inventories and new production may
provide financial flexibility and may be worth significantly more
in the future; any expectation that the Company
may stockpile alternate feed materials and/or other uranium-bearing
materials at the Mill for future processing campaigns; 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 and vanadium in the
U.S.; any expectations about uranium and vanadium recovery
rates and expected pounds of uranium and vanadium that may be
recovered at the White Mesa Mill; any expected total amount of
contained vanadium in the Mill's pond solutions and expected
vanadium and uranium recoveries from such solutions; any
expectations relating to the continued successful ramp-up of the
Mill pond vanadium recovery campaign, including acceptable costs,
recoveries, product quality, and market conditions; any expectation
that vanadium production at the Mill may enable the Company to
generate substantial under current market conditions; any
expectations that current vanadium prices may continue throughout
2019 and potentially into 2020; any expectation that the Company's
key initiatives may boost the ability of the Company to quickly
increase uranium production in response to improved uranium market
conditions; any expectation that improved uranium market conditions
may result from the ongoing Section 232 uranium investigation in
the United States or from
improvement in global market fundamentals; any expectation
that the Company plans to expand or extend the test mining program
at its La Sal Complex; any expectations relating to potential
increases in productivity and mined grades for vanadium and
decreases in mining costs at the La Sal Complex or any other mines
as a result of the test-mining program; any expectation that the
Company plans to conduct additional surface exploration drilling
that targets high-grade vanadium at the La Sal Complex, whether any
such drilling may increase resources and whether or not the Company
may update its NI 43-101 Technical Report on the La Sal
Complex; any expectation that the planned upgrades at
Nichols Ranch may increase flow capacity through the plant, thereby
reducing operating costs per pound and significantly increasing the
production capacity of Nichols Ranch; any expectation that the
planned drilling program at Alta Mesa may increase and upgrade the
uranium resources and extend the life-of-mine production profile of
that project; any expectations about potential copper recoveries
from resources mined from the Canyon mine or the expected costs of
production at that mine or at any of the Company's other mines;
any expectations relating to the Company's uranium and vanadium
production and sales guidance for 2019; any expectation that the
Company's existing uranium inventories and new production may
provide financial flexibility and may be worth significantly more
in the future; any expectation that the Company
expects to stockpile alternate feed materials and/or other
uranium-bearing materials at the Mill for future processing
campaigns; 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.
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SOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.