Anfield Energy Inc. (TSX.V: AEC; OTCQB: ANLDF; FRANKFURT:
0AD) (“Anfield” or “the Company”) is pleased to
provide a corporate review of 2022 and discuss its 2023 plans.
Anfield continues its advance towards becoming a near-term
U.S.-based uranium and vanadium producer and is encouraged by the
market developments of 2022.
The following list highlights the Company’s 2022
achievements:
Negotiated and completed the removal of
debt held by Uranium Energy Corporation (UEC)Following
UEC’s acquisition of Anfield’s US$18 million debt obligation from
Uranium One Americas – a subsidiary of Russian state entity,
Rosatom – Anfield negotiated a debt settlement with UEC to
extinguish the debt through a combination of both cash and equity.
As a result, UEC became the largest single shareholder of Anfield –
holding 15% of Anfield’s common shares – and received approximately
US$9 million in cash. The removal of the debt overhang allows
Anfield to advance its assets, including the
Shootaring Canyon mill, along the path to uranium and vanadium
production.
Raised over $22 million in equity –
including a $15 million bought deal – to fund both debt settlement
and asset advancementAs part of the UEC transaction,
Anfield raised approximately $15 million through an equity bought
deal – the largest single equity raise by Anfield to date – which
provided the Company with sufficient funds to both make its US$9
million settlement payment to UEC and, along with a $7.65 million
private placement completed earlier in the year, fund the
advancement of its uranium and vanadium assets.
Swapped ISR assets for a conventional
uranium/vanadium asset to align portfolio to a hub-and-spoke
strategy underpinned by the Shootaring Canyon
millAlongside the debt settlement transaction with UEC,
Anfield also entered into a Swap Agreement with UEC to exchange the
Company’s Wyoming-based ISR properties for UEC’s Colorado-based
conventional Slick Rock asset. This asset, when combined with both
the Utah-based Velvet-Wood project and the Colorado-based West
Slope project, significantly enhances Anfield’s robust, long-term
hub-and-spoke production plan underpinned by Anfield’s wholly-owned
Shootaring Canyon mill.
Welcomed Mr. Kenneth Mushinski as
Chairman of the Anfield BoardIn September 2022, Anfield
announced that it had appointed Mr. Kenneth Mushinski as its
Chairman. Mr. Mushinski brings a wealth of senior-level nuclear and
uranium industry experience to the Board via his 33 years of
executive roles at General Atomics Corporation and its various
subsidiaries. His responsibilities included identifying,
negotiating and executing mergers and acquisitions; operational and
financial planning of uranium operations, including sales,
marketing and contracting, budgeting and scheduling; and regulatory
affairs, including governmental interactions, licensing, permitting
reclamation and decommissioning. This comprehensive
high-level experience will serve Anfield well as it
continues to pursue both near-term uranium and vanadium production
and further asset portfolio growth.
Received an NI 43-101 uranium and
vanadium resource estimate for four of nine formerly producing
mines which comprise the West Slope ProjectThe Company
commissioned BRS, Inc., an engineering firm, to complete an NI
43-101 resource report for four of the nine mines which comprise
the West Slope project in Colorado. The report outlined a uranium
resource of approximately 5 million pounds and a vanadium resource
of approximately 27 million pounds. The next step for the Company
is to have BRS complete a preliminary economic assessment of the
project to confirm its economic viability.
Acquired and expanded Arizona-based
Artillery Peak claims to complement Anfield’s existing Date Creek
Basin holdingsThe Company acquired a 100% interest in 50
unpatented mining claims and staked an additional 54 claims in the
uranium-rich Artillery Peak project area which are adjacent to
Anfield’s current properties in Date Creek Basin. Anfield has also
commissioned BRS, Inc. to complete a NI 43-101 resource report for
its combined Date Creek Basin/Artillery Peak projects. This
combined project will form part of Anfield’s two-fold strategy as
it will represent a secondary production pipeline to complement
Anfield’s core production pipeline consisting of the Velvet-Wood,
West Slope and Slick Rock projects.
Engaged Precision Systems Engineering to
provide a reactivation plan for the Shootaring Canyon
MillIn November 2022, Anfield announced that it had
commissioned Precision Systems Engineering (PSE), a Utah-based
engineering firm, to complete a reactivation proposal for the
Shootaring Canyon mill. The proposal, expected to be completed in
the second quarter of 2023, will include a detailed study of the
existing facility and uranium circuit, along with a preliminary
design of a new vanadium circuit, and detailed cost estimates
related to the full reactivation of the mill. PSE will also manage
the equipment procurement process on behalf of the Company in order
to facilitate the move to production restart. This is a critical
undertaking by Anfield as this work represents the final required
engineering step prior to actual physical refurbishment of the
mill.
Catalysts for 2023
Updated Preliminary Economic Assessments
for Velvet-Wood, West Slope and Slick Rock projectsAnfield
is expecting to issue an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment
(PEA) for Velvet Wood with a vanadium resource to be included. Its
previous PEA, issued in 2016, did not include any vanadium resource
despite historical production at the mine of roughly 4 million
pounds of uranium and 5 million pounds of vanadium. In addition,
Anfield has engaged BRS, Inc., to complete both an initial PEA for
the West Slope project – related to the resource report issued in
2022 – and a PEA for the Slick Rock project. These PEAs are
critical to Anfield’s hub-and-spoke strategy as we expect them to
underscore the significant inherent value and attractiveness of the
Company’s near-term uranium and vanadium production pipeline.
Completion of PSE reactivation
reportThe PSE report is expected to be completed in the
second quarter of 2023. At that point, Anfield should have a full
accounting as to the cost and timing related to the reactivation of
the Shootaring Canyon mill, including the new vanadium circuit.
Subsequent steps related to procurement of equipment will also take
place post-report.
Advancement of secondary assets to NI
43-101 resourceAnfield has acquired the Artillery Peak
claims in Arizona as well as the Marysvale and Calf Mesa projects
in Utah. Anfield will commence work on both sets of assets in order
to delineate a NI 43-101 resource which will serve as potential
secondary uranium resource for its production pipeline, alongside
the Company’s existing Frank M mine in Utah and the Findlay Tank
breccia pipe project in Arizona
Acquisition of uranium and vanadium
assetsThe Company continues to seek out additional uranium
and vanadium projects to buttress both its primary hub-and-spoke
production pipeline and secondary resource in order to create a
long-term production portfolio underpinned by the Shootaring Canyon
mill.
Corey Dias, Anfield CEO states, “We at Anfield
are very proud of our transformational 2022 accomplishments, but
know that we have plenty of work ahead to meet our production
goals. The opportunity to both remove the debt obligation overhang
and adjust our asset portfolio to further align our uranium and
vanadium production path was critical to our strategy. Moreover,
our ability to raise sufficient funds to both advance our existing
asset portfolio and acquire complementary assets proved an
important step in progressing our strategy. Finally, the
appointment of Ken Mushinski to our Board as Chairman not only
significantly bolstered our uranium production-related operational
experience but also our experience with the nuclear industry.
Overall, given our 2022 accomplishments and continued furtherance
of our two-fold production strategy – underpinned by the Shootaring
Canyon mill – we expect to see the valuation gap between ourselves
and other producing and near-producing peers narrow significantly
in 2023.
“The macro view of the nuclear and uranium
markets is increasingly positive. With a shift away from Russia,
the value of European and North American uranium conversion and
enrichment has increased significantly as these continents look to
not only shift away from Russian-sourced fossil fuels but to also
embrace nuclear power. The challenges related to Kazakhstan’s
uranium supply chain have disrupted product flow to the West. As a
result, China has taken the opportunity to seek closer ties to
Kazakhstan as it continues to build out its extensive nuclear
reactor fleet, negatively affecting uranium supplies available to
the U.S. and other Western countries.
“At the same time, product flow from the West to
the East is increasing. Cameco signed a contract to sell uranium to
China Nuclear International Corporation for first loads in new
reactors and for supplying existing reactors. Cameco’s acquisition
of the nuclear giant Westinghouse, to become a worldwide
full-service nuclear business, presents further prospects for a
stronger market. In the U.S., the National Nuclear Security
Administration’s Uranium Reserve awarded five contracts for
near-term supply of uranium and the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust
purchased uranium on the spot market further removing supply from
the market. This is taking place while U.S. uranium production fell
to essentially zero in the third quarter of 2022. Finally, Japan
has begun to restart its nuclear reactors, underscoring the
now-remote likelihood of uranium pounds held in Japan flooding the
world market. Overall, it is a story of supply and demand; demand
is growing, while supply is shrinking.”
About Anfield
Anfield is a uranium and vanadium development
and near-term production company that is committed to becoming a
top-tier energy-related fuels supplier by creating value through
sustainable, efficient growth in its assets. Anfield is a publicly
traded corporation listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (AEC-V), the
OTCQB Marketplace (ANLDF) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (0AD).
Anfield is focused on its conventional asset centre, as summarized
below:
Arizona/Utah/Colorado – Shootaring Canyon Mill
A key asset in Anfield’s portfolio is the
Shootaring Canyon Mill in Garfield County, Utah. The Shootaring
Canyon Mill is strategically located within one of the historically
most prolific uranium production areas in the United States, and is
one of only three licensed uranium mills in the United States.
Anfield’s conventional uranium assets consist of
mining claims and state leases in southeastern Utah, Colorado, and
Arizona, targeting areas where past uranium mining or prospecting
occurred. Anfield’s conventional uranium assets include the
Velvet-Wood Project, the Frank M Uranium Project, the West Slope
Project, as well as the Findlay Tank breccia pipe. A NI 43-101 PEA
has been completed for the Velvet-Wood Project. The PEA is
preliminary in nature, and includes inferred mineral resources that
are considered too speculative geologically to have economic
considerations applied to them that would enable them to be
categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the
preliminary economic assessment would be realized. All conventional
uranium assets are situated within a 200-mile radius of the
Shootaring Mill.
Technical Disclosure
Table 1. Anfield’s existing conventional
uranium-vanadium project portfolio resources.
Project |
Location |
Classification |
Tons (kt) |
UraniumGrade(%
U3O8) |
ContainedUranium(Mlbs
U3O8) |
VanadiumGrade(%
V2O5) |
ContainedVanadium(Mlbs
V2O5) |
Velvet-Wood |
Utah |
M & I |
811 |
0.29 |
% |
4.6 |
- |
|
- |
|
|
Inferred |
87 |
0.32 |
% |
0.6 |
- |
|
- |
West Slope |
Colorado |
Indicated |
2,452 |
0.142 |
% |
6.9 |
- |
|
- |
|
|
Inferred |
2,452 |
- |
|
- |
0.708 |
% |
34.7 |
|
|
Historic* |
656 |
0.26 |
% |
3.5 |
1.49 |
% |
19.5 |
Slick Rock |
Colorado |
Inferred |
2,549 |
0.228 |
% |
11.6 |
1.37 |
% |
69.6 |
Frank M |
Utah |
Historic* |
1,137 |
0.101 |
% |
2.3 |
- |
|
- |
Findlay Tank |
Arizona |
Historic* |
211 |
0.226 |
% |
1.0 |
- |
|
- |
Date Creek/Artillery Peak |
Arizona |
Historic* |
2,602 |
0.054 |
% |
2.8 |
|
|
* The Company’s Qualified Person has not done
sufficient work to classify these historic estimates as current
mineral resources and Anfield is not treating such historical
resources as current mineral resources.
Velvet-Wood: The PEA for Velvet-Wood was
authored by Douglas L. Beahm, P.E., P.G. Principal Engineer, of BRS
Inc., Terence P. (Terry) McNulty, P.E., D. Sc., of T.P. McNulty and
Associates Inc. (May 31, 2016). Mineral resources are not mineral
reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability in
accordance with CIM standards. GT cut-off varies by locality from
0.25%-0.50%.
West Slope: NI 43-101 resource estimate for the
JD-6, JD-7, JD-8 and JD-9 properties, completed by BRS Inc.
(effective March 2022); Historic resource estimate for the SR-11,
SR-13A, SM-18 N, SM-18 S, LP-21 and CM-25 properties, completed by
Behre Dolbear for Cotter Corporation (August 2007). Indicated and
Inferred resources using GT cut-off of 0.1 ft% eU3O8; historic
resources using cut-off of 0.05% U3O8.
Slick Rock: Historical resource estimate
prepared by BRS Engineering, Inc. (effective April 2014). GT
cut-offs range from 0.25%-0.50%
Frank M: Historic Technical Report for Frank M,
prepared for Uranium One Americas, was authored by Douglas L.
Beahm, P.E., P.G. Principal Engineer of BRS Inc., and Andrew C.
Anderson, P.E., P.G. Senior Engineer/Geologist of BRS Inc., dated
June 10, 2008. Frank M historic resource used a GT cut-off of
0.25%.
Findlay Tank: Historic Technical Report for
Findlay Tank, prepared for Uranium One Americas, was authored by
Douglas L. Beahm, P.E., P.G. Principal Engineer of BRS Inc., dated
October 2, 2008. Findlay Tank historic resource used a grade
cut-off of 0.05% eU3O8.
Artillery Peak: Artillery Peak Exploration
Project, Mohave County, Arizona, 43-101 Technical Report, authored
by Dr. Karen Wenrich, October 12, 2010. GT cut-off varies by
locality from 0.01%-0.05%.
On behalf of the Board of
DirectorsANFIELD ENERGY INC.Corey Dias, Chief
Executive Officer
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Contact:Anfield Energy, Inc.Clive
MostertCorporate
Communications780-920-5044contact@anfieldenergy.comwww.anfieldenergy.com
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CONTENTS.
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