CA Market News
2週前
Energy Fuels Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire VAC for $1.9 Billion Equity ValueJune 23, 2026 6:15 AM
PR Newswire (US) Acquisition creates unique, fully integrated mine-to-magnet rare earth platform Positions the Combined Company to Capitalize on Surging Demand for Rare Earth Magnets across North America and Europe>$2 Billion Annual Permanent Magnet Potential Customer Pipeline Revenue Across Auto, Defense, Robotics, and Data Center SectorsExpected to be Immediately Accretive to Energy Fuels' Cash Flow and Margin ProfileLinks VAC's Established Permanent Magnet Business with Energy Fuels' Growing Rare Earth Mining, Processing and Refining PlatformCompany is Pursuing Various Funding Opportunities, including Government Programs, to Complement its Growth Strategy, and Recently Announced a $725 Million Conditional Loan from U.S. Office of Strategic CapitalDENVER and HANAU, Germany, June 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) today announced a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Vacuumschmelze GmbH & Co. KG, Ara VAC TopCo US LLC, and their respective consolidated subsidiaries (collectively, "VAC") from Ara Partners for a total cash-and-stock consideration of approximately $1.9 billion based on Energy Fuels' closing share price of $16.12 as of June 22, 2026, creating a fully integrated platform to strengthen global critical rare earth element ("REE") supply chains. VAC is a leading advanced magnetics company with over 100 years of production expertise, more than 400 patents, over 1,000 customers, and operating magnet production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia, including a state-of-the-art facility in Sumter, South Carolina, with capacity to produce 2,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") of permanent magnets, scalable to 12,000 tpa (the "Sumter Facility"). Over the last decade, VAC has produced and shipped more than one (1) billion rare earth permanent magnets. VAC's product portfolio spans both permanent magnets (sintered neodymium-iron-boron, NdFeB, and samarium-cobalt, SmCo) and soft magnetics (amorphous and nanocrystalline alloys, cobalt-iron and nickel-iron products), enabling integrated cross-selling among electrification and industrial applications. Approximately 85% of VAC's output is produced to customer specifications, reflecting deep design-in relationships built over decades, including customer partnerships averaging over 30 years with their largest accounts.The transaction brings together Energy Fuels' upstream REE assets, including low-cost REE mining projects and existing separation capacity, with VAC's world-class downstream REE magnet manufacturing expertise. The combined company will also benefit from Energy Fuels' planned acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials Limited (ASX: ASM) ("ASM"), which, subject to conditions including shareholder approval and completion ("Closing Conditions"), will add existing commercial-scale REE metals and alloys capacity in South Korea (the "Korean Metals Plant"), with plans to build a new metals and alloys facility in the U.S. (the "American Metals Plant"). The combined company aims to serve customers across North America, Europe and Asia in high-growth sectors, including automotive, aerospace and defense, robotics, data centers, electronics and industrial automation."This is a transformational moment for Energy Fuels and the global rare earth supply chain," said Ross Bhappu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Fuels. "Together with VAC, we will strengthen global rare earth and magnet supply chains, providing a reliable, secure and diversified source of critical materials from mines to highly valued permanent magnets. In addition, VAC's rapid solidification and crystalline businesses provide a soft-magnetics platform that is expected to result in greater scale, broader customer reach and enhanced ability to invest in innovation, manufacturing and growth. The combination of our two companies provides enhanced shareholder value and positions Energy Fuels as a leading, secure and trusted supplier for critical materials that are essential for national security and the safety and integrity of Western supply chains."Dr. Erik Eschen, President and Chief Executive Officer of VAC, stated: "For over a century, VAC has been at the forefront of advanced magnetics and pioneering critical materials. This transaction reinforces VAC as the cornerstone of a resilient and reliable permanent magnet supply chain, which is essential for alternative energy development, industrial competitiveness and national security. Joining forces with Energy Fuels gives our team, our technology, and our customers something that no other Western platform can offer today: a fully integrated supply chain platform from mine to finished magnet. With Energy Fuels' proven upstream capabilities and VAC's downstream expertise, proprietary IP, and the state-of-the-art Sumter Facility, we will be uniquely positioned to serve rapidly growing demand across various sectors including automotive, aerospace, defense, hyperscale data centers, robotics, semiconductors and beyond."Troy Thacker, Managing Partner of Ara Partners, added: "Rare earth magnets are essential to both decarbonization and national security, and VAC is a foundational supplier to that critical supply chain. The combination with Energy Fuels gives VAC a fully integrated platform and the resources to meet rapidly growing global demand. Ara is proud to have backed VAC's growth and intends to remain a committed shareholder, supporting this expanded team as the platform reaches its full potential."Following completion of the transaction, VAC will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Fuels and will retain its branding and historic identity. VAC's technology base, engineering expertise and manufacturing footprint will remain critical to the success of Energy Fuels, with VAC maintaining its headquarters in Hanau, Germany. The combined company will continue to serve VAC's over 1,000 customers, while investing in manufacturing, innovation, customer relationships and operational capabilities across North America, Europe and Asia.Energy Fuels has received a conditional commitment for up to $725 million from the U.S. Office of Strategic Capital ("OSC"), a 20-year loan to accelerate the planned expansion of the White Mesa Mill in Utah and the construction of the American Metals Plant. Energy Fuels and its joint venture partner Astron Limited are progressing discussions with Export Finance Australia and other lenders targeting a A$220 million lending package to support development of Phase 1 of the Donald Rare Earth and Mineral Sand Project (the "Donald Project"). In addition, VAC holds an existing $41 million grant from the U.S. Department of War which provides for the buildout of a metal-making facility in the U.S. that is expected to directly benefit the combined company. The conditional loan commitment between OSC and Energy Fuels specifies customary additional steps that the company must take to proceed toward financial close on the loan, including fulfilling financial, legal, technical and other due diligence requirements.Strategically and Financially Compelling CombinationFully Integrated Western Mine-to-Magnet Rare Earth Platform: The transaction paves the way for Energy Fuels to become the first western company with geographically diversified commercial capabilities across every critical step of the rare earth value chain. The combined platform includes feedstock supply from the "shovel ready" Donald Project in Australia; processing and separation at Energy Fuels' White Mesa Mill; metals and alloy production at ASM's currently operating Korean Metals Plant and planned American Metals Plant (subject to satisfaction of Closing Conditions); and high-performance permanent magnet manufacturing and assembly at VAC's European facilities and the recently commissioned Sumter Facility.Accretive to Energy Fuels' Earnings and Cash Flow: VAC's legacy business generated $29 million of adjusted EBITDA1 in 2025 and has experienced more than 20% year-on-year growth in its order book for 2026. The Sumter Facility is expected to generate approximately between $65 million and $75 million of annual run-rate EBITDA1 once its production reaches its current capacity of 2,000 tpa. The Sumter Facility was constructed to be expanded to 4,000 tpa without disrupting current 2,000 tpa capacity, which would be expected to increase annual run-rate EBITDA1 at the Sumter Facility to approximately $130 million to $140 million. Cash flow from VAC is expected to help fund Energy Fuels' growth pipeline, including the Phase II expansion of the White Mesa Mill, the Donald Project, and the planned American Metals Plant.Strong Market Share Growth Potential: VAC is the only commercial European and U.S. permanent magnet producer with a full spectrum of relevant, customer qualified NdFeB and SmCo magnet grades, including energy-dense, high-coercivity magnets required for mission-critical defense and aerospace applications. Demand for NdFeB magnets in North America and Europe is expected to grow by over 50% over the next decade according to the International Energy Agency. The Sumter Facility has ability to increase capacity to 12,000 tpa to meet strong growing demand, which, if fully realized, is expected to increase annual run-rate EBITDA at the Sumter Facility to ~$400 million1.Pipeline of Potential New Customers Across Key Sectors: VAC's permanent magnet customer pipeline includes EV and non-EV automotive applications, data centers, power tools, robotics, aerospace and defense, semiconductors, and other industrial applications. VAC has secured a contract with the Defense Logistics Agency to supply NdFeB blocks for the national defense stockpile, with production starting in 2026.The Sumter Facility will be an integral part of Energy Fuels' mine-to-magnet platform, with the Sumter Facility's existing capacity of 2,000 tpa expected to be supported by REE oxides extracted from monazite mined at Energy Fuels' shovel-ready Donald Project in Australia, which is expected to receive a positive Final Investment Decision in early Q3 2026 and to be commissioned in 2028. In its first phase, the Donald Project is expected to produce monazite to be processed into separated REE oxides at Energy Fuels' existing processing circuits at the White Mesa Mill, where upgrades are expected to be completed by the end of 2027. Subject to the Closing Conditions, the separated oxides are expected to be converted into REE metals and alloys at the Korean Metals Plant, and these in turn are to be used to make permanent magnets at the Sumter Facility.Energy Fuels' planned Phase II expansion of the White Mesa Mill is expected to increase its separation capacity to up to 6,000 tpa of neodymium-praseodymium ("NdPr") oxide and approximately 288 tpa of dysprosium ("Dy") and 80 tpa of terbium ("Tb") oxide by mid-2029.1Denotes a Non-GAAP measure. See "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in this press release for more information regarding the use of non-GAAP financial measuresThis expansion is expected to be fed by monazite from the Donald Project and Energy Fuels' Vara Mada and Bahia heavy mineral sands projects, which are currently in their permitting and development stages. Energy Fuels also intends to feed the White Mesa Mill through market purchases of monazite and mixed rare earth carbonate ("MREC") as required. Assuming satisfaction of the Closing Conditions, oxides produced from the Phase II separation capacity at the White Mesa Mill are expected to be converted into REE metals and alloys at the Korean Metals Plant and the American Metals Plant, with both facilities expected to be expanded. The expanded Phase II capacity at the White Mesa Mill is expected to provide REE alloys that could support a potential 12,000 tpa scale-up at the Sumter Facility, as well as VAC's European rare earth permanent magnet facilities, subject to demand for permanent magnets.Transaction Details
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Energy Fuels will acquire 100% of VAC from Ara Partners, a U.S.-based private equity firm specializing in industrial decarbonization investments, for total consideration of $718 million in cash and 65.853 million newly issued Energy Fuels common shares, which, at Energy Fuels' closing share price of $16.12 as of June 22, 2026, implies an equity value of $1.9 billion for VAC. If Energy Fuels' share price is below $20.93 per share at closing, Ara Partners will receive shares of a new series of preferred shares of Energy Fuels with an aggregate value of up to $135 million2. As of March 31, 2026, VAC has $140 million of adjusted net debt on its balance sheet that Energy Fuels will assume.Accounting for the planned completion of the ASM acquisition, Ara Partners will own 19.9% of Energy Fuels3 following closing of the VAC transaction and will have the right to nominate one director to Energy Fuels' Board of Directors, as well as a one-time veto on an independent nominee to the Board. Ara Partners will be subject to customary lockup and standstill restrictions and have been granted customary registration rights.Energy Fuels has obtained a $250 million term loan financing commitment from Goldman Sachs to support the refinancing of certain of VAC's existing debt, subject to customary conditions, including execution of definitive documents and satisfaction of closing conditions.The transaction is expected to close in early 2027 subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, including foreign investment, antitrust and other government approvals.Board of Directors' Recommendation
The Board of Directors of Energy Fuels has unanimously approved the Transaction. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC provided a fairness opinion to the Board of Directors of Energy Fuels as to the fairness to Energy Fuels of the consideration to be paid to Ara Partners.Advisors
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Dentons Canada LLP, Dorsey & Whitney LLP and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer are acting as legal counsel to Energy Fuels. Jefferies LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal counsel for VAC.2At Energy Fuels' current share price the preferred equity issuance would be $103mm. This amount is included in the $1.9 billion equity value calculation3Calculated on a basic shares outstanding basisInvestor Conference Call Details
Energy Fuels will conduct a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss information included in this news release. Please access the conference call if you wish to ask a question and the webcast to view the slide presentation at:RapidConnect URL:https://registrations.events/easyconnect/2943867/recNyVlzsXayW1zm4/ North American Toll Free: 1-800-715-9871 Audience URL:https://app.webinar.net/Rga98NypMlzThe slide presentation will be made available on the Company's investor relations webpage at https://investors.energyfuels.com/investors following the call. The conference call will be available in its entirety through a webcast and replay at https://investors.energyfuels.com/investors.About Energy Fuels
Energy Fuels is a leading U.S.-based critical materials company, focused on uranium, rare earth elements (REEs), heavy mineral sands, vanadium and medical isotopes. Energy Fuels, which owns and operates several conventional and in-situ recovery uranium projects in the western United States, has been the leading U.S. producer of natural uranium concentrate for the past several years, which is sold to nuclear utilities for the production of carbon-free nuclear energy. Energy Fuels also owns the White Mesa Mill in Utah, which is the only fully licensed and operating conventional uranium processing facility in the United States. At the Mill, Energy Fuels also produces advanced REE products, vanadium oxide (when market conditions warrant), and is evaluating the potential recovery of certain medical isotopes from existing uranium process streams needed for emerging Targeted Alpha Therapy cancer treatments. Energy Fuels is developing three (3) heavy mineral sands projects: the 100% owned Vara Mada Project in Madagascar; the 100% owned Bahia Project in Brazil; and the Donald Project in Australia in which Energy Fuels has the right to earn up to a 49% interest in a joint venture with Astron Limited. Energy Fuels, based near Denver, Colorado, trades its common shares on the NYSE American under the trading symbol "UUUU," and is also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "EFR." For more information on all Energy Fuels does, please visit http://www.energyfuels.com/.About VAC
VAC has been in operation for over 100 years and is a leading advanced magnetics company, with over 50 years of production expertise in high-grade sintered NdFeB and SmCo permanent magnets across multiple facilities in Europe and the United States. VAC's differentiated technology platform is underpinned by more than 400 patents and proprietary process know-how developed over decades. VAC is one of the few magnet producers that is Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement ("DFARs")-compliant, positioning it as a key supplier for the U.S. and allied defense sector. VAC operates magnet production facilities in Hanau, Germany (producing since 1973), Ulvila, Finland (since 1988), Horná Streda, Slovakia (since 2003), and Sumter, South Carolina (since 2025). VAC's state-of-the-art Sumter, South Carolina facility — the largest permanent magnet plant of scale in the United States — is constructed and able to produce 2,000 tpa of NdFeB magnet block and has a pathway to scale to 12,000 tpa. In addition to its leading REE permanent magnet capabilities, VAC is also a leading global manufacturer of advanced soft magnetic solutions and inductive components, including soft magnetic alloys and stamped parts, inductive components and cores, current sensors and other advanced technologies, which provide mission-critical solutions for a wide range of industries, including automotive, industrial automation, medical technology, renewable energy, e-mobility and aerospace. VAC currently employs approximately 4,000 people in several production facilities spanning the globe.About Ara Partners
Founded in 2017, Ara Partners is a global private markets firm focused on decarbonizing the industrial economy. The firm invests in the middle market across three strategies: Private Equity, Infrastructure, and Energy. Ara scales commercially demonstrated decarbonization solutions, supports the businesses and infrastructure that enable their adoption, and reduces emissions at the source across the conventional energy value chain. Ara operates from Houston, Boston, Dublin and Washington D.C., and as of March 31,2026, had approximately $8.2 billion in assets under management. For more information about Ara Partners, please visit www.arapartners.com.Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release includes references to adjusted EBITDA and some illustrative examples of forward-looking estimates of EBITDA, as described below, which are non-GAAP measures. Because these forward-looking estimates of EBITDA are illustrative examples, we are unable to present a quantitative reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, because such information is not available, and management cannot reliably predict all of the necessary components of such GAAP financial measure without unreasonable effort or expense. EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA do not have standardized meanings prescribed by GAAP and may not be comparable to (and may be calculated differently by) other companies that present similar measures. The illustrative examples presented in this presentation are estimates and future projections and are based on various assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Various risks could cause our actual performance to be materially different from the illustrative examples, projections and estimates. These examples, projections and estimates are provided solely for illustrative purposes, and there can be no assurances that any such financial results or performance will ultimately be realized, in the manner illustrated herein or at all. These illustrative examples, projections and estimates should not be relied upon as being necessarily indicative of future results. We define EBITDA as net income (loss) before (i) depreciation and amortization; (ii) interest expense; (iii) foreign exchange result; and (iv) income tax expense. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA before (i) non-recurring restructuring expense; (ii) one-time consulting expenses, (iii) freight cost normalization adjustment; (iv) one-time losses on purchases contracts; (v) non-recurring factoring interest; and (vi) other. A reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net income, its nearest comparable GAAP measures is included in this press release. EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA reflect additional ways of viewing aspects of VAC's operations that, when viewed with GAAP results, may provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting VAC's business. EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for, or as an alternative to, and should be considered in conjunction with GAAP financial measures. Energy Fuels strongly encourages investors to review the "Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA" found at the end of this press release and VAC's consolidated financial statements, when available.Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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 proposed acquisition of VAC will complete as planned or at all; any expectation that any of the government funding being pursued, including the recently announced $725 million loan from the U.S. Office of Strategic Capital, will be funded as contemplated or at all; any expectation that the A$220 million financing currently being discussed with Export Finance Australia and other lenders to accelerate development of the Donald Project will be funded as contemplated or at all; any expectation that the $250 million term loan financing commitment from Goldman Sachs will be funded as contemplated or at all; any expectation that the Closing Conditions will be satisfied or that the proposed ASM acquisition will close; any expectation that Energy Fuels' Donald Project will be developed as planned or at all; any expectation that Energy Fuels will develop its planned expansion of REE separation capacity at its White Mesa Mill; any expectation that the combined company will develop its planned American Metals Plant; any expectation that any of Energy Fuels' other projects will advance to a positive final investment decision and be developed; any expectation that the combined company will create a stronger Western platform with greater scale, broader customer reach and enhanced ability to invest in innovation, manufacturing and future growth; any expectation that the combined company will be uniquely positioned to serve the rapidly growing demand across electric vehicles, aerospace and defense, robotics, and beyond; any expectation with respect to future EBITDA and cash flow of the combined company; any expectation with respect to potential customer pipeline revenue; any expectation that the acquisition of VAC will be immediately accretive to Energy Fuels' cash flow and margin profile; any expectation as to future production of Energy Fuels or the combined company; any expectation that Energy Fuels will secure sufficient feed materials to support its planned expanded separations capacity at the White Mesa Mill; any expectation as to expected operational synergies of the combined company; any expectation with respect to the combined company's pipeline of potential new customers or the ability to maintain existing customers; any expectation that the Sumter Facility will scale-up its capacity to 12,000 tpa magnets or at all; any expectation that the Korean Metals Plant and/or American Metals Plant will be scaled up in the future; any expectation that Energy Fuels will maintain its position as a leading U.S.-based critical materials company; and any expectation that Energy Fuels' evaluation of radioisotope recovery at the White Mesa Mill will be successful. 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 Energy Fuels or the combined 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: commodity prices and price fluctuations; engineering, construction, processing and mining difficulties, upsets and delays; permitting and licensing requirements and delays; legal challenges; the availability of feed sources for the White Mesa Mill; competition from other producers; public opinion; government and political actions or inactions; the ability of Energy Fuels or the combined company to produce rare earth products to meet commercial specifications on a commercial scale at acceptable costs or at all; market factors, including future demand for rare earth element products generally or for western-produced REE products; and the other factors described under the caption "Risk Factors" in Energy Fuels' most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is available for review on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar, on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, and on Energy Fuels' website at www.energyfuels.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release, and Energy Fuels 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. Energy Fuels assumes no obligation to update the information in this communication, except as otherwise required by law.Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA$mmFY2025Net Income(50.6)Income Tax Expense(30.8)Foreign Exchange Result(1.4)Interest Expense44.0Depreciation and Amortization63.1EBITDA24.1Non-Recurring Restructuring4.8One-Time Consulting Expenses2.8Freight Cost Normalization Adjustment3.1Other0.2One-Time Losses on Purchase Contracts(5.3)Non-Recurring Factoring Interest(1.3)Adjusted EBITDA28.6Note: Values converted from EUR to USD at 1.2 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/energy-fuels-announces-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-vac-for-1-9-billion-equity-value-302807538.htmlSOURCE Energy Fuels Inc. Original: Energy Fuels Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire VAC for $1.9 Billion Equity Value
CA Market News
3週前
Energy Fuels Receives Conditional U.S. Government Support to Accelerate Growth in Rare Earths and Critical MaterialsJune 18, 2026 8:00 AM
PR Newswire (Canada) Company receives conditional commitment for up to $725 million of senior-secured debt from U.S. Office of Strategic Capital to support expansion of U.S. rare earths and critical materials production and processing capabilitiesDENVER, June 18, 2026 /CNW/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company"), a leading U.S.-based critical materials company focused on uranium, rare earth elements, heavy mineral sands, vanadium and other strategic materials, today announced updates on financing arrangements that will help accelerate the Company's growth and development. The Company has received a conditional $725 million financing commitment from the Department of War, U.S. Office of Strategic Capital ("OSC"). Under a commitment agreement that is subject to further due diligence, finalization of agreements, customary closing conditions, and approvals, the OSC would extend to Energy Fuels a $725 million loan with a tenor of 20 years to support the planned expansion of the Company's critical minerals processing capabilities at its White Mesa Mill in Utah as well as a planned rare earth metals and alloy facility to be constructed in the United States. The potential financing would support infrastructure and capacity to process rare earth elements and other critical materials from the Company's growing portfolio of domestic and international projects.Ross Bhappu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Fuels, said: "This important financing support from key investors aligns with Energy Fuels' objective to be a vital player in the rare earths supply chain. The United States government has been steadfast in its support of critical materials security, and we appreciate the OSC's financial support at this important time as we develop our vertically integrated supply chain."Bhappu continued, "Recent events have underscored the urgency of building durable, transparent and allied supply chains for critical materials. Energy Fuels is strategically positioned to lead that objective, with deep technical expertise and a strategy that encompasses multiple links on the critical materials value chain. We are proud to play a role in strengthening industrial resilience and supporting the long-term security and competitiveness of the United States and its allies."Energy Fuels' rare earths strategy couples upstream mineral resources with proven midstream processing and separation capabilities within the U.S. Upon the planned acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials Limited (ASX: ASM) (ASM) (subject to satisfaction of conditions, including ASM shareholder approval and completion), with its existing rare earth metal and alloy making expertise and facilities in South Korea, the Company will be uniquely positioned to support the development of reliable supply chains for materials essential to defense, advanced manufacturing, energy, automotive, technology and other strategic industries. The Company's White Mesa Mill in Utah provides Energy Fuels with a U.S.-based processing platform, while its broader portfolio of mineral assets and partnerships and planned rare earth metal and alloy capabilities provide a foundation for long-term growth across rare earths, uranium and critical minerals.The conditional OSC financing, together with other project-level financing discussions, is expected to provide Energy Fuels with additional long-term capital flexibility as it advances its rare earths and critical materials initiatives. The Company intends to use proceeds from the finalized financing to support eligible project development, processing capacity, supply chain integration, working capital and other strategic priorities, consistent with the terms of the applicable financing arrangements.Energy Fuels expects to provide additional details regarding the proposed financing, including final terms and timing, following the completion of definitive documentation.Energy Fuels has engaged Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as financial advisor and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as legal counsel for the transaction.About Energy Fuels Energy Fuels is a leading U.S.-based critical materials company, focused on uranium, rare earth elements (REEs), heavy mineral sands, vanadium and medical isotopes. Energy Fuels, which owns and operates several conventional and in-situ recovery uranium projects in the western United States, has been the leading U.S. producer of natural uranium concentrate for the past several years, which is sold to nuclear utilities for the production of carbon-free nuclear energy. Energy Fuels also owns the White Mesa Mill in Utah, which is the only fully licensed and operating conventional uranium processing facility in the United States. At the Mill, Energy Fuels also produces advanced REE products, vanadium oxide (when market conditions warrant), and is evaluating the potential recovery of certain medical isotopes from existing uranium process streams needed for emerging Targeted Alpha Therapy cancer treatments. Energy Fuels is developing three (3) heavy mineral sands projects: the 100% owned Vara Mada Project in Madagascar; the 100% owned Bahia Project in Brazil; and the Donald Project in Australia in which Energy Fuels has the right to earn up to a 49% interest in a joint venture with Astron Limited. Energy Fuels, based near Denver, Colorado, trades its common shares on the NYSE American under the trading symbol "UUUU," and is also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "EFR." For more information on all Energy Fuels does, please visit http://www.energyfuels.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis 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 Company will maintain its position as a leading U.S.-based critical materials company; any expectation that all required conditions will be satisfied and that the proposed OSC financing will be completed; any expectation that the Company will develop its planned expansion of REE production capacity at its White Mesa Mill; any expectation that the Company will develop a rare earth metals and alloys facility in the United States; any expectation that the proposed Australian Strategic Materials acquisition will close; any expectation that any of the Company's other projects will advance to a positive final investment decision; and any expectation that the Company's evaluation of radioisotope recovery at the Mill will be successful. 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: commodity prices and price fluctuations; engineering, construction, processing and mining difficulties, upsets and delays; permitting and licensing requirements and delays; legal challenges; the availability of feed sources for the Mill; competition from other producers; public opinion; government and political actions or inactions; the ability of the Company to produce rare earth products to meet commercial specifications on a commercial scale at acceptable costs or at all; market factors, including future demand for rare earth elements, 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, on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, 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. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/energy-fuels-receives-conditional-us-government-support-to-accelerate-growth-in-rare-earths-and-critical-materials-302803949.htmlSOURCE Energy Fuels Inc. Original: Energy Fuels Receives Conditional U.S. Government Support to Accelerate Growth in Rare Earths and Critical Materials
CA Market News
3週前
A Wartime Tungsten Mine the U.S. Government Wanted Drilled -- but Never Did -- Just Changed HandsJune 15, 2026 9:00 AM
PR Newswire (US) Issued on behalf of Western Star Resources Inc.With China controlling the vast majority of the world's tungsten and a 2027 U.S. defense-procurement cliff approaching, a past-producing New Mexico mine with a 27.6% surface sample has become a strategic acquisition.Equity Insider News CommentaryVANCOUVER, BC, June 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In the 1950s, the United States government looked at a high-grade tungsten deposit in the New Mexico desert, judged it strategically important enough to co-fund, and signed a contract to pay 75% of the cost of sinking a shaft and drilling it out. Then the contract was never executed, the drilling never happened, and the deposit slipped back into obscurity for the better part of seventy years. Today, with tungsten reclassified as a critical mineral and a looming defense-procurement deadline forcing Washington to confront its near-total dependence on China, that same untested deposit has just been acquired by a company betting the moment has finally caught up with the rock. Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) announced it has acquired a 100% interest in the past-producing Eagle Point Tungsten Mine in Hidalgo County, New Mexico — a property with a documented wartime production history, eight tungsten-bearing skarn bodies exposed at surface, a recent government sample grading an extraordinary 27.6% tungsten trioxide, and the unusual distinction of being a deposit the U.S. government once formally agreed to help drill. For a company assembling a portfolio of past-producing American tungsten assets, it is the kind of acquisition designed to anchor a strategy around one of the most geopolitically charged metals on the periodic table.Key TakeawaysWestern Star Resources (CSE: WSR) acquired a 100% interest in the past-producing Eagle Point Tungsten Mine in New Mexico — 24 contiguous lode claims in the Little Hatchet mining district — expanding its portfolio of U.S. tungsten assets into a new district.Recent USGS sampling returned a headline scheelite-bearing skarn grade of 27.6% WO3 (219,000 ppm tungsten) at surface, plus a roughly 0.98% molybdenum credit — confirming very high-grade mineralization that earlier work appears to have underestimated.The property is a documented past producer (~1,800 tons shipped during WWII at ~0.5% WO3), and in 1955 the U.S. government signed a Defense Minerals Exploration Administration contract to fund 75% of a shaft-and-drill program that was never carried out — leaving the core targets untested.Tungsten is a designated U.S. critical mineral; the United States has no domestic commercial production, and roughly 85% of global supply is controlled by China.The acquisition lands amid a sharp tightening in Western tungsten supply, alongside peers including Almonty Industries, Guardian Metal Resources, EQ Resources, and Energy Fuels.Why Tungsten Became a Strategic EmergencyTungsten rarely registers with the public, but it is one of the most quietly indispensable metals in the industrial and defense economy. It is the hardest naturally occurring metal by certain measures, with the highest melting point of any metal, which makes it essential for armor-piercing munitions, aerospace components, cutting tools, and a long list of advanced-manufacturing and energy applications. There is, for most of these uses, no good substitute. And the United States, despite that dependence, has no domestic commercial tungsten production — it imports what it needs, into a market where China controls an estimated 85% of global supply.That dependence has turned into a pressing vulnerability as the geopolitics have hardened. China has tightened export licensing on tungsten and other critical metals, and the price has responded violently: the benchmark ammonium paratungstate price in Rotterdam traded around US$3,185 per metric tonne unit in early May 2026, reported as roughly a 900% increase over the prior twelve months. Layered on top is a hard regulatory deadline — the DFARS 252.225-7052 procurement restriction, which from January 1, 2027 prohibits Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and North Korean-origin tungsten across much of the U.S. defense supply chain. In other words, the U.S. defense industrial base will soon be legally required to source tungsten from outside China, even though it currently produces none of its own. That gap is the entire investment thesis behind the domestic-tungsten developers, and it is why a past-producing American deposit suddenly looks strategic rather than historical.What Western Star Actually AcquiredEagle Point is not a greenfield gamble; it is a brownfield deposit with an unusually rich paper trail. Discovered in 1940 by a prospector hunting scheelite with an ultraviolet lamp — tungsten's signature mineral fluoresces under UV light — the property was examined repeatedly by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and U.S. Geological Survey across the 1940s and 1950s, and shipped roughly 1,800 tons of scheelite-bearing material to a government stockpile during the Second World War. Federal examiners at the time were encouraged by what they found, with one mid-century engineer concluding the mine could sustain a grade around 0.5% WO3 and operate as a low-cost open pit producing 100 tons or more per day.What has changed the picture is modern sampling. Recent USGS work, reported through New Mexico state geological data, returned a peak composite outcrop sample grading 27.6% WO3 — an exceptionally high grade for a surface sample — along with several additional skarn samples carrying anomalous to high-grade tungsten and elevated molybdenum. The highest-grade sample also returned approximately 0.98% molybdenum, raising the prospect of a co-product credit. The company has been careful to frame the property's history correctly: the deposit hosts eight separate skarn bodies exposed at surface over roughly 1,500 to 2,000 feet of strike, but historical drilling was minimal — only a few shallow holes near the main open cut — leaving the system effectively untested at depth and along strike using modern techniques.It is worth being precise about the numbers, because the company is. The mid-century tonnage figures — historical estimates on the order of 150,000 to 200,000 tons of scheelite-bearing tactite — are explicitly described as historical in nature. They predate and do not comply with NI 43-101, have not been verified by a qualified person as current mineral resources, and the company is not treating them as current resources or reserves. They are presented as a record of past work, not as a defined resource. That distinction matters, and the company's willingness to draw it clearly is a marker of disciplined disclosure rather than hype.The Contract That Never Got DrilledThe most intriguing feature of Eagle Point is the one that ties its past directly to the present moment. In 1955, the U.S. government — through the Defense Minerals Exploration Administration, a Cold War-era program created to spur domestic production of strategically vital minerals — drafted and signed a contract (Idm-E783, Docket DMEA-3701) agreeing to fund 75% of a program of shaft sinking and diamond drilling at Eagle Point. The government, in short, looked at this deposit during a previous period of tungsten anxiety and decided it was worth federal money to drill out. Then, for reasons lost to history, the contract was never executed and the planned drilling never happened.That detail is more than a historical curiosity. It means the deposit carries a federal stamp of strategic interest, and that the very exploration work the government once deemed worthwhile — testing the system at depth — has still never been done. "Eagle Point is the kind of asset you build a company around," said Blake Morgan, CEO and President of Western Star, pointing to the combination of high-grade tungsten, a documented production history, eight surface skarn bodies, and a tier-one U.S. jurisdiction in a deposit "never once … touched by modern exploration." He framed the federal backing pointedly: the deposit was "prospective enough that the U.S. Government approved and funded an exploration contract over it in the 1950s — one that was never drilled."The Plan From HereWestern Star intends to advance Eagle Point with the same systematic, modern toolkit it is applying across its U.S. tungsten portfolio — the kind of work the 1950s program never delivered. The proposed program centers on a property-wide, high-resolution drone magnetic survey to map the skarn-intrusive contact and generate drill targets; systematic rock-chip and soil geochemical sampling to follow up the high-grade USGS results and characterize the distribution of tungsten and molybdenum; and field mapping with ultraviolet fluorescence surveying to rapidly identify scheelite across the outcrops and dumps. The results are intended to prioritize targets and support the drill-permitting process that would, at long last, test the deposit at depth.The technical work carries the credibility of a named qualified person: the scientific and technical information has been reviewed and approved by Jasper Mowatt, a qualified person under NI 43-101. And the timing aligns with the policy backdrop — recent U.S. directives prioritize fast-tracking domestic tungsten projects, with federal grants and defense-sector support potentially available for qualifying critical-mineral assets, exactly the category Eagle Point is positioned to fit.The Tungsten Names Investors Are WatchingWestern Star is one of a small group of public companies racing to build Western-aligned tungsten supply, and looking at the broader field helps frame both the scale of the opportunity and where an early-stage explorer sits within it.Almonty Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ALM) (TSX: AII) is the bellwether of the entire sector. Described as the largest Western-aligned tungsten producer, Almonty began active mining at its Sangdong project in South Korea in late 2025 and has positioned itself as the anchor of a non-China tungsten supply chain for the U.S. and its allies, reporting sharp revenue growth and drawing bullish analyst coverage. Almonty illustrates the production-stage destination of the thesis — a company already turning the supply-security narrative into output and revenue — against which earlier-stage explorers like Western Star can be measured.Guardian Metal Resources PLC (NYSE American: GMTL) (AIM: GMET) (OTCQB: GMTLF) may be the closest stage-and-geography comparison. The company is advancing U.S. tungsten projects — including its Pilot Mountain and Tempiute assets in Nevada — squarely on the domestic-supply thesis, and completed a U.S. listing on the NYSE American in March 2026. As another developer working to revive American tungsten in a tier-one jurisdiction, Guardian is a useful reference point for how the market values a U.S.-focused tungsten story that is advancing toward, but has not yet reached, production.EQ Resources Limited (ASX: EQR) (OTCPK: EQRMF) represents the established, non-China producer angle from the other side of the world. Operating the Mt Carbine tungsten project in Queensland, Australia and the Barruecopardo mine in Spain, EQ Resources is among the largest tungsten producers outside Chinese control — a reminder that the Western supply response spans multiple continents, and that allied production, not just U.S. production, is part of how the procurement gap gets filled.Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) rounds out the group as the broader U.S. critical-minerals diversifier. Best known as a leading domestic uranium producer, Energy Fuels has expanded into rare earths and other critical minerals, positioning itself as a multi-commodity vehicle for the same reshoring wave driving tungsten. It illustrates how the critical-minerals theme that makes a tungsten deposit like Eagle Point strategically valuable extends across a whole basket of materials the U.S. is racing to source domestically. These companies are referenced to illustrate the sector and do not imply any partnership, endorsement, affiliation, or comparable financial performance; they span different metals, jurisdictions, sizes, and stages, and Western Star sits among the earliest-stage, pre-resource names.The Opportunity and the CaveatsThe appeal of the Eagle Point acquisition is easy to articulate: a brownfield, past-producing tungsten deposit with high-grade surface samples, eight skarn bodies, a documented federal history, and a tier-one U.S. location, acquired precisely as a defense-procurement cliff and Chinese export controls turn domestic tungsten into a strategic priority. Few junior acquisitions check that many boxes at once.The caveats are equally important. Western Star is an early-stage exploration and development company; Eagle Point has no current, NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource, and the historical tonnage figures cannot be relied upon as current. The standout 27.6% WO3 result is a selective surface sample, not a representative grade for the deposit, and high-grade grab samples by their nature do not reflect what systematic drilling will ultimately define. The proposed work program — surveys, sampling, and eventual drilling — carries the usual exploration, permitting, and financing risks, and the company has not yet drilled the targets that would convert promise into a defined resource. Exploration outcomes are inherently uncertain, and investors should weigh the strategic appeal against that reality.Still, the larger trajectory is hard to dispute. A metal the U.S. cannot currently produce domestically, controlled overwhelmingly by a strategic rival, subject to a fast-approaching procurement deadline, with prices up enormously over the past year — that is a sector with powerful structural tailwinds. Western Star has responded by acquiring a deposit the U.S. government itself once wanted drilled, and positioning it at the center of an American critical-minerals platform. Whether Eagle Point ultimately delivers will be settled by the drill bit. But the strategic logic of owning high-grade, past-producing U.S. tungsten at this particular moment is about as clear as it gets in the junior-mining world.CONTINUED … Learn more about Western Star Resources Inc. at: https://equity-insider.com/wsr-landingSEE WHAT THE MARKET IS TALKING ABOUT BEFORE IT MOVESEagle Eye reads social, forum, and news chatter across thousands of investor conversations in real time — and surfaces the tickers the crowd is piling into, along with the sentiment and catalysts behind them.Explore Eagle Eye free (for now) at https://Eagle-Eye.devCONTACT:
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info @therooster-2873SOURCES:1. Western Star Resources Inc. — "Western Star Resources Acquires the Past-Producing Eagle Point Tungsten Mine, New Mexico…" (company press release, June 2026; primary source for the acquisition, USGS grades, DMEA contract history, claims, CEO Blake Morgan quotes, and QP Jasper Mowatt): https://www.westernstarresources.com/news
2. U.S. Tungsten Supply Chain Tightens (PR Newswire / Equity Insider, May 27, 2026; APT Rotterdam ~US$3,185/MTU, ~900% increase, DFARS Jan 1 2027 cliff, peer set WSR / ALM / GMET / EQR / UUUU): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-tungsten-supply-chain-tightens-as-a-nevada-past-producer-mobilizes-drone-geophysics-and-property-wide-soil-geochemistry-toward-drill-ready-targets-302783006.html
3. Almonty Industries Inc. — Shareholder letter, "Long-Term Plan to Anchor Western Tungsten Supply Chain" (Jan 20, 2026; Sangdong production, China ~80%+ supply, critical-metal status): https://almonty.com/shareholder-letter-outlines-long-term-plan/
4. U.S. Geological Survey — Mineral Commodity Summaries: Tungsten (U.S. import reliance, no domestic commercial production, global supply concentration): https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/tungsten-statistics-and-information
5. Clinkscales, C. & Lawton, T. (2017), "Mesozoic–Paleogene structural evolution … Little and Big Hatchet Mountains, southwest New Mexico," Geosphere (regional geological setting of the Little Hatchet district): https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01539.1DISCLAIMER:Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. equity-insider.com is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Ireland. ("MIQL"). MIQL has been paid a fee for Western Star Resources Inc. advertising and digital media from the company directly. There may be 3rd parties who may have shares Western Star Resources Inc., and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. Previous compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. The owner/operator of MIQL do not own any shares of Western Star Resources Inc. but reserve the right to buy and sell, and will buy and sell shares of Western Star Resources Inc. at any time hereafter without any further notice. We also expect further compensation in the future as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material disseminated by MIQL has been approved by the above mentioned company; we own shares of the mentioned company that we will sell, and we also reserve the right to buy shares of the company in the open market, or through further private placements and/or investment vehicles. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-wartime-tungsten-mine-the-us-government-wanted-drilled--but-never-did--just-changed-hands-302798916.html Original: A Wartime Tungsten Mine the U.S. Government Wanted Drilled -- but Never Did -- Just Changed Hands
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Energy Fuels Expects to Achieve Full-Year Uranium Production Guidance by Mid-YearJune 11, 2026 6:15 AM
PR Newswire (US) Mid-year update highlights strong execution across the Company's U.S. uranium operations, with an expected 1.6 million pounds of finished U3O8 produced from January through June 2026, falling within the Company's 2026 full-year production guidance range of 1.5 to 2.5 million pounds.DENVER, June 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company"), a leading U.S. producer of uranium, rare earth elements (REEs), and other critical materials, today provided a mid-year update on its U.S. uranium segment, demonstrating solid operational execution and continued progress against 2026 production objectives. Processing and Production at the White Mesa Mill in Utah:The Company expects finished uranium production at its 100%-owned White Mesa Mill in Utah (the "Mill") to reach approximately 1.6 million pounds by June 30, which falls within the previously published full-year guidance range of 1.5 to 2.5 million pounds of U3O8, in just six (6) months. This equates to average monthly production of more than 265,000 pounds of U3O8 from the processing of ores mined at the Company's U.S. conventional assets, including the Pinyon Plain mine in Arizona and La Sal Complex in Utah.As planned, the Company expects to complete the current uranium ore processing campaign at the Mill by the end of June 2026 to rebuild ore stockpiles. The Company currently expects to resume ore processing at the Mill in Q4-2026, subject to continued strong ore production at conventional mines, uranium market conditions, and the potential for a rare earth element ("REE") processing campaign.Starting in July 2026, the Company expects to commence further modifications to the existing Phase 1 REE circuits at the White Mesa Mill, which are currently capable of producing commercial quantities of separated neodymium-praseodymium ("NdPr"). The modifications are expected to also enable the commercial production of "heavy" REEs, including samarium ("Sm"), europium ("Eu"), gadolinium ("Gd"), terbium ("Tb") and dysprosium ("Dy"). The Phase 1 modifications are also expected to include a circuit to process certain uranium-bearing mixed REE carbonates ("MREC") sourced from REE mines globally, including MRECs from ionic adsorption clays that are often enriched in "heavy" REEs. Because MRECs can be fed directly into solvent extraction separation, the new circuit is expected to enable the Mill to process both uranium and separated REEs simultaneously.Permitting for the planned Phase 1 modifications and Phase 2 REE expansion with the State of Utah is proceeding on schedule. The Phase 1 REE modifications are expected to be operational in late 2027 to early 2028. The Phase 2 REE expansion is expected to increase total White Mesa Mill REE capacity to nearly 6,300 metric tons per annum ("tpa") of NdPr, 80 tpa Tb, and 288 tpa Dy, along with the Sm, Eu and Gd capacity being constructed in the Phase1 modifications discussed above.Conventional and ISR Uranium Mining UpdatesThe Company's conventional uranium mines also continue to perform well. As anticipated, ore grades and contained uranium are lower in the first half of 2026 as mining advances through lower grade areas in the upper portions of the high-grade Main Zone at Pinyon, and the Company establishes new and higher-grade areas at the La Sal Complex. As a result, the Company expects to mine approximately 750,000 to 850,000 pounds of contained U3O8 in ore during the first half of 2026. In the second half of 2026, grades and tonnage are expected to increase.The Company continues to advance development at several other uranium properties. Delineation drilling at the Nichols Ranch property has exceeded 136,000 feet in 214 drill holes in 2026, and the Company expects to use these results to update the project's NI 43-101 and S-K 1300-compliant Technical Report later this year. The Company has also begun dewatering the existing decline at its fully permitted Whirlwind uranium mine in Utah and Colorado. After dewatering, the Company expects to complete decline rehabilitation at Whirlwind in 2026 in preparation for potential uranium production in 2027. At the Energy Queen mine (part of the La Sal Complex), the Company has assessed the condition of the existing headframe, hoist and other infrastructure and has begun the upgrades needed to start rehabilitation in 2027.Continued Low Uranium CostsMining, processing, and transport costs at the Pinyon Plain mine continue to track between $23 and $30 per pound for the Pinyon Plain mine, in line with previously stated expectations. The cost of uranium processing at the White Mesa Mill is at historic lows, ranging between $9 and $12 per pound of U3O8. As a result, cost of sales is expected to continue to drop in 2026, as further sales are made into the Company's portfolio of contracts with U.S. nuclear utilities, along with opportunistic spot sales.Ross Bhappu, President and CEO of Energy Fuels stated: "Energy Fuels remains focused on disciplined execution across our uranium, rare earth and mineral sand businesses. Our uranium segment continues to differentiate Energy Fuels as the clear leading U.S. uranium producer through our strong operating performance, production and costs. We also continue to advance key strategic initiatives in our other segments, including rare earth permitting and construction at the White Mesa Mill, advancing our Donald, Vara Mada and Bahia rare earth and mineral sand projects, and the planned acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials, which is expected to strengthen our rare earth market position as one of the few ex-China suppliers of rare earth metals and alloys globally."About Energy FuelsEnergy Fuels is a leading U.S.-based critical materials company, focused on uranium, rare earth elements (REEs), heavy mineral sands, vanadium and medical isotopes. Energy Fuels, which owns and operates several conventional and in-situ recovery uranium projects in the western United States, has been the leading U.S. producer of natural uranium concentrate for the past several years, which is sold to nuclear utilities for the production of carbon-free nuclear energy. Energy Fuels also owns the White Mesa Mill in Utah, which is the only fully licensed and operating conventional uranium processing facility in the United States. At the Mill, Energy Fuels also produces advanced REE products, vanadium oxide (when market conditions warrant), and is evaluating the potential recovery of certain medical isotopes from existing uranium process streams needed for emerging Targeted Alpha Therapy cancer treatments. Energy Fuels is developing three (3) heavy mineral sands projects: the 100% owned Vara Mada Project in Madagascar; the 100% owned Bahia Project in Brazil; and the Donald Project in Australia in which Energy Fuels has the right to earn up to a 49% interest in a joint venture with Astron Corporation Limited. Energy Fuels, based near Denver, Colorado, trades its common shares on the NYSE American under the trading symbol "UUUU," and is also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "EFR." For more information on all Energy Fuels does, please visit http://www.energyfuels.comQualified PersonThe technical information in this press release has been reviewed on behalf of the Company by Daniel Kapostasy, Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of the Company.CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSThis news release contains certain "Forward Looking Information" and "Forward Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable United States and Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: expected quantities of finished U3O8 production at the Mill; timing for completion of U3O8 ore processing campaign at the Mill; timing of resumption of ore processing at the Mill; timing, scope and expected results of further modifications to the Phase I REE circuit, including resulting commercial production; expected production of conventional U3O8 at the La Sal Complex; the timing of updated Technical Reports relating to Nichols Ranch; completion and timing of rehabilitation activities at Whirlwind, anticipated costs of sales in 2026 and any expectation that the Company is or will continue to be a leading producer of uranium, REEs and critical materials in the U.S. or otherwise. 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 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: commodity prices and price fluctuations; risks inherent in mining, processing, engineering and construction activities, including operational interruptions, delays or cost overruns; variability in ore grades, metallurgical recoveries and processing rates; permitting and licensing requirements and delays; changes to regulatory requirements; legal challenges; competition from other producers; government and political actions or inactions; market factors, including future demand for REEs, titanium and zirconium; 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.Without limiting the foregoing, forward-looking statements regarding the Company's expected uranium production by June 30, 2026 and its ability to meet or exceed previously disclosed full-year production guidance are subject to additional risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: uncertainties in reconciling finished uranium production at the Mill with contained uranium mined and stockpiled; variability in ore grades, metallurgical recoveries and processing rates; the timing and continuity of ore deliveries to the Mill; unplanned equipment outages, maintenance requirements or operational interruptions; changes in mine sequencing or production rates at the Company's conventional mining operations; and the potential for differences between estimated and actual production results over the remainder of the current processing campaign.Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release, and Energy Fuels 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. Energy Fuels assumes no obligation to update the information in this communication, except as otherwise required by law. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/energy-fuels-expects-to-achieve-full-year-uranium-production-guidance-by-mid-year-302797516.htmlSOURCE Energy Fuels Inc. Original: Energy Fuels Expects to Achieve Full-Year Uranium Production Guidance by Mid-Year
CA Market News
1月前
U.S. Tungsten Supply Chain Tightens As A Nevada Past-Producer Mobilizes Drone Geophysics And Property-Wide Soil Geochemistry Toward Drill-Ready TargetsMay 27, 2026 9:05 AM
PR Newswire (Canada) Issued on behalf of Western Star Resources Inc. With APT Rotterdam tungsten prices up roughly 900% over twelve months, the January 1, 2027 DFARS procurement cliff on Chinese-origin tungsten now eight months away, and Canadian CMETC tax architecture actively subsidizing tungsten exploration, one Nevada junior is moving from historical production to modern-vintage drill targeting.USA News Group News CommentaryVANCOUVER, BC, May 27, 2026 /CNW/ -- The Western tungsten supply problem has reached the operational tooling stage. APT Rotterdam tungsten prices traded at approximately US$3,185 per metric tonne unit in early May 2026 — a roughly 900% increase over the past twelve months — driven by Chinese export licensing controls, the looming January 1, 2027 DFARS 252.225-7052 procurement cliff on Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and North Korean-origin tungsten products across the U.S. defense supply chain, and the Canadian Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (CMETC) expansion that now actively subsidizes tungsten exploration under Bill C-15 (Royal Assent March 26, 2026). Inside that landscape, Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2), Almonty Industries Inc. (TSX: AII) (OTCQX: ALMTF), Guardian Metal Resources PLC (AIM: GMET) (OTCQX: GMTLF), EQ Resources Limited (ASX: EQR) (OTCPK: EQRMF), and Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) collectively span the spectrum of Western-aligned tungsten and critical-mineral exposure.Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE: WSR) (OTC: WSRIF) (FRA: 4K2) on May 21, 2026 announced that its technical team has mobilized to the Company's Rowland Tungsten Property in Elko County, Nevada, to commence the first phase of its 2026 field exploration program. The initial program includes a high-resolution drone magnetic survey, systematic prospecting, sampling of historical waste dumps and workings, and a property-wide soil geochemistry campaign — designed to refine the Company's understanding of the prospective tungsten-bearing skarn horizons. The objective: generate drill-ready targets during the 2026 field season.Blake Morgan, CEO and President of Western Star, framed the program as the first modern exploration program ever conducted on the past-producing Rowland tungsten system. The property has documented historical production but has not previously been evaluated using modern drone geophysics and systematic property-wide geochemistry. Mineralization at Rowland is hosted in skarn zones up to 100 feet wide, developed along intrusive contacts between Cretaceous-aged quartz monzonite stock and a host sequence of limestones, shales, and quartzites — with scheelite as the primary tungsten mineral. Drone geophysical results are expected in the coming weeks, with soil samples submitted for certified laboratory analysis.The geological foundation under Rowland is substantial. Historical production figures — based on previous records and not yet independently verified by the Company — include 4.5 tons at 3.38% WO3 shipped in 1943 and approximately 1,000 tons at 0.5–1.0% WO3 produced between 1954 and 1956. These represent the documented past-producing footprint that the modern 2026 program is designed to convert into structurally controlled, geochemically validated drill targets. Western Star expects to integrate the drone geophysical results, soil geochemistry, and historical production data into priority drill target generation, with drill permitting also progressing in parallel.The macro environment under the program is unusually supportive. The January 1, 2027 DFARS 252.225-7052 procurement cliff — which codifies under 10 U.S.C. §4872, NDAA Section 844 (FY2021), and Section 854 (FY2024) — extends prohibitions across the entire defense supply chain from mining through finished tungsten metal powders, tungsten heavy alloys, samarium-cobalt magnets, NdFeB magnets, and tantalum metals/alloys. The Canadian CMETC framework — expanded under Budget 2025 (November 4, 2025) and enacted via Bill C-15 (Royal Assent March 26, 2026) — added tungsten to the eligible critical minerals list, providing a 30% non-refundable credit on top of the 100% Canadian Exploration Expense deduction for FT share agreements through March 31, 2027.Western Star also recently engaged Plutus Invest & Consulting GmbH — a Bremen-based investor relations and marketing firm — under a mandate fee of €200,000 through April 30, 2027, positioning the Company for European market awareness during the back half of 2026 and through Q1 2027 — precisely the window during which the U.S. federal procurement cliff takes effect and the Company's maiden drill program is generating its first modern technical results. The scientific and technical information at Rowland has been reviewed by Jasper Mowatt, MAusIMM, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. For more company information, visit USA News Group. In other industry developments and happenings in the market include: Almonty Industries Inc. (TSX: AII) (OTCQX: ALMTF) has continued to advance commissioning and ramp-up of its Sangdong tungsten project in South Korea — one of the largest tungsten mines outside of China and the central pillar of the Western tungsten capacity build-out. Sangdong's projected mine life and production scale position Almonty as the single largest Western-aligned source of new tungsten production capacity heading into the 2026–2027 window. The Company's existing producing assets in Portugal and Spain provide additional near-term cash flow and operational platform under the tightening Western tungsten procurement environment.Almonty's strategic positioning — operating producing tungsten assets while simultaneously commissioning the largest non-China tungsten development project in the Western world — places AII as the public-market reference for tungsten production scale-up. As the January 2027 DFARS procurement cliff approaches, the supply premium attaching to allied tungsten production capacity continues to widen — a structural feature of the broader Western critical-minerals capital cycle.Guardian Metal Resources PLC (AIM: GMET) (OTCQX: GMTLF) has continued exploration and resource definition work at its Pilot Mountain tungsten project in Nevada — among the highest-grade tungsten development assets currently positioned in the U.S. critical-minerals procurement environment. The Company's strategic positioning within the U.S. domestic tungsten supply chain build-out has been reinforced by continuing engagement under U.S. Department of War and Defense Production Act-related programs targeting domestic tungsten capacity.Guardian Metal's U.S.-based positioning at Pilot Mountain — combined with its dual AIM/OTCQX listing structure — provides the public-market reference for U.S. tungsten development assets at advanced exploration stage. The procurement environment is increasingly differentiating among tungsten exposures by jurisdictional alignment, project stage, and resource verification — a sequencing the broader sector has been pricing into the development-stage assets through the back half of 2025 and into 2026.EQ Resources Limited (ASX: EQR) (OTCPK: EQRMF) has continued to advance its tungsten production operations at the Mt Carbine project in Queensland, Australia — one of the few currently producing tungsten assets in the broader Western-allied production complex. The Company has continued to leverage the structurally higher tungsten price environment through 2025 and into 2026, with operations focused on tungsten concentrate production at scale.EQ Resources' positioning as a producing Australian tungsten operator provides the operational reference point for what tungsten production economics look like inside the current commodity price environment — and reinforces the broader structural premium attaching to Western-allied tungsten supply. Australia's positioning as a tier-one mining jurisdiction with growing U.S. defense procurement engagement continues to reinforce the strategic relevance of EQ's production base.Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) has continued to expand its critical minerals portfolio through 2026, advancing the Vara Mada (formerly Toliara) Project in Madagascar — renamed January 8, 2026 via the updated feasibility study release. The Vara Mada Project represents one of the largest critical-mineral development assets in the Energy Fuels portfolio, providing rare earth, titanium, and other critical-mineral exposure alongside the Company's established uranium production base. The Company continues to advance its White Mesa Mill in Utah as the primary U.S. processing facility for uranium and rare earth concentrates.Energy Fuels' integrated U.S.-based production and processing infrastructure — anchored by White Mesa Mill — positions UUUU as one of the most operationally diversified critical-minerals platforms in the public market. The Company is renegotiating Vara Mada fiscal terms with the new Randrianirina government in Madagascar following the October 2025 political transition. Across the Western critical-minerals development complex, UUUU's processing capability provides architectural reference for what a vertically integrated critical-minerals producer can look like at scale.Across the comparable set, the message is consistent: Western tungsten supply economics have entered a new phase, U.S. and allied procurement environments are repricing in real time, and the upstream resource layer is where the asymmetry of the trade lives. Western Star Resources' May 21 field mobilization at Rowland — paired with documented historical tungsten production, the Plutus European IR mandate, and the converging DFARS and CMETC policy windows — places the Company at the modern-vintage-exploration entry point inside the broader Western tungsten capital cycle. For investors building exposure to the U.S. tungsten supply chain reshore thesis, WSR deserves a closer look.CONTINUED… Read this and more news for Western Star Resources Inc. at: https://usanewsgroup.com/wsr-landingCONTACT:
USA News Group
info @therooster-2873Article Sources:https://www.juniorminingnetwork.com/junior-miner-news/press-releases/3243-cse/wsr/203835-western-star-resources-mobilizes-field-team-to-rowland-tungsten-property-and-launches-drone-geophysics-and-property-wide-geochemical-program.htmlhttps://almonty.com/news/https://guardianmetalresources.com/news/DISCLAIMER:Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. USA News Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group, Inc. ("MIQ"). MIQ has previously been paid a fee for Western Star Resources Inc. advertising and digital media from the company directly. That compensation has since expired. MIQ expects further compensation in the future. There may be 3rd parties who may have shares of Western Star Resources Inc., and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. Previous compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. The owner/operator of MIQ does not currently own shares of Western Star Resources Inc. but reserves the right to buy and sell, and will buy and sell shares of Western Star Resources Inc. at any time without any further notice commencing immediately and ongoing. We also expect further compensation in the future as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material disseminated by MIQ has been approved by the above mentioned company. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.Issued on behalf of Western Star Resources Inc. by USA News Group / Market IQ Media Group, Inc.Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2838876/5656770/USA_News_Group_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-tungsten-supply-chain-tightens-as-a-nevada-past-producer-mobilizes-drone-geophysics-and-property-wide-soil-geochemistry-toward-drill-ready-targets-302783006.htmlSOURCE USA News Group Original: U.S. Tungsten Supply Chain Tightens As A Nevada Past-Producer Mobilizes Drone Geophysics And Property-Wide Soil Geochemistry Toward Drill-Ready Targets
CA Market News
2月前
Inside America's Largest Conventional Measured and Indicated Uranium Deposit: Eagle Nuclear Energy Advances Aurora Toward Pre-FeasibilityMay 14, 2026 10:57 AM
PR Newswire (US) Issued on behalf of Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp.Environmental baseline studies commence at flagship Aurora Uranium Project ahead of 27,000-foot, 47-hole drill program scheduled to commence in July 2026; PFS targeted second half of 2027NEW YORK, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Equity Insider News Commentary — The United States burns through roughly 50 million pounds of uranium each year to fuel the world's largest fleet of nuclear reactors, and imports approximately 95% of that uranium from foreign suppliers.[1] That structural import dependence — combined with accelerating demand projections for nuclear power across AI data centers, grid expansion, and emerging space-deployment mandates — has placed domestic uranium development firmly into the national security conversation. Spot uranium pricing reached approximately $86.55 per pound as of May 1, 2026, up 24% over the trailing twelve months, providing the price backdrop against which the small group of U.S.-asset uranium developers has been advancing through the spring of 2026.[2] Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: NUCL) — a next-generation nuclear energy company that owns the rights to the largest conventional, measured and indicated uranium deposit in the United States— on May 5, 2026 announced the commencement of environmental baseline studies in advance of the Company's previously announced 27,000-foot, 47-hole Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS")-related drill program at its flagship Aurora Uranium Project, located along the Oregon–Nevada border.[3] The studies are being conducted by numerous engaged consultants ahead of the drill program, which is scheduled to commence in early July 2026 using two to three rigs over an estimated three- to four-month period.[3]Aurora: A Defined Conventional Uranium ResourceThe Aurora Uranium Project hosts 32.75 million pounds of indicated and 4.98 million pounds of inferred uranium resource under the SK-1300 TRS reporting standard.[2] The adjacent Cordex deposit, also held by the Company, is positioned as offering significant potential to expand the project's overall resource inventory beyond Aurora's current indicated and inferred base.[3] Together, the assets anchor Eagle's stated long-term strategy to develop an integrated nuclear energy platform that combines domestic uranium resources with exclusive Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology —the integrated platform strategy the Company has emphasized since its February 25, 2026 Nasdaq listing..[2]Drill Program Engineering and Permitting SequenceOn April 1, 2026, Eagle announced its plans to conduct a 27,000-foot drill program at Aurora — designed by resource consultants BBA USA Inc. ("BBA") to address data gaps identified through a comprehensive Gap Analysis study and advance the project toward a PFS.[4] On April 9, 2026, the Company signed a Drilling Services Agreement with Fallon, Nevada-based Harris Exploration Drilling & Associates Inc. ("Harris Drilling"), which committed up to three track-mounted core drill rigs to complete the 47-hole program designed by BBA.[5]The permitting workstream advanced in parallel. On March 18, 2026, Eagle selected SLR International Corporation to lead the permitting effort at Aurora — a leading global mining and environmental consulting firm bringing experience with the federal and state permitting process for U.S. uranium developments.[6] On March 10, 2026, the Company announced it had joined the Uranium Producers of America — an industry trade association that aligns Eagle with the broader U.S. domestic uranium policy conversation.[6]The Company on April 15, 2026 provided its first quarter 2026 corporate update and financial results — the first quarter following the February 24, 2026 completion of its business combination with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. II and the February 25, 2026 commencement of Nasdaq trading under the symbol "NUCL."[7]A Tightening Uranium Market BackdropThe price environment for U.S. domestic uranium developers has continued to firm through Q2 2026. Spot uranium pricing at approximately $86.55 per pound as of May 1, 2026 represents one of the strongest sustained price ranges of the past decade for the metal.[2] White House National Science and Technology Memorandum 3, issued April 14, 2026, mandates space-based nuclear deployment by 2028 and lunar reactor deployment by 2030 — federal directives that have increased the strategic importance of domestic uranium and the enriched fuel cycle running adjacent to it.[8]Across the broader uranium sector, producers operating U.S. and adjacent assets continue to reinforce the growing demand backdrop Eagle is advancing into. .Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ) (TSX: CCO), one of the world's largest publicly listed uranium producers, has continued to advance the Cigar Lake operation and the McArthur River/Key Lake restart in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan — alongside its strategic 49% interest in Westinghouse Electric Company. The Company has remained the benchmark name for senior uranium production exposure in the public markets.Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE American: UEC) has continued to advance its U.S.-based in-situ recovery uranium production platform across Texas and Wyoming, alongside development-stage assets in the Powder River and Great Divide basins. UEC's positioning as one of the larger pure-play U.S. uranium developers makes its operational cadence a useful read on the broader U.S. uranium production conversation that Eagle's Aurora development pathway sits within.Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR), the U.S.'s largest producer of uranium concentrates and a leading rare earth elements producer, operates the White Mesa Mill in Utah — the only fully licensed and operating conventional uranium mill in the United States. Energy Fuels' integrated U.S. uranium-and-critical-minerals positioning has continued to draw attention as the broader domestic supply chain policy conversation has accelerated.Denison Mines Corp. (NYSE American: DNN) (TSX: DML) has continued to advance its Phoenix In-Situ Recovery uranium project at Wheeler River in Saskatchewan toward final investment decision, with the project positioned as one of the lower-cost potential new uranium operations in North America. Denison's progress in the Athabasca Basin provides one of the more closely watched development timelines in the senior uranium developer cohort.Bottom Line on NUCL's PositionThe May 5, 2026 commencement of environmental baseline studies marks the start of the PFS-related workstream proper at Aurora. With the drill program scheduled to commence in July 2026 under a signed Drilling Services Agreement with Harris Drilling, permitting led by SLR, resource modelling by BBA, and the Company holding what it describes as the largest conventional measured and indicated uranium deposit in the United States, Eagle has translated its February 2026 Nasdaq listing into an operational execution profile aligned with the broader uranium sector's current growth cycle. . The PFS is targeted for the second half of 2027; the next several quarters will be defined by drill progress, baseline-study completion, and the permitting interface across federal and state regulators.[3]Read more about Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp. at: usanewsgroup.com/nucl-profileCONTACT:Equity Insider
editor @acblanke1SOURCES:Equity-Insider.com — "The U.S. Imports 95% of Its Uranium. One Nasdaq-Listed Newcomer is the Largest Conventional Deposit in the Country," GlobeNewswire, April 16, 2026, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/04/16/3275617/0/en/The-U-S-Imports-95-of-Its-Uranium-One-Nasdaq-Listed-Newcomer-is-the-Largest-Conventional-Deposit-in-the-Country.htmlGlobeNewswire — "Domestic Uranium Development Update: Eagle Nuclear Energy (NASDAQ: NUCL) Initiates Pre-Drill Environmental Baseline Studies at Aurora Project," May 6, 2026, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/05/06/3289153/0/en/Domestic-Uranium-Development-Update-Eagle-Nuclear-Energy-NASDAQ-NUCL-Initiates-Pre-Drill-Environmental-Baseline-Studies-at-Aurora-Project.htmlEagle Nuclear Energy Corp. — "Eagle Nuclear Energy Announces Commencement of Environmental Baseline Studies in Advance of PFS-Related Drill Program at Aurora," GlobeNewswire, May 5, 2026, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/05/05/3287674/0/en/Eagle-Nuclear-Energy-Announces-Commencement-of-Environmental-Baseline-Studies-in-Advance-of-PFS-Related-Drill-Program-at-Aurora.htmlEagle Nuclear Energy Corp. — "Eagle Nuclear Energy Announces Plans to Conduct a 27,000 Ft Drill Program To Advance Aurora Toward a Pre-Feasibility Study," April 1, 2026, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/04/01/3266610/0/en/Eagle-Nuclear-Energy-Announces-Plans-to-Conduct-a-27-000-Ft-Drill-Program-To-Advance-Aurora-Toward-a-Pre-Feasibility-Study.htmlEagle Nuclear Energy Corp. — "Eagle Nuclear Energy Engages Drilling Company And Files Permit Applications For PFS-Related Drill Program at Aurora," April 9, 2026, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/04/09/3270973/0/en/Eagle-Nuclear-Energy-Engages-Drilling-Company-And-Files-Permit-Applications-For-PFS-Related-Drill-Program-at-Aurora.htmlEagle Nuclear Energy Corp. — "Eagle Nuclear Energy Selects SLR International Corporation to Lead the Permitting Effort at Aurora Uranium Project," March 18, 2026; "Eagle Nuclear Energy Joins Uranium Producers of America," March 10, 2026.Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp. — "Eagle Nuclear Energy Provides First Quarter 2026 Corporate Update," April 15, 2026.24/7 Wall St. — "Oklo, Nano Nuclear, Centrus, NuScale Surge as White House Space Nuclear Mandate Electrifies the Sector," April 16, 2026.DISCLAIMER:Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a digital media distribution and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. Equity-Insider.com is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group, Inc. ("MIQ"). This article is being distributed by Equity Insider on behalf of MIQ. MIQ has been paid a fee by Creative Direct Marketing Group ("CDMG") for Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp. advertising and digital media. MIQ does not currently own shares of Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp., but reserves the right to buy and sell shares of Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp. at any time without any further notice commencing immediately and ongoing. There may also be 3rd parties who may have shares of Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp. and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. This compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. We also expect further compensation as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material, including this article, has been reviewed and approved on behalf of Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp. by CDMG.Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:Certain statements included in this commentary are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this commentary — including statements regarding Eagle Nuclear Energy Corp.'s drill program schedule, environmental baseline studies, permitting timelines, PFS targets, resource expansion potential, anticipated nuclear energy market demand, U.S. domestic uranium supply chain dynamics, and integrated SMR platform development — are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Risks include, without limitation: risks related to the business combination with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. II completed February 24, 2026 and matters disclosed in the Company's registration statement on Form S-1 originally filed with the SEC on March 19, 2026 and any amendments or supplements thereto; risks related to permitting and regulatory approvals; risks related to drilling results and resource expansion; market and commodity price volatility; legal and listing risks; and other operational and financial risks. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2840019/5969765/Equity_Insider_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inside-americas-largest-conventional-measured-and-indicated-uranium-deposit-eagle-nuclear-energy-advances-aurora-toward-pre-feasibility-302771659.html Original: Inside America's Largest Conventional Measured and Indicated Uranium Deposit: Eagle Nuclear Energy Advances Aurora Toward Pre-Feasibility
CA Market News
2月前
Western Nations Accelerate $12B Critical Mineral Initiatives as Global Export Restrictions Reach Record HighsMay 7, 2026 11:15 AM
PR Newswire (Canada) Issued on behalf of GoldHaven Resources Corp.USANewsGroup.com News Commentary VANCOUVER, BC, May 7, 2026 /CNW/ -- The money tells the story. Western governments just committed $12.1 billion in new mining project capital through 30 partnerships at the 2026 PDAC conference, while the U.S. launched its FORGE coalition, pulling in 54 nations and locking down 11 bilateral supply agreements in a single day[1]. That spending is reactive. A new OECD inventory confirms global export restrictions on critical raw materials have hit an all-time high, with supply concentration for cobalt, lithium, and rare earths now exceeding 90% among the top three producing nations[2]. The structural shift is pulling capital down the entire Western mineral pipeline, from early stage exploration to commercial production, and five companies are positioned directly in its path: GoldHaven Resources (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF), Almonty Industries (NASDAQ: ALM) (TSX: AII), Brixton Metals (TSXV: BBB) (OTCQX: BBBXF), NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ: NB), and Energy Fuels (NYSE-A: UUUU) (TSX: EFR). Analysts now project the global critical minerals market will nearly double to $715 billion by 2035, with North American investment growing at the fastest rate as defense budgets, AI infrastructure, and electrification demand converge on the same finite set of inputs. An April 2026 OECD working paper on critical minerals and clean energy applications reinforces the thesis: projects offering exposure to multiple designated critical minerals across defense, energy, and technology supply chains are now attracting the strongest institutional capital[3].GoldHaven Resources (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF) just announced the upsizing of its previously announced non-brokered financing to gross proceeds of up to $1.2 million—due to strong investor demand. The additional capital is set to further strengthen GoldHaven's fully funded 2026 exploration program at its flagship Magno Project in the Cassiar District of British Columbia, and it's expected to support an expanded drill campaign targeting a large-scale, multi-phase mineral system with significant and critical metals exposure, including tungsten and indium."The level of investor interest reflects growing recognition of the opportunity at Magno," said Rob Birmingham, CEO of GoldHaven. "With drilling set to expand beyond our initial program, we are entering a catalyst-rich phase where we can begin to test the scale of this system across multiple high-priority targets. We believe Magno has the characteristics of a large, multi-phase mineral system, and this program is a key step in advancing that potential."Magno is a district-scale polymetallic property spanning more than 37,200 hectares, carrying silver, tungsten, lead, zinc, and indium mineralization. Tungsten is classified as a critical mineral by both the Canadian and U.S. governments, and Canada currently has no primary domestic tungsten production. GoldHaven Resources has already submitted its drill permit application at Magno and filed a technical report covering the polymetallic system, positioning the project for its first drill program as the funding comes together."We are entering an exciting and highly strategic phase at Magno, where multiple high-grade zones and distinct mineralization styles have now been defined across a large, consolidated land package," said Birmingham. "The combination of high-grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization and growing exposure to critical minerals such as tungsten and indium continues to reinforce our view that Magno hosts the hallmarks, continues to reinforce our view that Magno is emerging as a compelling district-scale silver and critical minerals exploration opportunity in the Cassiar District."The company is also active in Brazil, where an independent geological review of its 100%-owned Copeçal Gold Project confirmed a large-scale, structurally controlled hydrothermal gold system. The review identified higher-grade gold enrichment at the West Target tied to fold hinge structures, and copper-gold vectors at the East Target supported by zoned sulphide assemblages indicating increasing temperature at depth. A Phase II drill program at Copeçal is planned for 2026, designed to test the high-priority structural and geophysical targets identified through that review.CONTINUED… Read this and more news for GoldHaven Resources at: https://usanewsgroup.com/2025/09/23/the-goldhaven-story-two-continents-one-strategy-systematic-exploration-in-historically-productive-districts/In other industry developments:Almonty Industries (NASDAQ: ALM) (TSX: AII) announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from Toronto, Ontario to Dillon, Montana, positioning the company closer to U.S. government agencies, defense contractors, and industrial partners following its Nasdaq listing and US$90 million IPO in July 2025 and a US$129 million follow-on financing in December 2025. The move accompanies the acquisition of Montana's Gentung Tungsten Project, expected to restart production in 2026, and deepens Almonty Industries' strategic alignment with U.S. critical mineral supply chain security."Relocating our headquarters to the United States is not merely symbolic," said Lewis Black, Chairman, President and CEO of Almonty Industries. "It reflects who we are – as Montana is the location of our recently acquired Gentung Tungsten Project – and where our future lies. Our investors, customers, and strategic partners are here because they recognize the urgency of building a Western tungsten supply chain free from Chinese dependence."Almonty Industries operates the Sangdong Mine in South Korea, historically one of the world's largest and highest-grade tungsten deposits, as well as projects in Portugal and Spain. With Sangdong Phase 1 complete and Gentung on track for restart, the company is targeting a dominant position in the global non-Chinese tungsten supply chain.Brixton Metals (TSXV: BBB) (OTCQX: BBBXF) reported the third batch of drill results from its Langis 2026 drill program at the Langis silver project in Ontario, Canada, including hole LM-26-290 with a 0.50-metre sample grading 82,334 g/t silver containing abundant native silver, representing the highest-grade single sample ever reported by the company and among the highest silver grades ever reported globally. The hole returned 11.35 metres averaging 4,560 g/t silver, with multiple additional bonanza-grade intercepts reported across the program."We are excited to report the third batch of drill results from the Langis 2026 drill program," said Gary R. Thompson, Chairman and CEO of Brixton Metals. "These results are extraordinary and are among the most significant silver drilled intercepts known to the company globally. Hole LM-26-290 has delivered an exceptional result, highlighted by 82,334 g/t silver from a 0.50m core length sample containing abundant native silver."Brixton Metals is advancing the Langis silver project in Ontario alongside its Thorn copper-gold-silver project in British Columbia, with ongoing drilling at Langis aimed at delineating the extent of bonanza-grade mineralization and establishing a mineral resource estimate.NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ: NB) announced Nebraska enacted legislation giving the company greater flexibility to qualify for approximately $200 million in state tax incentives over the first ten years of operations at the Elk Creek Project in southeast Nebraska, in return for investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the state and creating approximately 450 full-time equivalent jobs. Signed by Governor Jim Pillen on April 16, 2026, the legislation extends the period during which companies must meet Tier 6 Nebraska Advantage Act employment and investment requirements."I want to thank Governor Pillen, Revenue Committee Chairman Brad von Gillern, Senator Hallstrom, and members of the Nebraska Unicameral for supporting this effort," said Mark A. Smith, Chairman and CEO of NioCorp Developments. "Nebraska has stood behind the Elk Creek Project from the very beginning, and this is another clear demonstration of that commitment."The Elk Creek Project is expected to create approximately 450 permanent direct jobs in southeast Nebraska, support an estimated 2,100 additional jobs throughout the broader state economy, and generate approximately $6.59 billion in operating expenses over the project's life. NioCorp Developments is a leading U.S. critical minerals developer focused on advancing the project toward production.Energy Fuels (NYSE-A: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) produced its first kilogram of terbium oxide at its White Mesa Mill in Utah at 99.9% purity using monazite ore sourced domestically, representing the first U.S. mine-to-oxide capability for heavy rare earth oxides in decades and the first production volumes and purities sufficient for downstream metal and alloy validation. The achievement follows production of nearly 30 kilograms of dysprosium oxide at the same purity level, with both terbium and dysprosium now subject to Chinese export controls and critical to high-performance permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, drones, robotics, and defense applications."This success proves we can process and produce high purity 'heavy' rare earth oxides economically and at scale in the U.S.," said Mark Chalmers, CEO of Energy Fuels. "North America will soon have a reliable and secure U.S. commercial source of these vital critical materials ensuring availability for high-performance magnet and defense technologies."Energy Fuels has received requests from multiple magnet manufacturers and OEMs worldwide to begin product validation of its Dy and Tb oxide production. The company operates the White Mesa Mill as a leading U.S. producer of uranium, rare earths, and critical materials, advancing its strategy of becoming a globally significant critical material producer.FURTHER READING: https://usanewsgroup.com/2025/09/23/the-goldhaven-story-two-continents-one-strategy-systematic-exploration-in-historically-productive-districts/CONTACT:
USA News Group
info @acblanke1DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this publication should be considered as personalized financial advice. We are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular financial situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. Please consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decision. This is a paid advertisement and is neither an offer nor recommendation to buy or sell any security. We hold no investment licenses and are thus neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. The content in this report or email is not provided to any individual with a view toward their individual circumstances. USA News Group is wholly-owned subsidiary of Market IQ Media Group, Inc. ("MIQ"). This article is being distributed for Baystreet.ca Media Corp. ("BAY"), who has been paid a fee for an advertising campaign. MIQ has not been paid a fee for GoldHaven Resources Corp. advertising or digital media, but the owner/operators of MIQ also co-owns BAY. There may also be 3rd parties who may have shares of GoldHaven Resources Corp. and may liquidate their shares which could have a negative effect on the price of the stock. This compensation constitutes a conflict of interest as to our ability to remain objective in our communication regarding the profiled company. Because of this conflict, individuals are strongly encouraged to not use this publication as the basis for any investment decision. We also expect further compensation as an ongoing digital media effort to increase visibility for the company, no further notice will be given, but let this disclaimer serve as notice that all material, including this article, which is disseminated by MIQ on behalf of BAY has been approved by GoldHaven Resources Corp. The scientific and technical information disclosed in this document have been reviewed and approved by two Qualified Persons (QPs). The Copeçal Technical Report identifies Jean-Marc Lopez, B.Sc., FAusIMM, as the Qualified Person responsible for the report. The report "GoldHaven Resources Completes Summer Exploration Programs" states that the technical information has been reviewed and approved by Jonathan Victor Hill, B.Sc. Hons, FAusIMM, an independent Qualified Person and Country Manager of GoldHaven. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between the any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment. While all information is believed to be reliable, it is not guaranteed by us to be accurate. Individuals should assume that all information contained in our newsletter is not trustworthy unless verified by their own independent research. Also, because events and circumstances frequently do not occur as expected, there will likely be differences between the any predictions and actual results. Always consult a licensed investment professional before making any investment decision. Be extremely careful, investing in securities carries a high degree of risk; you may likely lose some or all of the investment.SOURCES:https://thehub.ca/2026/04/17/canadas-critical-minerals-diplomacy-is-moving-fast-more-industrial-capacity-is-needed/ https://www.oecd.org/en/about/news/press-releases/2026/04/critical-raw-materials-face-rising-export-restrictions-increasing-risks-to-global-supply-chains.html https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/critical-minerals-and-clean-energy-applications_e3b08f4d-en.htmlLogo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2838876/5951154/USA_News_Group_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/western-nations-accelerate-12b-critical-mineral-initiatives-as-global-export-restrictions-reach-record-highs-302765646.html Original: Western Nations Accelerate $12B Critical Mineral Initiatives as Global Export Restrictions Reach Record Highs
CA Market News
2月前
Energy Fuels Announces Q1-2026 ResultsMay 6, 2026 5:27 PM
PR Newswire (US) DENVER, May 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company"), a leading U.S. producer of uranium, rare earth elements ("REEs"), and other critical minerals, today reported its financial and operational results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. The Company previously announced details for its upcoming May 7, 2026, earnings call. "Building on the strong foundation established under the leadership of Mark Chalmers, I am honored to step into the role of CEO and lead Energy Fuels through its next phase of growth," said Ross Bhappu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Fuels. "My immediate focus is disciplined execution—continuing to align our global teams, advancing development projects with a strong emphasis on schedule certainty and capital efficiency, and strengthening the operational foundation required to support sustained, long-term growth as a vertically integrated critical materials company."During the quarter, we made meaningful progress across our portfolio. We successfully produced terbium oxide at pilot scale, announced the planned acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials, and made the decision to install infrastructure at the White Mesa Mill to enable future production of heavy rare earth oxides, including samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium and dysprosium. In our uranium business, we delivered 510,000 pounds of U3O8 to customers, meeting contract commitments, capitalizing on favorable spot market conditions, and remained on track to achieve our full-year uranium production and sales guidance."Across our uranium development portfolio, activity continues to accelerate. At Nichols Ranch and Whirlwind, development efforts are positioning us to quickly respond to favorable market conditions. In parallel, we have accelerated permitting on key development assets, including Roca Honda and Bullfrog, enhancing our ability to scale long-term domestic production in support of growing U.S. nuclear energy demand. Development of our rare earth elements and mineral sand business continues across multiple assets, including ongoing progress at our Donald Project joint venture in Australia, which has the potential to advance to construction in the near-term and provide a long-term source of monazite to our White Mesa Mill in Utah, with exceptional concentrations of both light and heavy rare earth oxides."Taken together, our Q1 results reflect solid execution today and reinforce the long-term opportunity in front of Energy Fuels."Q1 2026 HighlightsUnless noted otherwise, all dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars.Financial Highlights:Robust Balance Sheet with Over $950 million of Liquidity: As of March 31, 2026, the Company had $956.6 million of working capital, including $108.4 million of cash and cash equivalents, $802.2 million of marketable securities (comprised primarily of short-term, interest-bearing securities and uranium equities), $7.6 million of trade and other receivables, and $69.0 million of inventory. This liquidity supports ongoing operations and project development.Net Loss of $11 Million; Significant Year-over-Year Improvement: The Company incurred a net loss of $10.8 million ($0.04 per share) during the quarter, a substantial improvement from last year's Q1 net loss of $26.3 million ($0.13 per share). The improvement was driven primarily by higher uranium concentrate revenues and an increase in other income, partially offset by higher operating costs between periods.Over $8 Million Generated from Operating Cash Flows: The Company generated $8.3 million in cash from operating activities during the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared to $18.8 million used in cash from operating activities during the same period in 2025. The improvement resulted mainly from increased uranium revenues, including the collection of a significant portion of receivables within the quarter and reduced cash outflows for the reclamation activities at the Kwale Project. $36 Million in Revenue: The Company sold 510,000 pounds of U3O8 at a weighted average realized price of $70.04 per pound for total uranium revenues of $35.7 million. Spot market sales totaled 100,000 pounds for revenue of $9.6 million at a weighted average realized price of $95.88 per pound, while long-term contract sales totaled 410,000 pounds for revenue of $26.1 million at a weighted average realized price of $63.74 per pound.Uranium Milestones:Mined 425,000 Pounds of Contained U3O8: The Company continued mining at its Pinyon Plain, La Sal, and Pandora mines with combined mined ore and mineralized material containing approximately 425,000 pounds of U3O8. At its Pinyon Plain mine, the Company mined ore containing approximately 375,000 pounds of U3O8 with an average grade of approximately 1.12% eU3O8. Lower grades were reported in Q1 as the Company moved between high-grade zones. Grades are expected to increase in the coming periods.Produced Nearly 800,000 Pounds of Finished U3O8: The Company produced 790,000 pounds of finished U3O8 in Q1 2026 and reached 1 million pounds in April. Conventional ore processing at the White Mesa Mill in Utah (the "Mill") began as planned in Q4 2025 and, along with alternate feed material processing, is expected to continue throughout 2026, supporting contracted deliveries, potential spot sales, and reducing production costs. See below for further details.Well-Stocked to Meet Long-term Contract Obligations and Capture Market Opportunities: Due to mined ore production at the Pinyon Plain, La Sal, and Pandora mines, as well as processing and production at the Mill, the Company is well-stocked to meet its upcoming long-term uranium contract sales and potential spot sales as market conditions warrant. The Company's inventory balances at the end of Q1 2026 were as follows:Ore, mineralized material and raw materials (contained pounds of U3O8)(1)960,000Work-in-process (contained pounds of U3O8) (1)180,000Finished pounds of U3O81,100,000Total pounds of finished and contained U3O8(1)2,240,000(1) Estimated.
Guidance Unchanged: The Company's guidance for 2026 remains unchanged as follows:
Low
HighMined (contained pounds of U3O8)2,000,000
2,500,000Processed (finished pounds of U3O8)(1)1,500,000
2,500,000Sales (pounds of U3O8)(2)1,500,000
2,000,000
(1)Assumes the conventional uranium Mill run continues through 2026 including downtime for planned maintenance. The conventional Mill run is expected to be completed once available stockpiled mineralized materials have been processed. A subsequent Mill run will proceed pending receipt of sufficient mineralized material stockpiles to justify the restart, which is currently expected to be later in 2026 or early in 2027.(2)Subject to sales into the spot market depending on market conditions.Uranium Production Costs Reduced in Q1-2026: As of March 31, 2026, the Company's finished inventories of U3O8 had a weighted average cost of approximately $36 per pound, representing a reduction of approximately $7 per pound (16%) versus December 31, 2025. As previously disclosed, the cost to mine, transport and process Pinyon Plain ore is approximately $23 to $30 per pound. The Company plans to continue processing low-cost Pinyon Plain ore during 2026, blending it with relatively smaller quantities of lower grade, higher cost La Sal/Pandora and other mineralized material (at the Company's discretion), along with previously produced and purchased finished inventories from various sources over the years. The Company expects production costs to continue to decrease throughout 2026 as Pinyon Plain material is processed and sold.Uranium Price Update: The spot price of U3O8 is $86.25 per pound and the long-term price of U3O8 is $93.00 per pound, according to price data from TradeTech as of May 1, 2026.Rare Earth Element Milestones:Planned Acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials Limited: The Company entered into a definitive agreement on January 20, 2026, as amended on March 12, 2026, to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Australian Strategic Materials Limited ("ASM") by way of a scheme of arrangement under Australian law. ASM is an Australian-based critical materials company with REE mining, processing, and metallization assets, including the Dubbo Project in New South Wales, a metallization and alloying facility in South Korea and plans to potentially construct a metallization and alloying facility in the U.S. Under the terms of the transaction, ASM shareholders will be entitled to receive 0.053 Common Shares (or CHESS Depositary Interests) for each ASM ordinary share held, and up to AUD$0.13 per ASM share in cash, subject to customary conditions. ASM option holders are expected to receive cash consideration of AUD$0.50 per option under a concurrent option scheme of arrangement. The transaction remains subject to court, regulatory and shareholder approvals under the Australian scheme of arrangement process. Australian foreign investment approval has been obtained. The Company expects the transaction to close as early as July 2026.Phase 1 Expansion to Enable Production of Heavy REEs: Energy Fuels is advancing plans to expand its existing Phase 1 rare earth elements ("REE") separation circuit at the Mill aiming for commercial-level recovery of heavy REEs, including samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, and dysprosium, and potentially other heavy REEs. Progress remains subject to several factors, including regulatory approvals, financing, successful development and implementation, and the availability of suitable feedstock.The Company is also evaluating enhancements to enable the Phase 1 Circuit to process uranium- and REE-bearing mixed rare earth carbonates ("MREC") or similar intermediate REE products from third-party sources. These materials are expected to be processed through the Mill's REE solvent extraction circuits without requiring the use of equipment needed for conventional uranium production, subject to applicable approvals and normal execution risks.Energy Fuels continues discussions with magnet and original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs") about future offtake for both light and heavy REEs, supporting the Company's long-term strategy to develop a diversified, non-Chinese rare earth supply chain.Phase 2 Expansion to Enable Large-Scale Production of Light and Heavy REEs: In January 2026, Energy Fuels announced the results of an AACE International Class 3 Bankable Feasibility Study ("BFS") for its planned Phase 2 REE separation circuit at the Mill. The Phase 2 Circuit is designed to materially boost both light and heavy REE production capacity and enable REE processing operations to function independently of the Mill's conventional uranium production.The combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 Circuits are expected to increase total NdPr production capacity from the current level of 1,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") to approximately 6,229 tpa, in addition to roughly 80 tpa of Tb and 288 tpa of Dy. The Phase 2 Circuit is also expected to produce additional separated REE concentrates, including samarium-europium-gadolinium and holmium-group concentrates (which could be further processed and separated by the Company), along with approximately 198,000 pounds of U3O8 per year.The BFS estimates initial capital costs for the Phase 2 Circuit of approximately $410 million and forecasts strong long-term economics, including globally competitive production costs and substantial expected average annual EBITDA over the 40-year modeled life of the project. The Company has not yet made a final investment decision ("FID") with respect to the Phase 2 Circuit.Phase 1 and Phase 2 Expansion Combined Summary:Phase
NdPr (tpa)
Tb (tpa)
Dy (tpa)Phase 1: NdPr (Existing)
1,000
—
—Phase 1: Heavies (Planned)
—
14
48Phase 2: (Planned)
5,229
66
240Total (Phase 1 + Phase 2)(1)
6,229
80
288(1) Actual recoveries may differ.Successful Pilot-Scale Production of Tb: In March 2026, the Company announced the successful pilot-scale production of high-purity Tb oxide at the Mill, representing the first U.S. primary production of this critical heavy REE in decades. The Tb oxide achieved approximately 99.9% purity, meeting specifications required by global permanent magnet manufacturers.REE Price Update: European NdPr, Dy and Tb prices were $125/kg, $1,300/kg and $4,500/kg, respectively, while North American NdPr was $125/kg, all as of May 1, 2026, according to price data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.Heavy Mineral Sands Milestones:Vara Mada Project: In Q1 2026, Energy Fuels advanced it's 100%-owned Vara Mada Project in Madagascar, a large heavy mineral sand ("HMS") project with significant titanium, zirconium, and REE resources. The REE resources are expected to be processed into REE oxides in the Phase 2 expansion at the Mill discussed above.In January 2026, an updated Feasibility Study ("FS"), prepared in accordance with U.S. Regulation S-K 1300 and Canadian NI 43-101, confirmed the project's scale, 38 year mine life, and robust economics, including a post-tax, pre-debt net present value (10% discount rate) of approximately $1.8 billion and internal rate of return of approximately 25%. At full production, the project is expected to generate average annual EBITDA of over $500 million and average annual free cash flow of approximately $264 million over the modeled mine life.Project development at Vara Mada remains subject to a positive FID, regulatory approvals, updated permitting and final agreement on fiscal matters with the Government of Madagascar. Discussions are ongoing with respect to the legal and fiscal framework necessary to support project development, including mechanisms for long-term stability, tax and customs considerations, foreign exchange matters, enforcement mechanisms and adding monazite to the existing exploitation permit. These matters are expected to be addressed through an investment agreement requiring parliamentary approval and/or through revisions to applicable Malagasy law.Recent political developments in Madagascar, including changes in government leadership and cabinet appointments, have not significantly impacted the project at this time, but the Company continues to monitor conditions as negotiations progress to determine what, if any, impacts these events may have on the expected timelines and prospects for development of the project.Donald Project: The Company continued to advance the Donald Project via its joint venture with Astron Corporation Limited. The Donald Project has received all major regulatory approvals required to construct and operate the project and is expected to provide a long-term, large-scale source of monazite feedstock for the Company to process into light and heavy REE oxides at the Mill.Energy Fuels' ownership in the Donald Project JV increased to 10.5% as of March 31, 2026 with AUD $44.6 million in cash and stock contributed. The Company has the option to earn-in up to a 49% ownership interest through additional investments upon the achievement of designated milestones, including a potential future FID.The project is strategically significant due to high concentrations of heavy REEs, including dysprosium, terbium, and samarium, contained in the monazite concentrate expected to be produced at the project and delivered to the Mill over the 39-year modeled life of the project.Bahia Project: The Bahia Project is an HMS and REE-bearing monazite project in Brazil that has the potential to supply 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes of monazite per year to the Mill over the long term. The Company currently has two drill rigs operating at the Bahia Project to gather the technical data necessary to support future S-K 1300 and NI 43-101-compliant technical reports, which are currently targeted for completion as early as late 2026.Medical Isotope Highlights:The Company is advancing its medical isotope initiatives to separate critical radioisotopes for potential use in cancer treatments. Ongoing test and engineering work at the research and development ("R&D") pilot facility aims to produce R&D-scale quantities of radium-226 ("Ra-226"), while efforts continue to secure necessary licenses and advance engineering for the potential production of R&D-scale quantities of radium-228 ("Ra-228") at the Mill. Upon the successful production of R&D quantities of Ra-226, the Company will assess developing commercial-scale production capabilities at the Mill for Ra-226, and potentially Ra-228, as early as 2028, pending completion of engineering design, offtake agreements, and regulatory approvals.Mr. Bhappu continued:"We invite all stakeholders to join us in our upcoming May 7, 2026, earnings call, details of which are below, to learn more about our exciting achievements."~~~Conference Call and Webcast at 9:00 AM MT (11:00 AM ET) on Thursday, May 7, 2026:Conference call access with the ability to ask questions:To instantly join the conference call by phone, please use the following link to easily register your name and phone number. After registering, you will receive a call immediately and be placed into the conference call.Rapid Connect URL: https://registrations.events/easyconnect/1570580/receHltm4sQsOafy4/Alternatively, you may dial in to the conference call where you will be connected to the call by an Operator.North American Toll Free: 1-800-715-9871To view the webcast online:Audience URL: https://app.webinar.net/5n8mp53lbg1Conference ReplayConference Replay Toronto: 1-647-362-9199Conference Replay North American Toll Free: 1-800-770-2030Conference Replay Entry Code: 1570580#Conference Replay Expiration Date: 05/14/2026The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and may be viewed on the Electronic Document Gathering and Retrieval System ("EDGAR") at www.sec.gov/edgar.html, on the System for Electronic Data Analysis and Retrieval + ("SEDAR+") at www.sedarplus.ca, and on the Company's website at www.energyfuels.com. Unless noted otherwise, all dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars.Selected Summary Financial Information:
Three Months Ended March 31,(In thousands, except per share data)
2026
2025Results of Operations:
Uranium concentrates revenues
$ 35,720
$ —Heavy mineral sands revenues
—
15,543Total revenues
35,838
16,898Operating loss
(16,928)
(26,193)Net loss attributable to Energy Fuels Inc.
(10,844)
(26,297)Basic net loss per common share
$ (0.04)
$ (0.13)Diluted net loss per common share
$ (0.04)
$ (0.13)(In thousands)
March 31, 2026
December 31, 2025Financial Position:
Working capital
$ 956,634
$ 927,438Property, plant and equipment, net
70,433
69,795Mineral properties, net
320,977
312,266Current assets
992,724
958,671Total assets
1,458,663
1,411,852Current liabilities
36,090
31,233Total liabilities
731,347
729,282Qualified Person StatementThe scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release was reviewed and approved by Daniel D. Kapostasy, PG, Registered Member SME and Vice President, Technical Services for the Company, who is a "Qualified Person" as defined in S-K 1300 and National Instrument 43-101.ABOUT ENERGY FUELSEnergy Fuels is a leading U.S. critical materials company specializing in uranium, rare earth elements, heavy mineral sands, vanadium, and the development of medical isotopes. Energy Fuels is the leading U.S. producer of natural uranium concentrate, used for nuclear energy generation. The Company owns the only fully licensed conventional uranium mill operating in the U.S. – the White Mesa Mill in Utah – where it also produces REE products and evaluates medical isotope recovery for emerging cancer therapies. Additionally, Energy Fuels owns several producing and development uranium assets in the western United States and three heavy mineral sands/rare earths projects: the Vara Mada Project in Madagascar, Bahia Project in Brazil, and Donald Project in Australia (through a joint venture with Astron Limited). Based in Lakewood, Colorado, its shares trade on the NYSE American ("UUUU") and TSX ("EFR"). For more details, visit http://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 United States and Canadian securities legislation, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: any expectation that the Company will maintain its position as a leading U.S.-based critical minerals company or as the leading producer of uranium in the U.S.; any expectation with respect to timelines to production; any expectation as to rate, quantities or duration of production; any expectations as to uranium or other mineral grades and whether such grades will continue or change over time; any expectation as to costs of goods sold, costs of production or gross profits, gross margins or other margins; any expectation as to future sales or sales prices; any expectations as to future inventory levels or changes to inventory levels; any expectation that the Company will be profitable; any expectation that the Company will develop its planned expansion of REE separation capacity at the Mill; any expectation that the Company's permitting efforts will be successful and as to any potential future production from any properties that are in the permitting or development stage; any expectation with respect to the Company's planned exploration programs; any expectation that any of the critical minerals the Company produces will have a valuable upside; any expectation that the proposed ASM acquisition will close; any expectation that the Company's Vara Mada Project or Donald Project will advance to an FID within the expected timeframes or at all; any expectation that Energy Fuels will be successful in agreeing on fiscal terms with the Government of Madagascar or in achieving sufficient fiscal and legal stability for the Vara Mada Project; any expectation that the Company will be successful in its engineering and test work for the production of Ra-226 and/or Ra-228 at the Mill; any expectation that the Company's evaluation of radioisotope recovery at the Mill will be successful; any expectation that any radioisotopes that can be recovered at the Mill will be sold on a commercial basis; any expectation as to the quantities to be delivered under existing uranium sales contracts; and any expectation as to future uranium, vanadium, REE or HMS prices or market conditions. 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: commodity prices and price fluctuations; engineering, construction, processing and mining difficulties, upsets and delays; permitting and licensing requirements and delays; the inclusion or exclusion, or change in listing status, of one or more Company projects on the U.S. Federal Infrastructure Project's Permitting Dashboard, list of FAST-41 Transparency Projects; changes to regulatory requirements; the imposition of tariffs and other restrictions on trade; legal challenges; the availability of feed sources for the Mill; competition from other producers; public opinion; government and political actions or inactions; the failure of the Government of Madagascar to agree on fiscal terms for the Vara Mada Project or provide the approvals necessary to achieve sufficient fiscal and legal stability on acceptable terms and conditions or at all; the failure of the Company to obtain the required permits for the recovery of Monazite from the Vara Mada Project; the failure of the Company to provide or obtain the necessary financing required to develop the Vara Mada Project, the Donald Project, the Bahia Project and/or its expanded REE separations capacity; available supplies of monazite; the ability of the Mill to produce RE Carbonate, REE oxides or other REE products to meet commercial specifications on a commercial scale at acceptable costs or at all; market factors, including future demand for REEs; actual results differing from estimates and projections; the ability of the Mill to recover radium or other radioisotopes at reasonable costs or at all; market prices and demand for medical isotopes; 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, on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, 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. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/energy-fuels-announces-q1-2026-results-302764727.htmlSOURCE Energy Fuels Inc. Original: Energy Fuels Announces Q1-2026 Results
CA Market News
3月前
ENERGY FUELS RELEASES 2025 SUSTAINABILITY REPORTApril 16, 2026 4:55 PM
PR Newswire (Canada)
DENVER, April 16, 2026 /CNW/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company"), a leading U.S. producer of uranium, rare earth elements, and critical materials, today announced the release of its 2025 Sustainability Report, highlighting the Company's commitments, performance, and progress across environmental stewardship, workforce safety, community engagement, and responsible governance. The 2025 Sustainability Report covers performance data and key developments from the calendar years 2024 and 2025.
The 2025 report outlines Energy Fuels' continued focus on operating safely and responsibly while advancing its role as a reliable domestic supplier of materials essential to U.S. energy security, advanced manufacturing, and national security. The report details operational initiatives, risk management practices, and long-term priorities designed to support resilient, economically sustainable growth."Our sustainability strategy is closely integrated with how we run the Company," said Ross R. Bhappu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Fuels. "The 2025 Sustainability Report reflects our emphasis on responsible operations, transparency, and disciplined execution as we continue to expand our uranium, rare earth and heavy mineral sands mining and processing capabilities, with a significant focus on supporting the communities in which we operate."Key areas covered in the 2025 Sustainability Report include:Environmental responsibility, including water stewardship, land management, and environmental compliance across Energy Fuels' operationsHealth, safety, and workforce performance, with an emphasis on safe operations, morale and employee engagementCommunity and Indigenous engagement, in regions where the Company operates including areas of emerging interestGovernance and oversight, including risk management, ethics, and compliance practices that support long-term shareholder valueThe report aligns Energy Fuels' disclosures with leading sustainability reporting frameworks commonly used across the mining and critical minerals sector, while maintaining a practical, operations-focused approach to sustainability and resiliency.Bhappu continued, "This report represents a foundation for our efforts moving forward and a base from which to grow and discover our future targets. It also demonstrates where we are today and showcases the importance of sustainability in our operating philosophy."The 2025 Sustainability Report is available on the Company's website at Energy Fuels - Uranium Mining & Energy - Governance or directly downloadable.ABOUT ENERGY FUELSEnergy Fuels is a leading U.S. critical materials company specializing in uranium, rare earth elements, heavy mineral sands, vanadium, and medical isotopes. With several uranium projects in the western United States, Energy Fuels has been the top U.S. producer of natural uranium concentrate, supplying nuclear utilities. The Company owns the only fully licensed conventional uranium mill in the U.S.--the White Mesa Mill in Utah--where it also produces REE products and evaluates medical isotope recovery for emerging cancer therapies. Additionally, Energy Fuels is developing three heavy mineral sands projects /rare earths projects: the Vara Mada Project in Madagascar, Bahia Project in Brazil, and Donald Project in Australia (through a joint venture with Astron Corporation Limited). Based in Lakewood, Colorado, its shares trade on the NYSE American ("UUUU") and TSX ("EFR"). For more details, visit http://www.energyfuels.comCAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSThis 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 the Company's sustainability priorities, strategies, initiatives, governance practices, operational focus, community engagement, future targets, and expectations regarding environmental, health, safety, and workforce performance, as well as statements relating to the anticipated evolution, scope, or impact of the Company's sustainability efforts and disclosures. . 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 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, but are not limited to changes in regulatory requirements or reporting standards, evolving stakeholder expectations, operational conditions, environmental and permitting considerations, market conditions, ; 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. Statements regarding sustainability initiatives, environmental practices, governance frameworks, or community engagement are inherently forward-looking and are subject to evolving regulatory standards, operational realities, and external factors, and may change over time. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release, and Energy Fuels 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. Energy Fuels assumes no obligation to update the information in this communication, except as otherwise required by law.
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Original: ENERGY FUELS RELEASES 2025 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
CA Market News
3月前
Ross Bhappu to Take Over as CEO of Energy Fuels as Company Enters Next Phase of GrowthApril 15, 2026 7:00 PM
PR Newswire (US)
DENVER, April 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE: UUUU) (TSX: EFR), a leading U.S. producer of uranium, rare earths, and critical materials, announced that Ross R. Bhappu has been appointed the Company's Chief Executive Officer, effective April 15, 2026.
Mr. Bhappu has served as President of Energy Fuels since August 2025 and brings more than three decades of leadership across mining, critical minerals, finance, and international resource development. He has held senior executive and board roles in the global mining sector, with extensive experience in project development, operations, government engagement, and capital markets. As President, Mr. Bhappu has been closely involved in advancing Energy Fuels' strategic priorities and supporting the execution of the Company's long-term growth strategy.Mr. Bhappu succeeds Mark S. Chalmers, who is retiring after more than eight years as CEO and a distinguished career spanning five decades in the uranium and critical materials industry. Both Mr. Bhappu and Mr. Chalmers have been working closely for the past several months in anticipation of the transition. Following his retirement, Mr. Chalmers has agreed to serve as an exclusive uranium and rare earth consultant to the Company for a two-year period, providing continuity and strategic support as Energy Fuels advances its growth initiatives.As CEO, Mr. Chalmers led the transformation of Energy Fuels from a small U.S. uranium producer into a diversified critical materials company with global reach. Today, Energy Fuels is the largest U.S. producer of uranium, a leading producer of rare earth elements and vanadium, and is an emerging global leader in the production of titanium and zircon minerals, which together are essential to clean-energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, and U.S. national security. Under his leadership, Energy Fuels leveraged its unique assets, infrastructure, and technical expertise to establish a domestic platform for critical material production and processing."Ross is a proven leader with deep industry experience and a strong understanding of Energy Fuels' operations and strategic direction," said Bruce D. Hansen, Chair of the Board of Directors. "At the same time, the Board extends its sincere gratitude to Mark for his extraordinary leadership, vision, and decades of service. Mark was instrumental in positioning Energy Fuels as the leading U.S. uranium producer and in guiding the Company's disciplined expansion into both upstream and downstream rare earth production. The Board is confident that Ross will build on this strong foundation as Energy Fuels continues to execute its long-term strategy."Mr. Bhappu commented, "I am honored to be appointed Chief Executive Officer of Energy Fuels and deeply appreciative of Mark's leadership and vision. Mark's work laid the groundwork for Energy Fuels' evolution into a diversified critical materials company and I look forward to leading the company as it pursues a substantial growth initiative including the permitting and construction of a number of new mines, the planned expansion of the White Mesa Mill and the addition of REE metal and alloy making through the planned acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials Limited. Energy Fuels has a talented team and Board of Directors, and I look forward to executing our strategic plan together."Mr. Chalmers remarked, "Serving as CEO and guiding Energy Fuels' development into the leading U.S. critical materials company has been an honor, particularly considering my humble beginnings as a uranium miner in Colorado in the 1970s. I am confident that Ross will continue to inspire and lead our company to even greater heights."About Energy FuelsEnergy Fuels is a leading U.S. critical materials company specializing in uranium, rare earth elements, heavy mineral sands, vanadium, and the development of medical isotopes. With several uranium projects in the western United States, Energy Fuels has been the top U.S. producer of natural uranium concentrate, supplying nuclear utilities. The Company owns the only fully licensed conventional uranium mill operating in the U.S. – the White Mesa Mill in Utah – where it also produces REE products and evaluates medical isotope recovery for emerging cancer therapies. Additionally, Energy Fuels is developing three heavy mineral sands/rare earths projects: the Vara Mada Project in Madagascar, Bahia Project in Brazil, and Donald Project in Australia (through a joint venture with Astron Limited). Based in Lakewood, Colorado, its shares trade on the NYSE American ("UUUU") and TSX ("EFR"). For more details, visit http://www.energyfuels.com.CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSThis news release contains certain "Forward Looking Information" and "Forward Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable United States and Canadian securities legislation, including but not limited to statements regarding the Company's leadership transition, future strategy, growth initiatives, permitting activities, project development, and expansion plans. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements 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, but are not limited to risks associated with: commodity prices and price fluctuations; engineering, construction, processing and mining difficulties, upsets and delays; permitting and licensing requirements and delays; changes to regulatory requirements; legal challenges; competition from other producers; government and political actions or inactions; market factors, including future demand for REEs, uranium, titanium and zirconium; 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. Energy Fuels assumes no obligation to update the information in this communication, except as otherwise required by law.
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Original: Ross Bhappu to Take Over as CEO of Energy Fuels as Company Enters Next Phase of Growth
CA Market News
3月前
Energy Fuels Announces First U.S. Primary Production of Critical "Heavy" Rare Earth Material in DecadesMarch 25, 2026 6:15 AM
PR Newswire (Canada)
In a major win for U.S. critical mineral supply chains, Energy Fuels successfully produces high-purity terbium oxide in Utah from ore mined in Florida and Georgia, demonstrating the first U.S. mine to oxide capability to provide a secure western source of "heavy" rare earth oxides used in key commercial and defense technologies.DENVER, March 25, 2026 /CNW/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE: UUUU) (TSX: EFR), a leading U.S. producer of uranium, rare earths, and critical materials, today announced it has successfully produced its first kilogram (kg) of terbium (Tb) oxide at its White Mesa Mill in Utah. Using monazite ore sourced from the United States, the team achieved a purity of 99.9% Tb at pilot scale, which meets the specifications of global manufacturers of rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs). This achievement follows the Company's recent announcement that it had produced nearly 30 kg of 99.9% pure dysprosium (Dy) oxide production, another critical "heavy" rare earth oxide (REO) used in permanent magnets.
"This success proves we can process and produce high purity 'heavy' rare earth oxides economically and at scale in the U.S.," said Energy Fuels CEO Mark Chalmers. "North America will soon have a reliable and secure U.S. commercial source of these vital critical materials ensuring availability for high-performance magnet and defense technologies. This is just another example of the outstanding team the company has at both the Mill, and elsewhere, as the company continues to advance our strategy of becoming a world significant critical material producer."Energy Fuels believes it is the first U.S. company in many decades to produce high-purity Tb oxide from a primary mineral feedstock and publicly disclose actual production volumes and purities that are sufficient for downstream metal/alloy validation. Like the Company's Dy oxide, its Tb oxide has been requested by multiple magnet manufacturers and OEMs around the world to begin product validation. Both Dy and Tb are subject to Chinese export controls highlighting the need for secure, western supply chains.Adding Dy and Tb to permanent magnets makes a superior product for electric vehicles (EVs)/hybrid EVs, drones, robotics, and defense technologies by improving operational capabilities in high heat conditions and enabling smaller, lighter, and more powerful motors and actuators. The Mill expects to continue producing terbium oxide at an approximate rate of one kilogram per week in its existing pilot circuit, followed by pilot production of Sm, Eu, and Gd oxides.The Company also plans to expand its heavy rare earth element production capability at its existing Mill circuits for the planned commercial-level recovery of Dy, Tb, Sm, Eu and Gd, with the ability to separate other heavy rare earth elements such as Y and Lu if market conditions warrant. Subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals and sufficient quantities of monazite sand feedstock, the expanded commercial circuit is expected to be operational as early as 2027, with planned production recovery of up to approximately 35 tonnes of Dy, 12 tonnes of Tb per year and potentially other heavy rare earth elements, in addition to the 850 – 1,000 tonnes of NdPr, from processing up to approximately 10,000 tonnes of monazite per year through existing circuits.The Company also plans to further expand its NdPr, Dy and Tb production capability and potentially other REE material production capability through the development of its stand-alone Phase 2 Circuit as early as 2029, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and sufficient feed materials. Upon commissioning, the Phase 2 Circuit is expected to increase the Mill's rare earth oxide production capacity to over 6,000 tpa of NdPr oxide, along with approximately 80 tpa of Tb and 288 tpa of Dy oxides. This would provide the capability to produce sufficient NdPr for up to approximately 7.0 million EVs/hybrid EVs per year.Moving forward, the Company expects to continue purchasing monazite concentrates from U.S. companies and to import additional significant quantities from allied nations, including Energy Fuels' "shovel-ready" Donald Project in Australia, massive Vara Mada Project in Madagascar, and prospective Bahia Project in Brazil. The Company is also planning to install circuits at the Mill to enable the processing of mixed rare earth concentrates (MREC) for both "light" and "heavy" rare earth oxides, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals. MREC is a partially processed, intermediate rare earth material.About Energy FuelsEnergy Fuels is a leading U.S. critical materials company specializing in uranium, rare earth elements, heavy mineral sands, vanadium, and medical isotopes. With several uranium projects in the western United States, Energy Fuels has been the top U.S. producer of natural uranium concentrate, supplying nuclear utilities. The Company owns the only fully licensed conventional uranium mill in the U.S.—the White Mesa Mill in Utah—where it also produces REE products and evaluates medical isotope recovery for emerging cancer therapies. Additionally, Energy Fuels is developing three heavy mineral sands projects: the Vara Mada Project in Madagascar, Bahia Project in Brazil, and Donald Project in Australia (through a joint venture with Astron Corporation Limited). Based in Lakewood, Colorado, its shares trade on the NYSE American ("UUUU") and TSX ("EFR"). For more details, visit http://www.energyfuels.com. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSThis 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 Company can process and produce high purity 'heavy' rare earth oxides economically and at scale in the U.S.; any expectation that North America will soon have a reliable and secure U.S. commercial source of heavy rare earth elements; any expectation that the Company's Tb oxide will be successfully validated by magnet manufacturers and/or OEMs; any expectation that the Company's pilot scale production of heavy REEs will continue to be successful; any expectation of the purity of any of the REE or heavy REE oxides to be produced at the Mill; any expectation as to the timing of pilot and/or commercial scale production of REE or heavy REE oxides at the Mill; any expectation as to the Company's production capacity or expected timelines to production; any expectation as to estimated recoverable REE oxides; any expectation that the Company's development projects will be placed into production; and any expectation that the Company will be successful at recovering certain medical isotopes from existing uranium process streams needed for emerging Targeted Alpha Therapy cancer treatments. 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 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: commodity prices and price fluctuations; engineering, construction, processing and mining difficulties, upsets and delays; permitting and licensing requirements and delays; changes to regulatory requirements; legal challenges; competition from other producers; government and political actions or inactions; market factors, including future demand for rare earth elements, titanium and zirconium; 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 Energy Fuels 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. Energy Fuels assumes no obligation to update the information in this communication, except as otherwise required by law.www.energyfuels.com
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Original: Energy Fuels Announces First U.S. Primary Production of Critical "Heavy" Rare Earth Material in Decades
CA Market News
4月前
Energy Fuels Announces 2025 Results and 2026 GuidanceFebruary 26, 2026 7:01 PM
PR Newswire (Canada)
Increased uranium sales, over one million pounds of low-cost U.S. uranium production, successful ongoing heavy rare earth pilot production, and completion of upsized $700 million 0.75% convertible senior notes boosts working capital to near $1 billion.DENVER, Feb. 26, 2026 /CNW/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) ("Energy Fuels" or the "Company"), a leading U.S. producer of uranium, rare earth elements ("REEs"), and other critical minerals, today reported its financial and operational results for the year ended December 31, 2025. The Company previously announced details for its upcoming February 27, 2026, earnings call.
"2025 was a breakout year for Energy Fuels, as we achieved numerous operational, ramp-up, and growth milestones that we believe set the stage for significant future cashflow generation, market differentiation, and competitive advantages in the critical material space in the next few years," said Mark Chalmers, Energy Fuels' Chief Executive Officer. "As a result, we have raised our profile among investors, customers, and governments to be recognized as, not only the largest and lowest cost U.S. uranium producer, but also as an emerging global critical materials leader."In our uranium segment, we ended the year exceeding 2025 guidance on all metrics, including mining, production, and sales, while lowering our unit costs. Our uranium revenue is ramping up, and we signed two new long-term contracts with major utilities that are expected to increase our portfolio pricing in the coming years. In addition, we are investing significantly in our industry-leading U.S. assets, as we expect to remain the country's uranium leader for many years to come."Equally impressive has been our progress in rare earth processing and production. Energy Fuels' rare earth products have been confirmed, qualified, and used by manufacturers for EVs and hybrid EVs. In 2025, we made considerable investments in our rare earth segment. We strongly believe now is the time to capture opportunities, as vertical integration and access to low-cost 'molecules' are the key to higher margins, increased market share, and overall competitiveness in the space. In years past, we invested 'upstream' by securing low-cost rare earth feedstock at our Donald joint venture in Australia, Vara Mada project in Madagascar, and Bahia project in Brazil. Now, we are investing 'downstream', including our recently announced proposed acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials ("ASM"), which upon completion, will expand our reach into highly coveted rare earth metals and alloys. The proposed acquisition of ASM will also bring another potential material source of feedstock from the Dubbo project located in NSW, Australia.Ross Bhappu, President of Energy Fuels, added "We recently released feasibility studies for several of our development projects, including the proposed Phase 2 Circuit expansion of our rare earth processing at the White Mesa Mill in Utah and our Vara Mada project in Madagascar, demonstrating impressive net present values and future cashflows. The combined NPV of the Phase 2 Circuit and the Vara Mada project is $3.7 billion, or $15.26 per share (based on current shares outstanding), with expected EBITDA of $765 million for the first 15 years when the Phase 2 Circuit is combined with the expected EBITDA from the Vara Mada project over those years. "With an estimated capital cost of $410 million for the Phase 2 Circuit and an estimated all-in production cost of $29.39/kg NdPr equivalent produced from our Vara Mada project, we believe our REE oxide production ranks among the lowest capital and operating costs globally.Mr. Bhappu continued, "We believe interest in Energy Fuels is accelerating as customers, governments, and investors favor companies like us that deliver on promises. We think we are turning a corner, as past investments could generate substantial cashflows and profits across several segments by decade's end."Succession Planning Update:The Company's succession plans are proceeding as expected and, in accordance with existing employment agreements, it is anticipated that Mr. Ross Bhappu, the President of the Company, will be appointed to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company on April 15, 2026, and Mr. Mark Chalmers, the current CEO, will be retiring at the same time which is his planned retirement date. Upon his retirement, Mr. Chalmers will continue as a consultant to the Company exclusively for two years to support, as required, Mr. Bhappu and others in the Company with current and future growth initiatives.2025 HighlightsUnless noted otherwise, all dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars.Financial Highlights:Robust Balance Sheet with Over $900 million of Liquidity: As of December 31, 2025, the Company had $927.4 million of working capital, including $64.7 million of cash and cash equivalents, $797.1 million of marketable securities (short-term, interest-bearing securities and uranium equities), $18.0 million of trade and other receivables, and $73.5 million of inventory, which puts the Company in a strong position to continue to advance its projects.Completed Upsized $700 Million Convertible Senior Notes Offering: On October 3, 2025, the Company closed its upsized offering of 0.75% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2031 for an aggregate principal amount of $700.0 million, including the exercise in full by the initial purchasers of their option to purchase an additional $100.0 million of notes, on a deal led by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC. The notes have a conversion price of $20.34 per common share of Energy Fuels ("Common Share"), which represented a premium of approximately 32.5% to the last reported sale price of the Common Shares on the NYSE American on September 30, 2025, subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments. The effective conversion price of the notes was increased to $30.70 (representing a premium of 100% over the last reported sale price of the Common Shares on the NYSE American on September 30, 2025) through the purchase of capped call transactions.Net Loss of $86 Million: The Company incurred a net loss of $86.1 million or $0.38 per share, which is an increase from a net loss of $47.8 million or $0.28 per share for 2024. The increase was primarily due to higher ongoing costs as expected following the acquisition of Base Resources Limited in Q4 2024, including approximately $15.0 million increased ongoing selling, general and administrative costs associated with an expanded workforce to effectively progress the Company's global operations. Exploration and development costs were approximately $9.0 million higher to progress our projects, including: further exploration and development activities relating to the Juniper Zone at the Pinyon Plain Project, development at the La Sal Project, exploration at the Bahia Project and delineation drilling at Nichols Ranch. The Company also incurred approximately $6.9 million in charges for changes in Madagascar tax law and exploration projects the Company is no longer pursuing as it focuses on its core projects. Additionally, the average month end spot prices for uranium were approximately 13.8% lower in 2025 verses 2024 thereby reducing our revenues per pound.Uranium Milestones:$48 Million in Revenue: The Company sold 650,000 pounds of U3O8 at a weighted average realized price of $74.21 per pound for total uranium revenues of $48.2 million. Spot market sales totaled 350,000 pounds for revenue of $26.9 million at a weighted average realized price of $76.90 per pound, while long-term contract sales totaled 300,000 pounds for revenue of $21.3 million at a weighted average realized price of $71.06 per pound.Mined Over 1.7 Million Pounds of Contained U3O8: The Company continued mining at its Pinyon Plain, La Sal, and Pandora mines with combined mined ore and mineralized material containing approximately 1,720,000 pounds of U3O8. At its Pinyon Plain mine, the Company mined ore containing approximately 1,530,000 pounds of U3O8 with an average grade of approximately 1.62% eU3O8, which the Company believes makes Pinyon Plain one of the highest-grade uranium mines in U.S. history.Processed and Produced Over 1.0 Million Pounds of Finished U3O8: The Company processed and produced 1,015,000 pounds of finished U3O8 in 2025. The Company commenced its conventional ore processing campaign at the White Mesa Mill in Utah (the "Mill") in Q4 2025 as planned, which is expected to continue through Q2 2026 and is expected to support contracted U3O8 deliveries and potential spot sales in 2026. See below for further details.Two New Long-Term Utility Contracts: The Company entered into two new long-term uranium contracts in Q4 2025 with U.S. nuclear power generating companies, expanding its portfolio to six long-term uranium contracts with deliveries extended out to 2032. Both contracts retain exposure to uranium market upside by utilizing hybrid pricing, whereby a portion of the final sales price is calculated on a base escalated price with the other portion based on the spot price at the time of delivery, subject to floors and ceilings.Well-Stocked to Meet Long-term Contract Obligations and Capture Market Opportunities: Due to mined ore production at the Pinyon Plain, La Sal and Pandora mines, as well as processing and production at the Mill, the Company is well-stocked to meet its upcoming long-term uranium contract sales and potential spot sales as market conditions warrant. The Company's inventory balances at the end of 2025 were as follows:Ore, mineralized material and raw materials (contained pounds of U3O8)1,240,000Work-in-process (contained pounds of U3O8)130,000Finished pounds of U3O8810,000Total pounds of finished and contained U3O82,180,000Exceeded 2025 Guidance: The Company exceeded its production and sales guidance for 2025, which is summarized as follows:
2025 Guidance, as revised Q2 2025
Low
High
2025 ActualsMined (contained pounds of U3O8)
875,000
1,435,000
1,720,000Processed (finished pounds of U3O8)
700,000
1,000,000
1,015,000Sales (pounds of U3O8)
350,000
350,000
650,0002026 Guidance: The Company expects to continue mining its Pinyon Plain, La Sal and Pandora mines to process and/or stockpile ore and mineralized material at the Mill to meet its contract deliveries and complete potential spot sales, subject to market conditions. The Company's production and sales guidance for 2026 is as follows:
Low
HighMined (contained pounds of U3O8)
2,000,000
2,500,000Processed (finished pounds of U3O8)(1)
1,500,000
2,500,000Sales (pounds of U3O8)(2)
1,500,000
2,000,000(1) Assumes the current conventional uranium Mill run continues through Q2 2026, but could be longer depending on availability of stockpiled ore and mineralized materials available for processing. The Company is also looking at various additional REE processing capabilities at the Mill later in 2026. The Mill is expected to restart uranium processing in Q1 2027, but this could be sooner or later, depending on circumstances.(2) Subject to sales of inventory into the spot market depending on market conditions.Uranium Costs Reduced in Q4-2025 with Further Declines Expected in 2026: The Company commenced processing low-cost Pinyon Plain mine ores in Q4 2025, which is expected to continue through Q2 2026, during which we expect to process 1.5 to 2.5 million pounds of finished U3O8 in 2026. During that Mill run, the average mining and transportation costs to the Mill for Pinyon Plain ore are expected to continue to be approximately $10 to $14 per pound of recovered U3O8, which together with expected milling costs to continue to be approximately $13 to $16 per pound of recovered U3O8, are expected to continue to result in a total weighted average cost of approximately $23 to $30 per pound of recovered uranium, ranking among the lowest costs for mined uranium production in the world. These high-grade Pinyon Plain ores are expected to be blended and processed with a relatively small quantity of lower grade, higher cost, La Sal/Pandora mineralized material at the Company's discretion. The Company's finished inventories of U3O8 had a weighted average cost of approximately $43 per pound as of December 31, 2025, reflecting the weighted average cost of production and purchase of finished inventories from various sources over the years, as the Company continued to ramp up production and maximize economies of scale, including from Alternate Feed Materials, the La Sal/Pandora mines, low-grade mine clean-up materials, and purchases of uranium on the spot market. These costs do not fully reflect the expected lower costs of recently mined ores from the Pinyon Plain mine, which had only been processed and added to finished inventories commencing in early October (a conventional ore processing run, including Pinyon Plain and La Sal/Pandora ores, commenced at the Mill in early October 2025).Pinyon Plain Update: The Company updated its existing S-K 1300 and NI 43-101 compliant pre-feasibility study, which was furnished through a Form 8-K filing on February 26, 2026. Due to the high grades encountered during mining in the Main Zone that were not included in the original pre-feasibility the Mineral Resource model was re-estimated. Additionally, new drilling completed by Company in the Juniper Zone allowed those Mineral Resources to be converted from inferred to indicated Mineral Resources and then converted to probable Mineral Reserves. As of December 31, 2025, the remaining Mineral Reserves in the Main Zone totaled 2.1 million pounds U3O8 and the Mineral Reserves for the Juniper Zone totaled 0.5 million pounds U3O8, acknowledging that further exploration potential exists in the Juniper Zone. The Company intends to continue exploration in the Juniper Zone during 2026.Nichols Ranch and Whirlwind Update: The Company continues to advance rehabilitation, development and readiness activities at its Whirlwind mine in Colorado and Nichols Ranch ISR project in Wyoming. With strong market conditions and sufficient contracting activity, the Company believes these projects could support an increase in uranium production by up to approximately 600,000 pounds of U3O8 per year as early as 2027, subject to market conditions.Pipeline of Permitted and Advanced Uranium Projects to Support Long-Term Growth: The Company continued advancing permitting and development work on its large-scale uranium projects including Roca Honda (New Mexico) and Bullfrog (Utah), which together with Sheep Mountain (Wyoming) have the potential to expand the Company's uranium production by over 5.0 million pounds of U3O8 per year in the coming years, subject to market conditions and contracting.Uranium Price Update: The spot price of U3O8 is $89.50 per pound and the long-term price of U3O8 is $90.00 per pound, according to price data from TradeTech as of February 20, 2026.Rare Earth Element Milestones:Planned Expansion of Phase 1 Circuit: The Company is planning enhancements to expand its heavy REE production at its existing Phase 1 Circuit at the Mill, for the planned commercial-level recovery of dysprosium ("Dy"), terbium ("Tb"), samarium ("Sm"), europium ("Eu") and gadolinium ("Gd"), with the ability to separate other heavy REEs such as Yttrium and Lutetium if market conditions warrant. Subject to receipt of all required regulatory approvals, financing, the successful development of these enhancements and the receipt of sufficient quantities of monazite sand feedstock, the expanded Phase 1 Circuit is expected to be operational in 2027 for the production of up to 35 tonnes of Dy, 12 tonnes of Tb per year and potentially other heavy REEs, in addition to the 850 – 1,000 tonnes of neodymium-praseodymium ("NdPr"), from processing up to approximately 10,000 tonnes of monazite per year. The Company had previously announced its intention to start commercial production of Dy and Tb by the end of 2026, but has changed those plans in order to expand the enhancements to the Mill's Phase 1 Circuit to allow for the additional production of Sm, Eu and Gd and to provide the ability to separate other heavy REEs in the 2027 time frame.At the same time these enhancements are being made to the Phase 1 Circuit, the Company plans to make further enhancements to the Phase 1 Circuit to allow for the processing of uranium- and REE-bearing mixed rare earth carbonate ("MREC") or similar intermediary REE products from third-party sources in the Phase 1 Circuit, subject to receipt of all regulatory approvals, financing and the successful development of these further enhancements. As MREC or similar intermediate REE products would not need to utilize the Phase 1 Circuit's crack and leach circuits, it is expected that such products could be separated into NdPr and heavy REEs separately from uranium production, thereby allowing such feedstocks to be separated into REE oxides through the Phase 1 Circuit's SX circuits without interfering with normal Mill conventional uranium ore processing. These enhancements are expected to be made, and the Phase 1 Circuit operational to accept MREC and similar intermediary REE products in 2027. Multiple magnet manufacturers and OEMs have expressed strong interest in obtaining Dy, Tb and Sm samples, further validating the Company's strategy to establish a fully non-Chinese rare earth supply chain for commercial and defense applications.Phase 2 Expansion Planned to Enable Large-Scale Production of Light and Heavy REEs: In January 2026, the Company announced results of an AACE International (AACE) Class 3 Bankable Feasibility Study ("BFS") supporting the planned Phase 2 expansion. Highlights of the planned Phase 2 expansion include:Upon commissioning, Energy Fuels' Phase 2 Circuit is expected to become one of the world's largest and lowest cost producers of 'light' and 'heavy' rare earth oxides. The Mill has the current installed recovery in its existing Phase 1 Circuit to produce roughly 1,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") NdPr. The Phase 2 Circuit will increase total expected production recovery (from the Phase 1 Circuit and Phase 2 Circuit) to over 6,000 tpa of NdPr (along with approximately 60 tpa of Tb and 200 tpa of Dy).A $1.9 billion NPV8%, or $7.96 per share (based on current outstanding shares), and IRR of 33% (after-tax) for the Phase 2 Circuit, which does not include the Company's recently announced Vara Mada Project or any of the Company's other heavy mineral sands ("HMS")/monazite projects, all of which are expected to supply REE ore to the Mill for processing into REE oxides.The NPV increases to $3.7 billion, or $15.26 per share (based on current shares outstanding), when the Phase 2 Circuit is combined with the recently announced $1.8 billion NPV from the Company's Vara Mada Project.$311 million of average annual EBITDA for the first 15 years from the Phase 2 Circuit, not including expected EBITDA from the Company's existing Phase 1 Circuit, recently announced expected project-level EBITDA from the Company's Vara Mada project, project-level EBITDA from any of the Company's other HMS/monazite projects, or the Company's U.S. industry leading uranium production.Expected average annual EBITDA increases to $765 million for the first 15 years when the Phase 2 Circuit is combined with the recently announced expected EBITDA from the Company's Vara Mada project over those years.Annual expected REE oxide production (recovered) over the 40-year modeled life of the project from the Phase 2 Circuit alone:5,513 tpa NdPr48 tpa Tb165 tpa Dy1,080 tpa SEG concentrate (samarium, europium and gadolinium)748 tpa Ho+ concentrate (Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu and Y)198,000 pounds per year uranium (U3O8), which is in addition to the Company's U.S.-leading uranium production from its Pinyon Plain, La Sal and other conventional uranium mines.With an estimated capital cost of $410 million for the Phase 2 Circuit and an estimated all-in production cost of $29.39/kg NdPr equivalent produced from our Vara Mada project, we believe our REE oxide production ranks among the lowest capital and operating costs globally.The Company has not yet made a final investment decision ("FID") with respect to the Phase 2 Circuit.Planned Phase 1 and Phase 2 Expansion Recoveries:Phase
NdPr (tpa)
Tb (tpa)
Dy (tpa)Phase 1: NdPr (Existing)
1,049
—
—Phase 1: Heavies (Planned)
—
12
35Phase 2: (Planned)
5,513
48
165Total (Phase 1 + Phase 2)(1)
6,562
60
200(1) Actual recoveries may differ.First U.S. Producer to Publicly Report Commercial-Spec Dysprosium Production: The Company successfully produced separated Dy oxide at 99.9% purity, exceeding typical commercial specifications.U.S. Mined and Processed Rare Earths Successfully Manufactured into Permanent Magnets for Use in EVs and Hybrids: In September 2025, the Company announced that high-purity NdPr oxide produced from U.S.-sourced monazite concentrates was successfully manufactured into commercial-scale rare earth permanent magnets ("REPMs") by South Korea's largest manufacturer of EV drive unit motor cores. Approximately 1.2 metric tonnes of NdPr oxide were processed into approximately 3.0 metric tonnes of REPMs, enough to power approximately 1,500 new vehicles, and the magnets passed all quality assurance and quality control benchmarks for use in EV and hybrid applications.Strategic Collaboration with Vulcan Elements to Strengthen U.S. Magnet Supply Chains: In August 2025, the Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Vulcan Elements to advance a secure, ex-China supply chain for rare earth permanent magnets. Under the collaboration, the Company will supply high-purity NdPr and Dy oxides for validation in Vulcan's magnet manufacturing processes, with the intent to consider negotiating longer-term supply arrangements following validation.Technology Applicable to a Wide Range of Feedstocks: Unlike other companies who are experimenting with "heavy" REE production via recycling, we believe Energy Fuels is the only U.S. company producing separated "heavy" REE oxides from commercial REE ores. The REE separation techniques being utilized by Energy Fuels can also be applied to a wide range of feedstocks, including MREC and recycled materials.REE Price Update: European NdPr, Dy and Tb prices were $130/kg, $1,125/kg and $4,500/kg, respectively, as of February 19, 2026, according to price data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.Heavy Mineral Sands:Vara Mada Project (formerly known as the "Toliara Project"): On January 8, 2026, the Company announced results of an updated Feasibility Study ("FS"), prepared in accordance with U.S. Regulation S-K 1300 and Canadian NI 43-101, confirming the project's world-class scale, long mine life and robust economics. Based on the FS, the project is expected to have a modeled mine life of approximately 38 years and is projected to generate a post-tax, pre-debt net present value (10% discount rate) of approximately $1.8 billion and a post-tax internal rate of return of approximately 25%, with the potential to ramp up to over $500 million of annual EBITDA and generate average annual free cash flow of approximately $264 million over the modeled mine life. Advancement of the Vara Mada Project remains subject to a positive FID, regulatory approvals and the resolution of outstanding fiscal and permitting matters with the Government of Madagascar.Since acquiring the Project, the Company has been in discussions with the Government of Madagascar to establish the necessary legal regime to support development of the Project, which will be required before a positive FID can be made. These discussions have been focused on, among other things, mechanisms for achieving legal and fiscal stability, select tax and custom benefits, necessary adjustments to foreign exchange rules, protections from expropriation and access to international arbitration for dispute resolution. The Company has also been seeking clarification of existing procedures for adding monazite to the Project's mining permit, which currently allows for the production of ilmenite, rutile, and zircon. Recent discussions with the Government have focused on addressing these issues through an investment agreement to be approved by Parliament or through revisions to existing Malagasy law applicable to large-scale mining investments.On October 17, 2025, a new President of Madagascar was sworn in by the Country's High Constitutional Court following a period of social unrest and political instability that resulted in the removal of the Country's prior President. On October 20, 2025, a new Prime Minister was appointed, and on October 28, 2025, a new cabinet was announced. At this time, it is too early to determine whether and to what extent recent social and political developments in Madagascar may impact the Vara Mada Project, whether positively or negatively, including with respect to the Project's development prospects or timelines, the ability to achieve suitable fiscal or other terms applicable to the Project or the ability to achieve a positive FID. These developments have not had an impact on the financial results of the Company at this time. The Company will continue to monitor events as they unfold.There can be no assurance of achieving sufficient legal and fiscal stability or the timing thereof, or obtaining approval of the addition of monazite to the mining permit or the timing thereof. If such approvals are not obtained, or obtained on terms less favorable than expected, this could delay any FID in relation to the Vara Mada Project or prevent or otherwise have a significant effect on the development of the Vara Mada Project or ability to recover monazite from the Vara Mada Project.Donald Project: The Company continued to advance the Donald Project, a large monazite-rich HMS project in Australia, pursuant to its joint venture with Astron Corporation Limited. Having received the final major regulatory approval required to construct and operate the Donald Project, along with advancing commercial and financing avenues, the Company expects that an FID could be made on the Donald Project as early as Q1 2026. The Donald Project is of particular interest as the monazite concentrate has exceptional concentrations of the "heavy" rare earth elements, including Dy, Tb, and Sm.Bahia Project: The Company resumed drilling at the Bahia Project in Q4 2025 after securing its exploration permit, aiming to complete S-K 1300 and NI 43-101 reports by late 2026.Medical Isotope Highlights:The Company continues to advance its medical isotope initiatives to separate critical radioisotopes to support plans for the development and production of medical isotopes used in cancer treatments.The Company is currently completing test work and engineering on its research and development ("R&D") pilot facility for radium-226 ("Ra-226") production. In parallel, the Company continued efforts related to obtaining the required licensing and advancing engineering work for the potential concentration of R&D quantities of radium-228 ("Ra-228") at the Mill.During 2026, Energy Fuels plans to continue test work and design and to commission and begin operating a pilot facility to produce R&D quantities of Ra-226 for testing by end-users of the product. Upon successful production of R&D quantities of Ra-226, Energy Fuels plans to develop capabilities at the Mill for the commercial-scale production of Ra-226 and potentially Ra-228 by as early as 2028, conditional on completion of engineering design, securing sufficient offtake agreements for final radium production and receipt of all required regulatory approvals.Mr. Chalmers continued:"We invite all stakeholders to join us in our upcoming February 27, 2026, earnings call, details of which are below, to learn more about our exciting achievements."Conference Call and Webcast at 9:00 AM MT (11:00 AM ET) on Friday, February 27, 2026:Conference call access with the ability to ask questions:To instantly join the conference call by phone, please use the following link to easily register your name and phone number. After registering, you will receive a call immediately and be placed into the conference call.Rapid Connect URL: https://registrations.events/easyconnect/7303950/rec487vdZtbJNlQLJ/Alternatively, you may dial in to the conference call where you will be connected to the call by an Operator.North American Toll Free: 1-800-715-9871To view the webcast online:Audience URL: https://app.webinar.net/mqLMz6vzOEYConference ReplayConference Replay Toronto: 1-647-362-9199Conference Replay North American Toll Free: 1-800-770-2030Conference Replay Entry Code: 7303950#Conference Replay Expiration Date: 06/06/2026The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and may be viewed on the Electronic Document Gathering and Retrieval System ("EDGAR") at www.sec.gov/edgar.html, on the System for Electronic Data Analysis and Retrieval + ("SEDAR+") at www.sedarplus.ca, and on the Company's website at www.energyfuels.com. Unless noted otherwise, all dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars.Selected Summary Financial Information:
Years Ending December 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)
2025
2024
Results of Operations:
Uranium concentrates revenues
$ 48,234
$ 37,904
Heavy mineral sands revenues
15,821
39,874
Total revenues
65,922
78,114
Operating loss
(101,155)
(47,515)
Net loss attributable to Energy Fuels Inc.
(85,634)
(47,765)
Basic net loss per common share
$ (0.38)
$ (0.28)
Diluted net loss per common share
$ (0.38)
$ (0.28)
December 31,(In thousands)
2025
2024Financial Position:
Working capital
$ 927,438
$ 170,898Property, plant and equipment, net
69,795
55,187Mineral properties, net
312,266
278,330Current assets
958,671
230,187Total assets
1,411,852
611,969Current liabilities
31,233
59,289Total liabilities
729,282
80,292
Qualified Person StatementThe scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release was reviewed and approved by Daniel D. Kapostasy, PG, Registered Member SME and Vice President, Technical Services for the Company, who is a "Qualified Person" as defined in S-K 1300 and National Instrument 43-101.ABOUT ENERGY FUELSEnergy Fuels is a leading US-based critical materials company, focused on uranium, REEs, HMS, vanadium and medical isotopes. The Company has been the leading U.S. producer of natural uranium concentrate for the past several years, which is sold to nuclear utilities that process it further for the production of carbon-free nuclear energy and owns and operates several conventional and in-situ recovery uranium projects in the western United States. The Company also owns the White Mesa Mill in Utah, which is the only fully licensed and operating conventional uranium processing facility in the United States. At the Mill, the Company also produces advanced REE products, vanadium oxide (when market conditions warrant), and is evaluating the recovery of certain medical isotopes from existing uranium process streams needed for emerging cancer treatments. The Company also owns the operating Kwale HMS project in Kenya which ceased mining and commenced final reclamation activities at the end of 2024, and is developing three (3) additional HMS projects: the Toliara Project in Madagascar; the Bahia Project in Brazil; and the Donald Project in Australia in which the Company has the right to earn up to a 49% interest in a joint venture with Astron Corporation Limited. The Company is based in Lakewood, Colorado, near Denver. 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." For more information on all we do, please visit 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 United States and Canadian securities legislation, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: any expectation that the Company will maintain its position as a leading U.S.-based critical minerals company or as the leading producer of uranium in the U.S.; any expectation with respect to timelines to production; any expectation as to rate, quantities or duration of production; any expectations as to uranium or other mineral grades and whether such grades will continue or change over time; any expectation as to costs of goods sold, costs of production or gross profits, gross margins or other margins; any expectation as to future sales or sales prices; any expectations as to future inventory levels or changes to inventory levels; any expectation that the Company will be profitable; any expectation that the REE separation techniques being utilized by Energy Fuels can also be applied to a wide range of feedstocks, including rare earth concentrates, and recycle materials; any expectation that the Company will develop its planned expansion of REE separation capacity at the Mill; any expectation that the Company's permitting efforts will be successful and as to any potential future production from any properties that are in the permitting or development stage; any expectation with respect to the Company's planned exploration programs; any expectation that any of the critical minerals the Company produces will have a valuable upside; any expectation that the proposed ASM acquisition will close; any expectation that the Company's Vara Mada Project or Donald Project will advance to an FID within the expected timeframes or at all; any expectation that Energy Fuels will be successful in agreeing on fiscal terms with the Government of Madagascar or in achieving sufficient fiscal and legal stability for the Vara Mada Project; any expectation that the Company will be successful in its engineering and test work for the production of Ra-226 at the Mill; any expectation that the Company's evaluation of radioisotope recovery at the Mill will be successful; any expectation that any radioisotopes that can be recovered at the Mill will be sold on a commercial basis; any expectation as to the quantities to be delivered under existing uranium sales contracts; and any expectation as to future uranium, vanadium, REE or HMS prices or market conditions. 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: commodity prices and price fluctuations; engineering, construction, processing and mining difficulties, upsets and delays; permitting and licensing requirements and delays; the inclusion or exclusion, or change in listing status, of one or more Company projects on the U.S. Federal Infrastructure Project's Permitting Dashboard, list of FAST-41 Transparency Projects; changes to regulatory requirements; the imposition of tariffs and other restrictions on trade; legal challenges; the availability of feed sources for the Mill; competition from other producers; public opinion; government and political actions or inactions; the failure of the Government of Madagascar to agree on fiscal terms for the Vara Mada Project or provide the approvals necessary to achieve sufficient fiscal and legal stability on acceptable terms and conditions or at all; the failure of the Company to obtain the required permits for the recovery of Monazite from the Vara Mada Project; the failure of the Company to provide or obtain the necessary financing required to develop the Vara Mada Project, the Donald Project, the Bahia Project and/or its expanded REE separations capacity; available supplies of monazite; the ability of the Mill to produce RE Carbonate, REE oxides or other REE products to meet commercial specifications on a commercial scale at acceptable costs or at all; market factors, including future demand for REEs; actual results differing from estimates and projections; the ability of the Mill to recover radium or other radioisotopes at reasonable costs or at all; market prices and demand for medical isotopes; 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, on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, 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.www.energyfuels.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/energy-fuels-announces-2025-results-and-2026-guidance-302699124.htmlSOURCE Energy Fuels Inc.
Original: Energy Fuels Announces 2025 Results and 2026 Guidance
Dick_Nixon
12年前
http://resourceinvestingnews.com/68349-energy-fuels-uranium-us-price-analyst.html
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Energy Fuels: A High-Leverage Play on the Uranium Price
Wednesday March 26, 2014, 1:41pm PDT
By Vivien Diniz - Exclusive to Resource Investing News
Rob Chang is a Metals and Mining Analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald Canada. He has covered the metals and mining space for over eight years for the sell-side and the buy-side. Prior to Cantor, Chang served on the equity research teams at Versant Partners, Octagon Capital and BMO Capital Markets. His buy-side experience includes managing $3 billion in assets as a director of research/portfolio manager at Middlefield Capital, where his primary resource portfolio outperformed its direct peer and benchmark by over 28% and 18%, respectively. He was also on a five-person multi-strategy hedge fund team, where he specialized in equity and derivative investments. He completed his Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
RIN: We keep hearing about this uranium renaissance, but nothing has really happened yet. What’s been keeping the bull market for uranium at bay?
RC: In our opinion, there are two primary reasons prices remain low. First off, it’s the higher-than-normal inventory levels, and that’s mainly due to Japan not consuming the 20 million pounds that it usually consumes per year. Because of that we’re seeing a larger-than-normal inventory globally, so markets have 40 to 80 million pounds out there.
On top of that, we also have some markets waiting for Japan to announce the restarts of its reactors. There is a school of thought out there that believes Japan may never turn on any of the reactors although much of that dissipated with Japan’s recent announcement on its energy policy. However, as long as some of that still exists, there’s still going to be a little bit of an overhang, and a little bit of disbelief that the uranium renaissance, so to speak, will start.
That being said, we believe that’s unlikely for a couple of reasons. First off, Japan is running at a $75-billion deficit annually because of the substitution from nuclear power to other sources. That’s something it can’t afford given that the country continues to struggle economically.
On top of that, if we look at the global demand scenario and how it is shaping up, even if Japan doesn’t turn on all its reactors, the rate of growth will be so much that it doesn’t quite matter. In fact, given the current supply and demand situation, even if Japan doesn’t turn on any of its reactors, a major imbalance will still occur. Perhaps a little bit later, but it will still occur.
RIN: The general consensus is that uranium prices will go up. Do you have an idea of when that might happen?
RC: Our estimate is that’s going to be during the back half of this year. That’s when we’re going to really see the start. The reason is that from reports from utilities and producers, 2016 is the year when a lot of the utilities’ requirements will become uncovered.
What I mean by that is, generally utilities forecast how much uranium they need and make long-term contracts to get the supply in advance. However, because of the low price environment we’ve seen for awhile, many producers have been reluctant to negotiate at the lower prices. On top of that, utilities have been rewarded for waiting to lock in long-term contracts because the prices have been declining steadily, almost on a monthly basis. When you put those together, you’re seeing a lot less contract activity happening in the last few years. It’s to the point where, if we had full coverage, or close to full coverage of the last few years, in 2016 it flips dramatically to largely uncovered.
Knowing that, and being that we are only two years away, 2014 is the key year. We have a perfect storm happening.
RIN: Do you have an idea in terms of a target price? Are you expecting long-term prices to go up pretty quickly?
RC: Absolutely. We think prices will move pretty dramatically. For this year, we believe the price will average $43.25/lb. Then, next year, $62.50/lb and then $70/lb after. Given that we have $35/lb now, it’s going to be a pretty dramatic leap up.
RIN: That sounds good. You released a note on the US Department of Energy approving billions of dollars worth of nuclear loans. Can you elaborate a little bit on what that means for the nuclear landscape in the States? How does will it impact companies?
RC: The US is the number-one consumer, globally, of uranium and consumes about a quarter of global demand. There has been some thought that the US will be stepping away, or at least stagnant, in its uranium consumption.
This approval effectively green-lights Southern Co.’s Vogtle nuclear reactors in Georgia, and it shows the US is headed towards building more nuclear power. That shows domestic demand within the US, and is certainly positive that the country is going to consume more rather than the fear of them actually scaling back.
RIN: As far as the U.S. is concerned, what I’ve been hearing a lot more is to look at the ISR producers. What’s the difference in terms of economics between the hard-rock mining and the ISR mining?
RC: The difference between the two is that for ISR mining, it is solution mining. ISR miners are able to produce at a relatively low cost because essentially what they’re doing is drilling two holes. With one hole, they’re pumping solution into the ground; basically, soda water. On the other side they’re pulling it out. In between it’s dissolving uranium, making it mobile and sucking it up. It’s kind of an elegant low-environmental-impact way of mining. Generally, it’s lower cost because there’s very little rock moving and a lot less heavy equipment to operate the mine. That being said, it generally produces lower yields.
For the U.S. ISR producers, many of the ones that are emerging, or currently running, they’re generally expected to produce anywhere between 200,000 pounds to – when they’re fully ramped up – a million, maybe 2 million pounds. That’s pretty much their limit, given the type of mining method that they’re using and the size of most ISR amenable deposits.
Hardrock miners, such as Energy Fuels, which mine underground, and potentially open-pit as well, are the larger operations. Associated with them are higher costs, but they are capable of producing at a much larger scale. Whereas ISR producers would be doing 200,000 to a million pounds, EFR could scale up to multimillions rather easily, just like any other conventional type of mining you see. Higher cost is definitely higher production potential.
RIN: Just to look a little bit at Energy Fuels (TSX:EFR, NYSEMKT:UUUU), I’ve noticed that they get a lot of attention. They’re a pretty solid-looking company. What is it that draws this attention?
RC: There are a couple of really compelling points for Energy Fuels. First off, when you look at the fact that they own the only conventional mill in the entire US, that’s an important strategic advantage. There is no other place that you can conventionally mill uranium material, other than at the White Mesa mill.
The second thing is that it has a very impressive portfolio of projects, and past producing operations to the point where even though it is not currently operating in the current low price environment, quite a few can be turned on within six month and could probably over the course of a few years be able to ramp up production to anywhere from a million to potentially even 4 to 5 million pounds per year. When the price is right, EFR can act relatively quickly and be able to produce large amounts of uranium fairly quickly, capitalizing on the higher prices.
RIN: In terms of the significance of the White Mesa mill, you mentioned they are the only conventional mill in the US. What kind of a growth potential does the mill offer the company?
RC: The growth potential is that it has a strategic advantage for any new acquisitions because it will have the best cost profile in terms of figuring out the economics of acquiring projects. What I mean by that is if a competing company was to bid for a conventional mining asset, it would still need to factor in the cost of building its own mill … or the cost of paying EFR to mill the material for them. In contrast, EFR has that already built into their cost, and that’s a huge strategic advantage, because it can process it with its own mill – there isn’t that additional cost involved.
On top of that great negotiating power, EFR will have full visibility on the supply situation, at least on the conventional side, throughout the US. That’s because everyone has to go through EFR to process their material. It gives the company good informational advantages, and strategic acquisitions advantages as well.
RIN: Will Energy Fuels be taking advantage of toll milling?
RC: Absolutely. Toll milling gives EFR great opportunities to process other material at a very nice price. Since there is no competition, those using the toll mining services really have nowhere else to go, it’s certainly a very important key for Energy Fuels.
RIN: I found a December interview with Stephen Antony where he comments that Energy Fuels offers unique exposure to the growth of nuclear energy and the resulting uranium price increase. I think we touched a little bit on this already, but can you elaborate a little bit about what he may mean by that?
RC: It’s a high-leverage play on the price of uranium because the company is a higher-cost operator. When prices are low, of course the higher cost operator will not do as well as low cost producers, but if prices go higher, the company can make the decision to produce from its various operations fairly quickly. And as I said, within six months to about a year and a half it can produce up to 4 to 5 million pounds annually, quickly taking advantage and selling to the spot market that large volume of new production.
Keep in mind, the US only produces around 4 to 5 million pounds total, so EFR could effectively double US-based production if prices rise quickly. It can go from a company that is breaking even to a company that becomes very profitable very quickly. So that’s an excellent play. On top of that, the company owns a mill, so it gets to see supply coming from other locations, and of course, change prices accordingly to capture increased demand and increased desire to use its mill. That gives the company additional leverage.
RIN: You just mentioned how much the US produces per year, roughly. Is demand expected to grow?
RC: It’s expected to be mostly sideways. With the building of the new reactor right now, it’s certainly going to be positive. Long term, we still believe that the country is going to add anywhere between eight to 15 reactors from now until 2025. Globally speaking, the US accounts for about a quarter of the world’s power consumption of uranium, so it’s the world’s number-one consumer.
In total, the country consumes about 50 million pounds of uranium and produces about 4 to 5 million pounds. Because of that, the domestic security of supply is really important. Anyone producing from the US should get a premium simply because the US needs to have secure domestic sources of this material.
RIN: I heard recently that the DOE is actually selling some of its stockpiles of uranium. Is that true?
RC: Yes, the DOE uses that material to finance other parts of corroborations. For example, they’re decommissioning an enrichment facility, and they’re partially financing it by selling their inventories. So they have been doing that. It’s anywhere between 1 to 5 million pounds per year, sometimes up to 7 million. We do factor that into our model, and it’s expected that they will continue somewhere around that range.
RIN: Is that a strategic move on their end?
RC: They have a really large supply. They can afford to sell this material to finance projects and with this era of fiscal constraint, economics now rule the the day.
RIN: They aren’t even getting the best price for it at the moment, are they?
RC: Not at all. The ideal situation is that the DOE holds onto the material and does not further flood the market with material.
RIN: Now, Energy Fuels has a few partnerships with Cameco and Sumitomo. How do those factor into the company’s model?
RC: They certainly give support given that those are two large and notable organizations that have checked the quality of EFR’s portfolio and are backing the company. That certainly lends more credibility to the company, and those are experienced investors. That’s why I certainly believe it’s a positive to see them on the shareholder register.
RIN: What should investors be on the lookout for in regards to Energy Fuels in the coming year?
RC: The key thing really is the uranium price. Once it starts moving higher, it becomes an increasingly compelling story. As general market activity picks up, because it has a mill, the company is set to do very well; it is set up to become a good consolidator of the uranium space, especially on the western side of the US.
You may also see the company opportunistically pick up some good assets, which is going to be good for the overall portfolio. Overall, it’s a good leverage play.
RIN:Well that’s I have for today. Thank you for joining me Rob.
RC: Thank you.
Editorial Disclosure: Energy Fuels is an advertising client of the Investing News Network. This interview was conducted as part of their advertising campaign. This is paid-for content.
Rob Chang did not received compensation from the company for participating in this interview.
Securities Disclosure: Vivien Diniz holds no investment interest in any of the companies mentioned.
Rob Chang and Cantor Fitzgerald hold investments in Energy Fuels.
Tags: Energy Fuels, OTCQX:EFRFF, tsx:efr, uranium market, uranium price
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Dick_Nixon
14年前
Small Uranium Stocks Tempt Major Players
Companies / Uranium May 09, 2012 - 01:53 AM
By: The_Energy_Report
Companies
Best Financial Markets Analysis ArticleInvestors may still be holding their breath, but larger mining companies aren't waiting around for the price of uranium to go up. No, indeed, they are buying smaller companies on the cheap. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Equity Research Analyst Rob Chang of Versant Partners makes his case for deep value and discusses his favorite plays. With or without Germany and Japan, life goes on for uranium producers.
The Energy Report: Fourteen months after the fact, the biggest story in uranium is still the tsunami that struck Japan and destroyed four nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Japan is attempting to eradicate its dependency on nuclear energy. Are any plants still operating? Will all reactors be shut down in the near future?
Rob Chang: My numbers indicate that there are 50 reactors in Japan in total with only one still operating, and that last one is scheduled for a regular maintenance shutdown in early May. Since the Fukushima disaster occurred, every reactor that has been turned off for routine maintenance has not been permitted to restart. By mid-May, Japan will no longer run on nuclear power at all.
TER: There is a huge rise in carbon emissions in Japan, where fuel oil consumption for power production has doubled. Are drastically increased emissions likely to affect policy decisions in Japan, Germany or elsewhere?
RC: The carbon emissions are certainly growing. For Japan and Germany, an incredible rise is expected. There was an estimate that over the next few years, the increase in CO2 for Germany alone will be between 170–400 million tons (Mt) of additional CO2, which completely contradicts the country's previous goals. The populations and governments of these two countries are currently putting carbon emission concerns behind their fears of nuclear power. Germany is aggressively following its anti-nuclear power path while moving toward renewables and using other sources of power, such as natural gas, which unfortunately does generate a lot of CO2. Whether the country decides to go back to its original commitment of reducing CO2 emissions or to stay the path of avoiding nuclear at all costs will certainly be an issue, considering that alternative energy sources can't yet meet their energy demands.
TER: It sounds like there could be some very interesting alternative plays emerging from Germany and Japan's planned energy shifts, as both countries have large economic bases.
RC: That's the goal for both countries, to move toward alternative energy, which includes solar, wind power, hydro and geothermal. The problem with that is none of these can really provide a consistent form of baseload power. With solar, if you get a sustained period of darkness, you're going to have problems. You could also have a lack of wind, or a lack of suitable locations to build dams to generate hydro-electric power. As for geothermal, Japan has some capacity, but studies show that it's not enough to fully replace nuclear.
TER: What are the predominant, global sources of baseload energy?
RC: Baseload sources of power, those that are available at all times, include natural gas, coal and nuclear. Of the three, only one is zero-carbon emitting after being built, and that would be nuclear power. That's the big argument in favor of nuclear power. It is pretty much the only source of baseload power that solves all of the problems in terms of carbon emissions, low-cost power production and being relatively safe outside of the potential of nuclear meltdowns. Even when we look at Fukushima, it's really more about fear than reality. Nuclear power is still quite safe.
TER: Rob, you said nuclear is low-cost compared to other forms of energy. Tell me more.
RC: The costs of operating a nuclear power plant after it's already been built are probably the lowest among all energy sources. If you look at it in terms of alternative energy, which are heavily government-subsidized forms of power, it's actually very expensive to run those projects. On top of that, you still have the additional not-in-my-backyard problems for wind farms, which many people dislike. Although alternative forms of energy sound like a great option, nuclear power makes a lot more sense.
TER: Looking at a chart, uranium seems to have some support at about $50/pound (lb), and it seems to be in a trading range now with resistance at around $55/lb. That looks like a consolidation pattern to me.
uranium
RC: I'm more of a fundamentals analyst than a technical analyst, but I do observe the same patterns that you're seeing. It seems like it's trading in that range primarily because of near-term supply and demand fundamentals. Two, three or five years from now, if mine production schedules go the way they're supposed to, we should be in balance, with maybe even a slight surplus.
TER: Where is new supply coming from?
RC: The three primary mines that are coming online that are expected to meet upcoming demand are Cigar Lake in the Athabasca, run by Cameco Corp. (CCO:TSX; CCJ:NYSE), the expansion of Olympic Dam by BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP:NYSE; BHPLF:OTCPK) in Australia and the Imouraren mine that's run by AREVA (AREVA:EPA) in Niger. Together, these make up the bulk of the upcoming supply that's theoretically supposed to balance the increase in demand. That's assuming the World Nuclear Association's best-case scenario, as presented last year, unfolds. Demand may be lower or higher, but it does take into account the shutdowns in Japan and Germany.
TER: Does this consolidation pattern have anything to do with the acquisitions we've been seeing in the industry?
RC: I can't really say it is definitely a consolidation pattern. But when you are seeing consolidation in the industry, you generally see it in the low parts of the market when larger firms can see value in other firms and believe that their prices are going to go up and markets are going to be better. They might as well buy now when it's cheap and get bigger. We are certainly seeing that now, and we have been seeing that for the last two years. In my opinion, we're going to see more of it going forward.
We've seen some pretty nice ones—the Chinese buying Extract Resources Ltd. (EXT:TSX; EXT:ASX), Fission Energy Corp. (FIS:TSX.V; FSSIF:OTCQX) getting Pitchstone Exploration Ltd. (PXP:TSX.V) and now Energy Fuels Inc. (EFR:TSX) acquiring the U.S. assets of Denison Mines Corp. (DML:TSX; DNN:NYSE.A). These represent a lot of very positive signs for the industry because usually when you see consolidation, it signals the bottom in most industries. It looks as though we may be seeing that as well here.
TER: What about uranium price? Will it remain weak, as it is now at $50–55/lb.?
RC: It could, unless we have a catalyst. Right now, it seems like a very comfortable range for uranium. The main catalysts that many are waiting for is Japan's possible decision to restart its nuclear reactors. Once that happens, I would bet that we would see a run-up in the spot price. How far up it goes will be tough to say. It will entirely depend on how aggressive the nuclear roll-out or re-ignition occurs in Japan. For most of us, we believe that it's not a matter of if, but when the reactors are restarted. The government has already decided that it needs to. It's more a matter of getting the locals and the mayors in the areas to sign off on it. But once that happens, we should see the price go up.
TER: What is your price forecast?
RC: I believe uranium prices will rise a little bit, from here at least. For 2012, we're expecting an average price of $55/lb.
TER: If it rose above $55/lb, would that create a secular bull trend in uranium equities?
RC: I believe so. The uranium equities have been moving higher over the last six to eight months, primarily based on the fundamentals despite the fact that the uranium price hasn't moved. I fully recognize that they've come off highs from January and February, but overall they're still up relative to the Fukushima event. I believe that as the uranium spot price moves higher, there will certainly be more interest in the uranium equities.
TER: What names are you recommending to investors?
RC: The three names that we cover are Energy Fuels, Fission Energy and Kivalliq Energy Corp. (KIV:TSX.V). We still are very bullish on all three.
TER: Ok, let's take Energy Fuels first.
RC: As you know, Energy Fuels acquired the U.S. assets of Denison Mines, but Denison has been getting most of the publicity because it is basically cleaning itself up to be acquired by Rio Tinto (RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX) for its Athabasca assets. However, people should be recognizing Energy Fuels as a big winner given that it has established itself as the premier producer in the U.S. That's pretty significant, because the U.S. is the largest consumer of uranium. The U.S. consumes over 50 million pounds (50 Mlb), but it only produces 4 Mlb/year. So there's a massive shortfall between U.S. demand and supply. Security of supply is always going to be important for power generation.
Another thing is that Energy Fuels acquired the White Mesa mill from Denison, which allows it to put its Energy Queen and Whirlwind mines into production. Those are two turn-key mines that could be turned on within a year of the production decision. Those two mines are basically on pause while Energy Fuels clears all of the permitting and rebuilding hurdles for the Piñon Ridge mill, but now that it has acquired the White Mesa mill, it no longer needs to wait for Piñon Ridge. It can just go and process everything through there. So, unlocking those two mines will allow it to produce over 1 Mlb/year in the U.S. and provide immediate upside. There aren't that many producers out there, and Energy Fuels is a new producer on the block. I can see the company commanding a premium once the dust settles.
TER: Your target price on Energy Fuels is $1.10, which is an implied 300% return from here. Do you believe that startup of these two turn-key mines is going to be the catalyst for that kind of move?
RC: It's one of many catalysts. It's a near-term producer now, so that is also factoring the net asset value (NAV) of the production coming from those mines. It factors in all revenue streams coming into the company. The reason why, in my opinion, Energy Fuels has been trading this low is that uranium has been out of favor and Energy Fuels has been viewed previously as a developer that was not producing and still needed a permit. These hurdles have been addressed, improved upon or eliminated. I think once people give Energy Fuels a good hard look, they will realize it's significantly undervalued.
The overall market has been pretty negative, so investors are pretty reluctant to deploy capital. And they generally prefer producing companies that are large and subsequently safer. Energy Fuels has historically been a developer, but will be a producer after the deal closes. For this combination of reasons, it is not moving up as much as it should be. I believe that this is temporary and when sanity returns to the market, Energy Fuels will rise.
TER: What about Kivalliq?
RC: Kivalliq has the highest grades of any uranium company outside of the Athabasca Basin, 0.69% U3O8. The global median for U3O8 grades is 0.07%. So at 0.69%, Kivalliq is actually one decimal spot to the left of the global median. Kivalliq is located in Nunavut, which does present some challenges given there is little infrastructure in the area. However, the company already has 27 Mlb of this high-grade uranium near the surface. It has the potential of getting a lot more. There is the possibility that it could grow this to a +100 Mlb resource with the proper time and drilling. This makes Kivalliq a very interesting company. Another reason to like this company is that to the northeast of it, AREVA is developing the Kiggavik uranium deposit, which is a +100 Mlb uranium deposit. AREVA is way ahead of Kivalliq in terms of exploration/development, and there may be some synergies involved there in terms of Kivalliq being able to use AREVA's infrastructure builds. So I'm very positive on Kivalliq.
TER: Kivalliq has been weak for the past month. Does that make it even more interesting to you? Do you see it as a deep value currently?
RC: Absolutely. I have $1.10 target price for Kivalliq as well. That's about 150% of upside from here. So I believe there is lots of upside.
TER: Your third pick was Fission.
RC: I really like Fission Energy. This is in the Athabasca Basin, located right next door to Hathor Exploration, which is now Rio Tinto's Roughrider deposit. In fact, the western extension of the Roughrider deposit actually goes over the border into Fission's territory. If Rio Tinto was to ever develop this, it would make a lot of sense to develop that little nub that goes over the border. There's no reason for Rio Tinto to stop right at the property line. A few meters to the west of that is Fission Energy's J Zone deposit, which has an initial NI 43-101-compliant resource of 9 Mlb that it announced earlier this year. It would make a lot of sense for anyone, like Rio Tinto, wanting to consolidate the region, to buy Fission Energy next door as well as Denison's and AREVA's assets. Within a 5 kilometer (km) area, there is already more than 110 Mlb of uranium. So it would make a lot of sense for one company just to consolidate the whole region.
TER: An acquisition certainly does not look to be baked into Fission's stock price.
RC: It was previously. Fission traded over $1 at one point in November, when Hathor was being acquired. It's the classic situation where investors buy on the potential and when it doesn't happen immediately, they give up and sell. It is further exacerbated by the fact that we have a negative market in general.
Even though you've seen Fission drift lower, the story hasn't fundamentally changed. If anything, it is closer to actually happening now than it was right after Rio Tinto bought Hathor. I haven't seen many scenarios where an acquiring company buys Company A and immediately turns around and buys Company B. They generally take some time in between to digest the acquisition or do more work. So, if anything, now would probably be a better time to buy Fission.
Another reason Fission has drifted down is that many expect Rio Tinto to acquire Denison first given that it's larger, and then turn its attention to Fission last, or after AREVA. So maybe it's more of a timing issue and people would get back into Fission when they see more activity in the basin and because they could see a bid for Denison.
TER: What are some other names you like?
RC: Uranerz Energy Corp. (URZ:TSX; URZ:NYSE.A) is a near-term producer. It is scheduled to produce by the end of this year, which would make it the next uranium producer in the world. It is located in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. It has pretty high grades as far as in situ recovery (ISR) mining goes. It's an ISR miner, which means it uses injection wells and pumps the solution out of the ground. It is a low-cost operation similar to that of Uranium One Inc. (UUU:TSX) in Kazakhstan and some of the assets that Cameco has in the U.S. Uranerz is also run by one of the best management teams that I've come across in the uranium space. Given that it's a near-term producer, I am very positive on Uranerz for the same reason I feel that Energy Fuels is a bigger deal than what the market is giving it credit for.
Another name that I've very positive on is U3O8 Corp. (UWE:TSX.V). It is basically a South American consolidator of uranium assets, with assets in Colombia, Argentina and Guyana. I had the opportunity to visit all three. The flagship property is in Colombia, where it has decent grades. It looks like it there will be a suite of metals that the company can extract. In fact, it believes it can economically extract other metals such as molybdenum, vanadium, some rare earths and phosphate. Its asset in Guyana could be another Athabasca Basin.
TER: Many thanks to you, Rob.
RC: I've enjoyed it. Thank you for having me back.
Versant Partners Analyst Rob Chang has extensive financial markets experience dating back to 1995. He helped run a multistrategy hedge fund, worked in base metals research at BMO Capital Markets, managed resource funds at a boutique investment management firm and was a global mining equity analyst at an independent investment bank.
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DISCLOSURE:
1) George S. Mack of The Energy Report conducted this interview. He personally and/or his family own shares of the following companies mentioned in this interview: None.
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Dick_Nixon
14年前
PRESS RELEASE
April 16, 2012, 5:16 p.m. EDT
Energy Fuels Inc. and Denison Mines Corp. Announce Transaction to Create Leading U.S. Uranium Company
TORONTO, ONTARIO, Apr 16, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Energy Fuels Inc. ("Energy Fuels" or "EFR") CA:EFR -7.27% and Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or "DML") CA:DML -3.91% DNN -2.25% today announced that they have entered into a Letter Agreement to complete a transaction (the "Transaction") whereby EFR will acquire all of Denison's mining assets and operations located in the United States (the "US Mining Division") from Denison in exchange for 425,441,494 common shares of EFR (the "EFR Share Consideration"). Immediately following the closing of the Transaction, Denison will complete a Plan of Arrangement (the "Denison Arrangement") whereby Denison will complete a reorganization of its capital and will distribute the EFR Share Consideration to DML shareholders on a pro rata basis as a return of capital in the course of that reorganization. Upon completion of the Denison Arrangement, Denison shareholders will receive approximately 1.106 common shares of EFR for each common share of DML owned and will in aggregate own approximately 66.5% of the issued and outstanding common shares of EFR.
Energy Fuels and Denison believe that the Transaction and the Denison Arrangement will provide a number of substantial benefits for shareholders of both companies, including the following:
-- Creation of the largest 100% U.S. pure-play uranium producer and one of
the largest holders of National Instrument 43-101("NI 43-101") compliant
U.S. based uranium resources.
-- 2012 production forecasts totaling greater than 25% of total U.S.
estimated production.
-- Measured and Indicated Resources of 49.8 million lbs of U3O8, plus
Inferred Resources of 17.9 million lbs of U3O8.
-- U.S. focus provides compelling fundamentals: domestic consumption of 55
million lbs of U3O8 per year vs. domestic production of only 4 million
lbs of U3O8 per year.
-- Clear operational synergies and capital efficiencies to increase
production.
-- Combination of mining and development assets which will accelerate the
rate of development of EFR mines, provide higher throughput of mill
feed, and extend the number of years of production at the White Mesa
Mill.
-- EFR's Sheep Mountain Project is an advanced-stage development asset
which provides flexibility to bring an additional 1.5 million lbs per
year of U.S.-produced U3O8 on-line.
-- Creation of a strategic platform for continued uranium consolidation
within the U.S.
-- Substantial vanadium by-product from the White Mesa Mill and Colorado
Plateau Properties, where historic uranium to vanadium ratios have
averaged approximately 5:1.
-- Combined management expertise, with decades of combined uranium mining
and processing experience.
-- DML shareholders to benefit from the division of two distinctly
different business profiles as well as exclusive management focus on
exploration and development, such as DML's high-profile Wheeler River
project in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan and its
Mutanga project in Zambia.
Steve Antony, President and CEO of Energy Fuels commented, "This transaction is transformational for Energy Fuels and reshapes the landscape of the uranium sector within the U.S. It combines the highly strategic asset of the only operating uranium mill in the U.S., White Mesa, with a significant resource base that substantially increases White Mesa's available feedstock. The result is an unmatched production growth profile and the opportunity for both Energy Fuels and Denison shareholders to benefit from the clear operational synergies that result from this transaction. I look forward to working with Denison's U.S. team to maximize the benefits of this important combination."
Ron Hochstein, President and CEO of Denison added, "This transaction is an important step forward for Denison. The Company has evolved on two parallel but different tracks, being both an exploration and development entity with a global footprint and an established producer in the United States. We are pleased to have the opportunity to combine our U.S. operations with such a complimentary set of assets and people. I'm excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for both Denison and Energy Fuels shareholders and believe that this transaction only serves to strengthen the operations of both companies."
Transaction Details
Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, the parties have agreed to enter into exclusive negotiations with a view to entering into a definitive agreement in respect of the Transaction (the "Arrangement Agreement"). The execution of the Arrangement Agreement is subject to the following conditions:
(a) Korea Electric Power Corporation ("KEPCO") shall have waived its right
of first opportunity provided for in the strategic relationship
agreement dated as of June 15, 2009 among Denison, KEPCO and a
subsidiary of KEPCO, or the 30-day period for exercising such right
shall have expired without KEPCO exercising right;
(b) the entering into of support agreements with all directors and
officers of Denison, who own shares of Denison, and Zebra Holdings and
Investments S.a.r.l. and Lorito Holdings S.a.r.l.;
(c) the entering into of support agreements with all directors and
officers of Energy Fuels, who own shares of Energy Fuels, and with the
three largest shareholders of Energy Fuels;
(d) the prior approval by the boards of directors of each of Denison and
Energy Fuels;
(e) there shall not have been any event or change that has had or would be
reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the business,
operations, results of operations, prospects, assets, liabilities or
financial condition of the U.S. Mining Division and of the Energy
Fuels group taken as a whole.
The three largest shareholders of Energy Fuels, Dundee Resources Ltd., Pinetree Capital Ltd. and Mega Uranium Ltd. who collectively own approximately 22.7% of Energy Fuels' outstanding common shares, have indicated their willingness to enter into support agreements in respect of the Transaction. Zebra Holdings and Investments S.a.r.l. and Lorito Holdings S.a.r.l., which combined are one of the largest shareholders of Denison, owning approximately 9.9% of Denison's outstanding commons shares, have also indicated their willingness to enter into support agreements in respect of the Transaction.
At its shareholder meeting to approve the Transaction, Energy Fuels also expects to seek shareholder approval to implement a 10-for-1 consolidation of its common shares.
Following execution of the Arrangement Agreement, it is anticipated that completion of the Transaction will be subject to the following additional conditions:
a) approval of the Denison Arrangement by Denison shareholders;
b) approval of the issuance of the EFR Share Consideration as part of the
Transaction by Energy Fuels shareholders;
c) court approval of the Denison Arrangement;
d) receipt of third party approvals and consents; and
e) receipt of all required regulatory approvals, including acceptance by
the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The Letter Agreement contains customary deal protection mechanisms, including a reciprocal break fee of Cdn$3.0 million payable in certain circumstances, non-solicitation provisions and a right to match any superior proposal.
Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of Denison and Energy Fuels. These conditions include the entering into of definitive agreements, receipt of third party and regulatory approvals, receipt of shareholder and court approval, and the absence of any material adverse changes. Although it is the intention of Denison and Energy Fuels to proceed as expeditiously as possible toward completion of the Transaction and the Denison Arrangement, there can be no guarantee that these transactions will be completed.
Advisors and Counsel
Dundee Securities Ltd. is acting as financial advisor to Energy Fuels and its board of directors, and has provided a verbal opinion to the effect that, as of the date hereof, the consideration offered to Denison by Energy Fuels is fair, from a financial point of view, to Energy Fuels. Dundee Securities Ltd. and Dundee Resources Ltd. are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Dundee Corporation. Borden, Ladner and Gervais LLP is acting as legal advisor to Energy Fuels.
Haywood Securities Inc. is acting as financial advisor to Denison and its board of directors, and has provided an opinion to the effect that, as of the date hereof and subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications set out therein, the consideration to be received by shareholders of Denison is fair, from a financial point of view, to shareholders of Denison. Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP is acting as legal advisor to Denison.
Conference Call
Energy Fuels and Denison will be hosting a conference call on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 starting at 10:30 a.m. (Toronto time) to discuss the Transaction. The call will be available live through a webcast link on Energy Fuels website ( www.energyfuels.com ) and Denison's website ( www.denisonmines.com ), and by dialing 1-888-789-9572 (toll free) or 416-695-7806. A recorded version of the conference call will be available for playback approximately two hours following the conclusion of the call by dialing 905-694-9451 or 800-408-3053 (password:6637859). The presentation will also be available at www.energyfuels.com and www.denisonmines.com .
Overview of EFR and Denison's U.S. Mining Division
Energy Fuels Inc.
Energy Fuels Inc. is a uranium and vanadium mineral development company. The Company recently acquired Titan Uranium Inc., including the Sheep Mountain Project in the Crooks Gap District of Wyoming. The Company also received a Final Radioactive Materials License from the State of Colorado for the proposed Pinon Ridge Uranium and Vanadium Mill in March 2011. The mill will be the first uranium mill constructed in the United States in over 30 years.
With about 61,000 acres of highly prospective uranium and vanadium properties located in the states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, and New Mexico, as well as exploration properties in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin totaling approximately 32,000 additional acres, the Company has a full pipeline of additional development prospects. Energy Fuels, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, has assembled this property portfolio along with a first class management team, including highly skilled technical mining and milling professionals.
On March 1, 2012, Energy Fuels announced an updated Preliminary Feasibility Study for Sheep Mountain. The study contemplates the concurrent development of the underground and open pit deposits for a 15 year mine life. This option generates a pre-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 42% and a Net Present Value (NPV) of US$201 million, at a 7% discount rate and a $65/lb long term U3O8 price. This option has an expected initial CAPEX requirement of US$109 million and OPEX of US$32.31 per lb. recovered. The Sheep Mountain project is currently at an advanced stage of permitting. Production is expected to commence in 2015, with a peak production rate of 1.5 million lbs U3O8 per year.
The Sheep Mountain Project contains an Indicated Resource of 12,895,000 tons at an average grade of 0.12% eU3O8 (30,285,000 lbs eU3O8). This figure includes Probable Reserves of 7,453,000 tons at an average grade of 0.123% eU3O8 (18,365,000 lbs eU3O8). Energy Fuels' Colorado Plateau properties additionally contain Measured & Indicated Resources of 1,951,486 tons at an average grade of 0.24% eU3O8 and 0.89% V2O5 (9,371,821 lbs eU3O8 and 34,862,116 lbs V2O5).
The technical information in this news release regarding the Sheep Mountain Project was prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and is extracted from Preliminary Feasibility Study for Sheep Mountain dated April 13, 2012 which is filed on EFR's SEDAR profile and is available for viewing at www.sedar.com .
Stephen P. Antony, President and CEO of Energy Fuels, is Energy Fuels' Qualified Person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101) for uranium projects and is responsible for the technical information related to EFR's assets contained in this release.
Denison's U.S. Mining Division
All of Denison's U.S. assets are held directly or indirectly through its wholly-owned subsidiary Denison Mines Holdings Corp. ("DMH"). DMH holds its uranium mining and milling assets through subsidiaries, as follows:
-- the White Mesa Mill, a 2,000-ton per day uranium and vanadium processing
plant near Blanding, Utah through Denison White Mesa LLC;
-- the Colorado Plateau mines, straddling the Colorado and Utah border,
through Denison Colorado Plateau LLC;
-- the Daneros uranium mine in the White Canyon district of southeastern
Utah, and other exploration properties through Utah Energy Corporation;
-- the Arizona Strip properties through Denison Arizona Strip LLC;
-- the Henry Mountains uranium complex in southern Utah and other
exploration properties through Denison Henry Mountains LLC; and
-- miscellaneous properties through Denison Properties LLC.
All of the U.S. properties are operated by Denison Mines (USA) Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of DMH.
Denison's White Mesa Mill in Utah is the only conventional uranium mill currently operating in the U.S. It is fully licensed and permitted to process 2,000 tons per day, producing up to 8 million lbs of uranium per year. A vanadium co-product recovery circuit allows for the processing of vanadium ore within the Colorado Plateau mines and its central location allows for hauling of uranium ore from Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
The Arizona Strip has higher grade production from breccia pipes. The Arizona 1 mine is currently producing with a track-record of resource replacement. A second mine (Pinenut) is expected to open in 2012. Shaft sinking is expected to begin at the Canyon mine in the fourth quarter 2012, pending regulatory approval, and the EZ1 & EZ2 properties are progressing through permitting.
The Henry Mountains Complex in Utah consists of the Bullfrog and Tony M deposits and represents Denison's largest resource in the U.S. (12.8 million lbs Indicated Resources, 8.1 million lbs Inferred Resources). Currently the complex is on care and maintenance. It was fully permitted in September 2007 and has excellent infrastructure, access, and is production ready. Haulage to the mill is along County and State highways.
The technical information in this news release regarding the Henry Mountains Complex was prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and is extracted from the technical reports prepared for DML titled "Technical Report on the Tony M-Southwest Deposit, Henry Mountains Complex, Utah, USA" dated March 19, 2009, and "Technical Report on the Henry Mountains Complex Uranium Project, Utah, U.S.A." dated October 17, 2006, which are filed on Denison's SEDAR profile and are available for viewing at www.sedar.com .
Ron Hochstein, President and CEO for Denison, is Denison's Qualified Person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101) for uranium projects and is responsible for the technical information related to Denison's U.S. Mining Division contained in this release.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain information contained in this news release, including any information relating to the proposed Transaction between Energy Fuels and Denison, the benefits and synergies of the Transaction, future opportunities for the combined company and any other statements regarding Energy Fuels' and Denison's 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", "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' and Denison's 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: the parties' ability to consummate the Transaction; the conditions to the completion of the Transaction, including the receipt of shareholder approval, court approval or the regulatory approvals required for the Transaction may not be obtained on the terms expected or on the anticipated schedule; the ability of the parties to agree to terms on the definitive agreements relating to the Transaction; the parties' ability to meet expectations regarding the timing, completion and accounting and tax treatments of the Transaction; the volatility of the international marketplace; and other risk factors as described in Energy Fuels' and Denison's most recent annual information forms and annual and quarterly financial reports.
Energy Fuels and Denison assume 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' and Denison's respective filings with the various provincial securities commissions which are available online at 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 each of Energy Fuels and Denison 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.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE
This news release and the information contained herein does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United Sates and securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or exemption from registration. The terms "Inferred Resources", "Indicated Resources", "Measured Resources", "Mineral Resources" and "Probable Reserves" used in this news release are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects under the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (the "CIM Standards"). The CIM Standards differ significantly from standards in the United States. While the terms "Mineral Resources", Measured Resources", "Indicated Resources", "Inferred Resources" and "Probable Reserves" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, they are not defined terms under standards in the United States. "Inferred Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian securities laws, estimates of Inferred Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. Readers are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Resources or Probable Reserves will ever be converted into reserves. Readers are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an Inferred Resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable. Accordingly, information regarding resources and reserves contained or referenced in this news release containing descriptions of our mineral deposits may not be comparable to similar information made public by United States companies.
This news release and the information contained herein does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United Sates. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.
Contacts:
Energy Fuels Inc.
Stephen P. Antony
President & CEO
(303) 974-2140
s.antony@energyfuels.com
www.energyfuels.com
Denison Mines Corp.
Ron Hochstein
President & CEO
(416) 979-1991 x232
rhochstein@denisonmines.com
www.denisonmines.com
SOURCE: Denison Mines Corp. and Energy Fuels Inc.
mailto:s.antony@energyfuels.com
http://www.energyfuels.com mailto:rhochstein@denisonmines.com
http://www.denisonmines.com
Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/energy-fuels-inc-and-denison-mines-corp-announce-transaction-to-create-leading-us-uranium-company-2012-04-16
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