Energy Fuels Inc. is pleased to announce that it has filed an updated mineral resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment for its 60%-owned Roca Honda uranium project, a mineral resource estimate for its 50%-owned high-grade Wate breccia-pipe uranium project, and an updated mineral resource estimate for its 100%-owned Sage Plain uranium/vanadium project.
Each of these reports is described in more detail below:
The Roca Honda Project:
The Company has filed on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR", www.sedar.com) a report titled, "Technical Report on the Roca Honda Project, McKinley County, State of New Mexico, U.S.A." (the "Roca Honda Technical Report") dated February 27, 2015, which includes an updated mineral resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects, of the Canadian Securities Administration ("NI 43-101"). The Roca Honda Technical Report was prepared by Barton G. Stone, C.P.G., Robert Michaud, P.Eng., Stuart Collins, P.E., Mark Mathisen, C.P.G., and Harold R. Roberts, P.E. and COO of Energy Fuels, each of whom is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101. The Roca Honda Technical Report replaces a previous August 6, 2012 technical report on the project.
The new report reflects the economics of toll milling ore at Energy Fuels' 100%-owned White Mesa Mill, rather than at a new mill which had previously been planned to be constructed closer to the Roca Honda project site. Eliminating construction of a new mill would be expected to have a significant impact on capital costs and the time line for developing the project. Although operating costs for the project are expected to increase as a result of increased transportation costs and the tolling milling charge, the life of mine capital costs are expected to be reduced by approximately $115 million. The Company believes the project is preferable with toll milling, because it is expected to substantially reduce capital costs and the time and licensing risks associated with constructing a new mill.
The project is estimated to have approximately 14.56 million pounds of uranium contained in approximately 1.51 million tons of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources with an average grade of 0.48% eU3O8. In addition, the project is estimated to have approximately 11.21 million pounds of uranium contained in approximately 1.20 million tons of Inferred Mineral Resources with an average grade of 0.47% eU3O8. Under the base-case scenario contained in the Roca Honda Technical Report, the Roca Honda project is expected to have a 9-year mine life with average annual production of approximately 2.6 million pounds of U3O8 per year.
Wate Project:
The Company has filed on SEDAR a report titled, "NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources Wate Uranium Breccia Pipe - Northern Arizona, U.S.A." (the "Wate Technical Report") dated March 10, 2015, which includes a new mineral resource estimate prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. The Wate Technical Report was prepared by Allan Moran, C.P.G AIPG and Frank A. Daviess, MAusIM, RM SME, each of whom is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101.
The Wate project is a high-grade "breccia pipe" uranium deposit located in Northern Arizona. It is held in a joint venture called Wate Mining Company, LLC ("WMC"), which is owned 50% by the Company's subsidiary, EFR Arizona Strip LLC, and 50% by Uranium One Americas, Inc. EFR Arizona Strip LLC is the manager of the project. The Wate Technical Report was prepared for WMC. According to the Wate Technical Report, the project has a total of approximately 1.12 million pounds of uranium contained in approximately 0.07 million tons of Inferred Mineral Resources with an average grade of 0.79% eU3O8.
The Company has considerable experience mining similar deposits, as the Company has ongoing mining operations at the Pinenut mine, recently completed mining operations at its Arizona 1 project in 2014, and announced that it is preparing to resume development at its Canyon mine. Wate, Pinenut, Canyon, and Arizona 1 are all "breccia pipe" deposits located in Northern Arizona. The Company is currently awaiting the issuance of a state mineral lease for the Wate project. In Arizona, a state mineral lease is similar to a mining permit in other jurisdictions, as it confers the right to mine and ship ores and to conduct all support operations.
Sage Plain Project:
The Company has filed on SEDAR a report titled, "Updated Technical Report on Sage Plain Project (Including the Calliham Mine), San Juan County, Utah, U.S.A." (the "Sage Plain Technical Report") dated March 18, 2015, which includes a new mineral resource estimate prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. The Sage Technical Report was prepared by Douglas C. Peters, C.P.G., who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101. The Sage Plain Technical Report replaces a previous December 16, 2011 technical report on the project.
In August 2014, the Company completed the sale of certain non-core mining assets along the Colorado-Utah border, including unpatented mining claims associated with the Sage deposit. As a result, the Company filed this new technical report based on a re-evaluation of data and to include only the rights retained by the Company (the Calliham mine) after removing the Sage claims from the project. According to the new Sage Plain Technical Report, the Sage Plain project has approximately 1.61 million pounds of uranium and 13.26 million pounds of vanadium contained in approximately 0.48 million tons of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources with an average grade of 0.17% eU3O8 and 1.40% V2O5. In addition, the project is estimated to have approximately .04 million pounds of uranium and 0.28 million pounds of vanadium contained in approximately .01 million tons of Inferred Mineral Resources with an average grade of 0.16% eU3O8 and 1.20% V2O5.
Source: http://www.energyfuels.com/