Advancing Work To Prepare For Restart At Nichols Ranch Uranium Project
DENVER, CO - Energy Fuels Inc. reported that its work to prepare for the restart of its Nichols Ranch in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mine 80 miles northeast of Casper, Wyoming in the Powder River Basin is advancing as planned, with initial pre-production drilling intercepts showing stronger mineralization than anticipated. The Company currently expects that the development of the remainder of its permitted Production Area 2 (PA2) could be ready to commence production in July 2025, with the start date based on market conditions.
Energy Fuels could quickly add uranium production from Nichols Ranch to its other operating conventional mines in Arizona and Utah. The Company also disclosed an additional uranium supply contract with a US nuclear energy utility in its Q2, 2024 quarterly report, continuing its commitment to the domestic uranium industry and demonstrating expanding offtake interest.
"We are very pleased with our progress to date in preparing Nichols Ranch for a potential restart of production in 2025, and these significant drilling results are exceeding our expectations and further demonstrate the strength of this project," said Mark Chalmers, President and CEO. "This puts us one step closer on the path to meeting our projections, increasing our market share of the nuclear fuel supply chain, and potentially expanding our uranium resources."
With a licensed annual capacity of two million pounds of uranium, the fully licensed, permitted and constructed Nichols Ranch ISR facility is a priority resource in the Company's development pipeline. To restart production, the Company is performing delineation drilling and, based on that delineation drilling, plans to advance new header houses and install new well-fields in its permitted PA2 area at the mine. In addition to this delineation drilling, the Company has been advancing the restart by overhauling the on-site deep disposal well earlier this year and making some capital improvements to the existing plant.