Pick of The Week
 

Energy Fuels Inc.
(NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR)

Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (NYSE American: EFR) , based in Lakewood, Colorado, is the country’s largest producer of uranium and the leading conventional producer of vanadium, both designated by the U.S. government as critical minerals. Energy Fuels also began production of rare earths in 2021 at a stage more advanced than any other U.S. company.

As the leading U.S. diversified uranium miner, Energy Fuels’ uranium production portfolio stands apart in the world. Energy Fuels has more uranium production facilities, more production capacity, and more in-ground resources than any other company in the United States. In fact, the company’s assets have produced over one-third of all U.S. uranium over the past 15 years and is uniquely positioned to increase production to meet new demand.

Energy Fuels utilizes both conventional and in-situ recovery (“ISR”) technology to produce uranium from three strategic facilities:

• White Mesa Mill in Utah (conventional) has a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U3O8 per year. The highly strategic White Mesa Mill is the only conventional uranium mill in the country and is proximate to some of the largest and highest-grade uranium mines and projects in the U.S., including the Company’s Canyon mine, La Sal Complex, Henry Mountains Complex and Roca Honda Project. White Mesa Mill provides Energy Fuels with significant production scalability as uranium demand increases. The White Mesa Mill also has other diverse businesses, including vanadium, rare earth elements (REE’s), alternate feed materials recycling and land cleanup, all described below.
• Nichols Ranch Plant (ISR) is located in the productive Powder River Basin district of Wyoming and has a total licensed capacity of 2 million pounds of U3O8 per year. Nichols Ranch has produced 1.2 million pounds of U3O8 since commissioning in 2014, and it has significant future expansion potential from 34 fully licensed wellfields containing significant in-ground uranium resources.
• Alta Mesa Plant (ISR) is located on over 200,000 acres of private land in Texas. The fully licensed and constructed ISR project has a total operating capacity of 1.5 million pounds of uranium per year and produced nearly 5 million pounds of U3O8 between 2005 and 2013. This low-cost production facility is currently on standby, maintained in a state of readiness to respond to expected increases in demand.

RECENT COVERAGE
 

US, Japanese Companies Agree to Expedite Development of Fast Reactors

February 3, 2022 2:45 PM

Bill Gates’ nuclear company recently put pen to paper on an agreement with Japanese companies for a joint nuclear project. The project will see the U.S. energy startup TerraPower partner with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (“MHI”), Mitsubishi FBR Systems (“MFBR”) and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (“JAEA”).

It is through this transnational collaboration that Japan is aiming to rapidly increase innovation in nuclear technology as the United States develops the fourth-generation sodium-cooled reactor. The first step of this cooperation, according to JAEA, is to develop a natrium power plant. Japan’s government has a history of operating reactors, such as Monju based in Fukui Prefecture and the experimental reactor Joyo, which is based in Ibaraki Prefecture.

The purpose of the storage technology will be to provide a temporary boost in the system’s output, raising it to 500 megawatts. This will accommodate the amount of electric load changes the nuclear power plant experiences within a day. The plant is expected to be built by 2028. Such collaborative efforts aimed at developing superior reactors paint a bullish picture for uranium extractors such as Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) since demand for the metal is likely to grow over the coming years.