37 APRIL 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® U.S. Uranium Mines on the Rise Compiled by Sophia Henline, Office Clerk, WorldWide Drilling Resource® With the strong uranium market conditions, Energy Fuels Inc. has commenced uranium productions at three permitted and developed uranium mines in Arizona and Utah. The White Mesa Mill in Utah is the only conventional uranium mill operating in the U.S. today with a licensed capacity of over eight million pounds of uranium per year. Energy Fuels Resources Inc. is a leading U.S.-based uranium and critical minerals company. The company produces natural uranium concentrates sold to major nuclear utilities for production of carbon-free nuclear energy. Pinyon Plain Mine is a uranium mine facility in north central Arizona currently owned by Energy Fuels. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has drilled a monitoring well just outside the fenced area of the Plain Mine. The monitoring well will provide further information concerning perched aquifers in the area along with monitoring the Northern Arizona Withdrawal. USGS is also conducting regular monitoring of soils, water, plants, and wildlife in and around the mine. With today’s highly favorable market conditions, spot prices have reached a 16-year high for uranium. The company is preparing two more large-scale U.S. mine projects in Colorado and Wyoming, so they can increase uranium production in the coming years. Over the past five years, Energy Fuels has accounted for roughly two-thirds of all U.S. uranium production and the company expects to be producing uranium at a run-rate of 1.1 to 1.4 million pounds per year. They hope the other two mines, Whirlwind and Nichols Ranch, commence production within a year, increasing production to over two million pounds per year starting in 2025. That is, if the strong market conditions continue. The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Summit emphasized the need for more nuclear energy, fueled by uranium, to lower global carbon emissions. More than 20 countries on four continents, including the U.S., pledged to triple nuclear energy by 2050 according to a recent U.S. Department of Energy news release. The current fleet of U.S. nuclear plants provides about 20% of all electricity and about 50% of all carbon-free electricity in the U.S. Uranium is now used to power commercial nuclear reactors producing electricity and isotopes used for medical, industrial, and defense purposes around the world. Pinyon Plain Mine. Photo courtesy of Energy Fuels Inc. MIN JUNE EDITORIAL FOCUS SAFETY DEADLINE - APRIL 15th!
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDk4Mzk=