Published: August 14, 2024 |

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Uranium Energy has successfully started up of uranium production at its past-producing Christensen Ranch In-Situ Recovery (ISR) operations in Wyoming.

Production commenced in the previously operated Mine Unit 10 at Christensen Ranch on August 6. To date, uranium concentrations in the initial production patterns are meeting expectations and are anticipated to rise in the coming weeks.

All planned startup milestones, including the hiring and training of the initial restart personnel for both the Irigaray Central Processing Plant (CPP) and Christensen Ranch, have been achieved to ensure a successful ramp-up of uranium production. Approximately 40 percent of the total workforce is from Johnson County, with other employees originating from Campbell, Converse, Carbon, Laramie, and Natrona Counties in Wyoming.

The first shipment of yellowcake is anticipated to occur in November or December 2024.

Uranium recovered from Christensen Ranch will be processed at the Irigaray CPP, located approximately 15 miles northwest of Christensen Ranch. Irigaray has a current licensed capacity of 2.5 million pounds U3O8 per year, with a license amendment currently under regulatory review that is expected to increase capacity to 4.0 million pounds annually. The Irigaray CPP is the hub, central to four fully permitted ISR projects in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, including Christensen Ranch.

“The Christensen Ranch ISR Mine has successfully restarted and we are in full growth mode with initial recoveries from Mine Unit 10 to be followed with Mine Units 7 and 8 in the coming months. Additionally, we have drilled, cased, and completed 55 wellfield patterns to extend Mine Unit 10 that will commence production in 2025. Further production growth is being developed with delineation drilling and monitor well planning at Mine Unit 11,” said Donna Wichers, vice president of Wyoming Operations.

“We have filled all our initial personnel requirements, resulting in a total workforce of 40 employees. Hiring is expected to continue into 2025 with an additional 20 positions to meet plans for future wellfield development and expanded production,” added Wichers.

“I am very proud of the Wyoming team who have executed as planned to achieve the restart of production. This is the moment we have been working towards for over a decade, having acquired and further developed leading U.S. and Canadian assets with an exceptional, deeply experienced operations team. Global uranium market fundamentals are solid, with prospects for extraordinary growth in nuclear power and uranium demand,” said Amir Adnani, president and CEO.

“The U.S. nuclear utility fleet produces almost 20 percent of the country’s electricity and is the world’s largest uranium consumer with purchases of more than 50 million pounds last year. U.S. production has been virtually non-existent for many years, suffering from price insensitive imports via foreign state-owned enterprises that undermined domestic mining and investment. This situation is changing by way of successive and unprecedented bipartisan U.S. government programs designed to stimulate growth of domestic uranium production as the foundation of a robust nuclear fuel supply chain,” added Adnani.

“Production from stable jurisdictions is valued in today’s volatile world and has become a renewed priority in utility purchasing strategies. The special nature of U.S. origin uranium carries a unique demand profile, not only applicable for U.S. and Western utilities security of supply but also for U.S. national security. Unobligated U.S. origin uranium is required to fuel the U.S. nuclear navy, and the government inventories feeding this demand have been drawn down over several decades. The U.S. Department of Energy’s recent Strategic Uranium Reserve purchases being the clearest example of a domestic priority,” said Scott Melbye, executive vice president.

Uranium Energy (EUC) is the fastest growing supplier of the fuel for the green energy transition to a low carbon future. UEC is the largest, diversified North American focused uranium company, advancing the next generation of low-cost, environmentally friendly ISR mining uranium projects in the United States and high-grade conventional projects in Canada. The company has two production-ready ISR hub and spoke platforms in South Texas and Wyoming. These two production platforms are anchored by fully operational CPPs and served by seven U.S. ISR uranium projects with all their major permits in place. Additionally, the company has diversified uranium holdings including: (1) one of the largest physical uranium portfolios of U.S. warehoused U3O8; (2) a major equity stake in Uranium Royalty Corp., the only royalty company in the sector; and (3) a Western Hemisphere pipeline of resource stage uranium projects. The company’s operations are managed by professionals with decades of hands-on experience in the key facets of uranium exploration, development and mining.

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