Uranium Energy Restarts Wyoming Production Amid Soaring Prices
By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com
U.S.-based Uranium Energy Corp said on Tuesday it would restart uranium production at its fully permitted site in Wyoming as the resurgence in nuclear power has led to a new bull market in uranium.
Uranium Energy will resume 100% unhedged uranium production at its fully permitted, and past producing, Christensen Ranch In-Situ Recovery (ISR) operations in Wyoming. The recovered uranium will be processed at the fully operational Irigaray Central Processing Plant with a current licensed capacity of 2.5 million pounds U3O8 per year, the company said.
The first uranium production is expected in August 2024 and will be funded with existing cash on the company’s balance sheet. As Uranium Energy’s strategy has been to remain 100% unhedged, produced uranium will be sold at prevailing spot market prices which was $106 per pound U3O8 as of January 15, 2024 as reported by UxC.
“Uranium market fundamentals are the best the industry has witnessed, and various supply shocks have accelerated the bull market with recent prices eclipsing the $100 per pound level,” Uranium Energy president and CEO Amir Adnani said.
Combined with South Texas Hub and Spoke ISR Platform, Uranium Energy controls the largest S-K 1300 compliant ISR resource base in the United States with over 75,000,000 lbs of measured and indicated resources and 25,000,000 lbs of inferred resources.
At the end of 2023, TerraPower and Uranium announced a memorandum of understanding with objectives of reestablishing domestic supply chains of uranium fuel.
The renewed focus on nuclear energy in many developed economies has created a bull market for uranium in recent months.
Early in January, spot prices for uranium concentrate used in nuclear power generation hit a new 16-year high, climbing to $92.45 per pound.
Uranium prices have further room to rise after Kazatomprom—the largest uranium miner in the world—said last week that sulfuric acid shortages and construction delays at newly discovered deposits could lead to the company missing production targets—challenges that could remain into next year.
