- -UUUU has eliminated half of the company’s debt, plans to be debt free by end of 2020
- -Company will have estimated $30 million of uranium & vanadium inventory — more if market prices rise — by end of 2020
- -Energy Fuels working toward producing rare earth elements in the U.S.
The largest uranium mining company in the United States, Energy Fuels (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) has eliminated one-half of its debt, plans to be debt free by the end of the year, and anticipates having $30 million of inventory value by the close of 2020 (http://ibn.fm/YpNEV). The company holds three of America’s key uranium production centers, including the White Mesa Mill, the only conventional uranium mill currently operating in the United States today.
“The strength of Energy Fuels’ balance sheet is unsurpassed in the global mid- and junior-uranium mining sectors today, including decreasing debt loads and increasing values on our product inventories,” said Energy Fuels president and CEO Mark S. Chalmers.
Uranium mining peaked in the 1980s with more than 250 operating mines, making the United States the world’s largest producer of energy fuels at that time. The situation has changed significantly since then. The U.S. now ranks 15th in the world and produces a mere 1% of the world’s uranium (http://ibn.fm/sEY6i) and less than 1% of U.S. requirements (http://ibn.fm/S120N).
Nuclear energy is clean energy, generating 20% of all electricity and more than 55% of the carbon-free, emission-free electricity in the country. Its continued use is vital in combating global climate change and air pollution, while also remaining affordable.
Energy Fuels is the top U.S. producer of uranium, supplying over one-third of the nation’s needs for the past 15 years. However, the country continues to import the majority of its uranium from foreign countries. Energy Fuels is working to change this by leading efforts in the 2018–2019 Uranium Section 232 (http://ibn.fm/OSTJQ), the Nuclear Fuel Working Group (http://ibn.fm/dWqGS), and the proposed creation of the new U.S. strategic uranium reserve (http://ibn.fm/1iMCl).
“No other comparable uranium miner to my knowledge has Energy Fuels’ inventory levels, and many are incurring significant debt to advance their development and exploration projects,” Chalmers stated. Decreasing debt has been a focus of Energy Fuels over the last several years. Being debt free by the end of 2020 protects the shareholders if the market does not meet expectations.
Energy Fuels anticipates 640,000 to 690,000 pounds of uranium inventory by the end of 2020; at the current value of uranium that is about a$22,000,000 value. Also, Chalmers shared that the company has 1,675,000 pounds of high-purity finished vanadium product, worth around $8.9 million at today’s prices. “I can think of no other comparable uranium miner anywhere in the world that has the potential to have over $30 million of inventory value at the end of 2020 — and possibly much more if uranium and/or vanadium prices improve,” he stated.
The company is looking into entering the rare earth elements (“REE”) space as well, which will incorporate the recycling of REE-bearing materials (http://ibn.fm/zjTe0). There is a lot of interest in rare earths at the current time, and Energy Fuels management believe the company is more advanced than other companies in the U.S. with respect to producing a salable rare earth concentrate (http://ibn.fm/xADbd).
Uranium recycling, vanadium production and the alternate-feed material recycling program have also created diverse cash-flow-generating opportunities for Energy Fuels that has played into the company’s ability to reduce debt while remaining environmentally responsible. The company’s alternate-feed material recycling program takes waste from non-mine sources and industrial activities and produces uranium, a clean-energy resource.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.EnergyFuels.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to UUUU are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/UUUU
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