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Energy Fuels CEO Mark Chalmers applauds $75M uranium reserve funding in omnibus spending bill

Published: 12:42 22 Dec 2020 EST

US House of Representatives building interior with people
Energy Fuels has been the top uranium miner in the US since 2017, and facilities the company now owns and operates have produced roughly one third of all uranium mined in the country since 2006

Energy Fuels Inc (NYSEAMERICAN:UUUU) (TSE:EFR), the largest uranium miner in the US, expressed its appreciation for the $75 million appropriated to launch a US uranium reserve included in the omnibus bill passed by both houses of Congress Monday night. 

“Energy Fuels extends our gratitude to Congress and the administration for working together on a bipartisan basis to appropriate these funds in 2021 for the creation of a US uranium reserve,” CEO Mark Chalmers said in a statement. “We are extremely pleased to see members on both sides of the aisle support a healthy domestic uranium industry, so America cannot be held hostage by foreign adversaries like Russia for the fuel needed to generate clean, carbon-free nuclear energy.”

The funding opens the door for the US government to purchase domestically produced uranium to guard against potential commercial and national security risks presented by our country’s near-total reliance on foreign imports of uranium, the company said.

READ: Energy Fuels announces entry into the commercial rare earth business with Chemours supply deal

“Creation of a uranium reserve is truly a milestone for our industry, and $75 million will go a long way toward reviving and expanding the domestic production of nuclear fuel in 2021 and beyond,” Chalmers said. “We look forward to working with the US Department of Energy to make sure this funding is spent wisely to support existing infrastructure by purchasing uranium from existing, proven uranium facilities.”

Energy Fuels has been the top uranium miner in the US since 2017, and facilities the company now owns and operates have produced roughly one third of all uranium mined in the country since 2006. The company holds three of the most productive uranium facilities in the US, which have a combined licensed capacity to produce more than 11.5 million pounds of uranium per year, the company said. 

This includes the Utah White Mesa Mill, which is the only conventional uranium mill operating in the US today, as well as the Nichols Ranch and Alta Mesa in situ recovery (ISR) facilities, located in Wyoming and Texas, respectively.

“This funding also has the potential to create good-paying jobs and economic opportunity for under-served areas of Wyoming, Texas and Utah,” Chalmers said. “Our White Mesa Mill in Utah is a clean energy and critical minerals hub, a concept that goes much farther than simply mining and producing uranium.

“Any funds used through a Department of Energy program to purchase uranium from the White Mesa Mill can have a multiplier effect, by not only supporting the domestic uranium mining industry, but also by advancing other important clean energy priorities, including rare earth production, abandoned mine cleanup and supporting Native American communities.”

Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel

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