Fuel cycle roundup #1

Friday, 29 June 2012

Energy Fuels to take over Denison assets

Shareholders of Toronto-based uranium development company Energy Fuels have voted in favour (99.21%) of the acquisition of the US mining division of Denison Mining Corp, while Denison shareholders have also voted in support of the buyout (99.07%). With approval granted by the Superior Court of Justice on 27 June, Energy Fuels is to take over the Denison subsidiaries holding the assets today, as long as all contractual conditions are satisfied.

The deal - announced in April - will see Denison shareholders ultimately own about 65.6% of Energy Fuels on completion of the transaction and subsequent reorganisation. It will bring together Denison’s mining and milling assets, which includes the White Mesa uranium and vanadium mill in Utah, with Energy Fuel’s uranium and vanadium properties in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming and New Mexico. According to the companies, this will create "the largest 100% US pure-play uranium producer" with current measured and indicated uranium resources of 49.8 million pounds U3O8 (19,155 tU) and inferred resources of 17.9 million pounds U3O8 (6885 tU).

Kazakh sulphuric acid facility completed

Construction of a 500,000 tonne per year sulphuric acid plant in the Zhanakorgan Kyzylorda region of Kazakhstan was completed on 25 June. The plant – a joint venture between Kazatomprom subsidiary Mining Company LLP (owning 49% of the project), SAP-Japan Corporation (32%) and Canada-based Uranium One (19%) – will transport most of the acid it produces to the Khorassan 1 and Khorassan 2 in-situ leach uranium mines when it begins operation later in the year. Combined, these mines have a total nameplate capacity of 5000 tU per year. Kazatomprom is the largest user of sulphuric acid in the country and used some 2 million tonnes in 2011 for its acid leach operations. It said that the new facility should help cut its dependency on imports of the chemical.

Government support for Mecsek Hills

The Hungarian government will allow state-owned companies Mecsek-Öko and Mecsekérc, and Hungarian Electricity Ltd (owner of the Paks nuclear power plant) to enter into a joint venture with Australia based Wildhorse Energy in order to help develop the Mecsek Hills uranium project. This clears the way for the further development of the deposit, which hosts an inferred resource of 77 million pounds (35,000 tU) at a grade of 0.072%.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News