Piñon Ridge sale completed

Tuesday, 11 November 2014

Energy Fuels has completed the transfer of the Piñon Ridge project, including the radioactive materials licence for a proposed uranium mill at the Colorado site, to a private investor group.

Piñon Ridge (Image: Energy Fuels)

The sale of Piñon Ridge plus assets comprising historic uranium production sites and uranium exploration projects to a private investor group led by Baobab Asset Management and former Energy Fuels president George Glasier was announced in July. The transaction is part of ongoing cost reduction and asset rationalization efforts for Energy Fuels.

The sale of the mining assets, all located along the Colorado-Utah border, was completed in August, netting Energy Fuels cash and other considerations worth US$1.5 milllion plus expenses. The company also retained a 1% production royalty on all of the properties, which include the Sunday Complex, the Willhunt and San Rafael projects, the Sage and Van 4 mines, and the Farmer Girl, Dunn and Yellow Cat projects.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) approved the transfer of the Piñon Ridge licence from Energy Fuels to the Piñon Ridge Corporation, of which Glasier is CEO, on 5 November.

Energy Fuels acquired Piñon Ridge in western Colorado in 2007, and had been looking to build a 500 ton per day mill there and first received a licence from CDPHE in 2011. The company subsequently acquired the already operational 2000 ton per day White Mesa mill in Utah, meaning it no longer needed to construct a mill at Piñon Ridge.

Energy Fuels president and CEO Stephen Antony said the transaction would enable the company to improve its balance sheet and realize cost reductions. "Mr Glasier is extremely knowledgeable of the Piñon Ridge Project, and as a resident of Western Colorado, he is in an excellent position to see it through," he said.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News