US regulator OKs uranium licence transfer

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved the transfer of control of two Wyoming uranium recovery licences to Russian uranium company AtomRedMetZoloto (ARMZ). The transfer affects a licence held by Uranium One subsidiary Uranium One USA for the Irigaray and Christensen Ranch in-situ leach (ISL) uranium recovery facility, plus the licence recently granted to another subsidiary, Uranium One Americas, for the proposed Moore Ranch ISL project, as well as a materials licence authorizing the use of tritium sealed sources for well logging. Two additional uranium recovery licence applications by Uranium One Americas, for the Jab & Antelope and the Ludeman projects, are currently under review. The NRC has ruled that the US subsidiaries will remain the licensees, and notes that as neither Uranium One nor ARMZ holds an NRC export licence, no uranium produced at either facility may be exported. The NRC approval means that Uranium One now has all the regulatory approvals required to close the transaction announced earlier this year that will see ARMZ take a controlling interest in the Vancouver-based company, which has uranium interests in Kazakhstan, the USA and Australia.