White Canyon sales agreement

Tuesday, 19 October 2010

Uranium from White Canyon's Daneros mine in Utah will be put on the spot market by Denison Mines according to a new sales agreement.  

  

Australia-based White Canyon announced that it has entered into a "sales agency agreement" with Canada-based Denison to sell uranium from its Daneros mine, which Denison will process at its nearby White Mesa mill. The company said that sales are expected to begin as early as December.

 

The entrance to the Daneros mine (Image: White Canyon)

 

White Canyon began mining ore at the Daneros mine in late 2009 after receiving final approvals from the US Federal Board of Land Management (BLM) in May for the company's mine permit for the development of the conventional mine. This was the first new uranium mine permit issued in Utah for 30 years. White Canyon earlier agreed to sell all material produced during the development stage of the mine into Denison's ore buying program.

 

Denison's White Mesa mill is expected to begin toll milling of White Canyon's ore in the coming weeks "with an expected yield in excess of 200,000 pounds of U₃O₈" (90 tonnes U₃O₈).

 

In January 2010, White Canyon signed a toll milling agreement with Denison in which Denison would process up to 55,000 tonnes of ore per annum at its White Mesa mill, some 100 kilometres (80 miles) from the Daneros mine. That agreement was for a term of three years with an optional two-year extension and commenced in January 2010.

 

Under the terms of the milling agreement, White Canyon will transport ore produced to Denison's White Mesa mill for processing. The company will pay Denison the costs to mill its ore, a capital charge plus a toll milling fee per tonne of ore, which will be partly linked to the long-term uranium prices.

 

The Daneros mine is ultimately expected to produce some 500,000 pounds U₃O₈ (227 tonnes U₃O₈) per year.

 

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News