Corpus Christi, TX, May 3, 2018 – Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE American: UEC, the “Company” or “UEC”) is pleased to announce that the Company has recently completed its previously announced Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Uranerz Energy Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Fuels Inc. (collectively, “Energy Fuels”), and now holds 100% of its advanced stage North Reno Creek ISR project (“North Reno Creek” or the “Project”) located immediately adjacent to and within UEC’s existing Reno Creek Project permitting boundary in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming (see Figure 1 below; the “Acquisition”). The North Reno Creek leases and claims acquired through this Acquisition consolidate UEC’s land and resource* position in the region.
Transaction Highlights
- North Reno Creek adds further scale to an already large, fully permitted and construction-ready in-situ recovery (“ISR”) project located in the United States.
- North Reno Creek is situated within UEC’s existing permitting boundary at Reno Creek, allowing for integrated development.
- Increases Reno Creek’s combined Measured and Indicated resource by 20%, based upon Uranerz’s previously reported NI 43-101 Measured and Indicated resource of 3.8 million tons grading 0.056% U3O8 yielding 4.3 million lbs at North Reno Creek. UEC plans to engage a qualified person to compete the necessary work to incorporate the North Reno Creek resource estimate into the Company’s Reno Creek Project and complete an updated technical report under NI 43-101.* **
- Opportunities to enhance UEC’s development of Reno Creek by optimizing the mine plan to remove the effects of property boundaries that had previously separated mineralized roll-fronts on both properties. In particular, significant synergies exist in co-development at both the North Reno Creek Resource Unit and the Southwest Reno Creek Resource Unit, which are expected to be the first units developed within the project area.
- Further augments UEC’s footprint in the strategic Powder River Basin in Wyoming, a uranium mining-friendly state with excellent infrastructure and an experienced labor force.
Amir Adnani, President & CEO, stated: “We are very pleased to complete this highly synergistic acquisition integrating North Reno into our broader Reno Creek project area. This further cements our position in controlling one of the largest, fully permitted and 100% un-hedged low-cost ISR portfolios in the United States. This acquisition also comes at a time when international trade and geopolitical developments underscore the importance of domestic uranium supplies in support of American energy security.”
Transaction Details
UEC has now provided to Energy Fuels the following material purchase price consideration at the closing of the Agreement:
- $2,940,000 in cash; and
- 1,625,531 common shares of UEC (each, a “Share”), at a deemed issuance price of $1.5072 per Share, representing the volume weighted average price of UEC’s common shares on the NYSE American for the five trading days immediately prior to (but not including) closing.
North Reno Creek ISR Project Overview
The North Reno Creek ISR Project is located in the Powder River Basin, Campbell County, Wyoming, approximately 80 miles northeast of Casper.
Substantial historical exploration, development and project permitting have been performed on the North Reno Creek property. Beginning in the late 1960s and continuing into the mid-1980s, Rocky Mountain Energy (“RME”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad, drilled more than 800 exploration drill holes on the North Reno Creek property. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, RME successfully operated and restored and reclaimed a uranium ISR pilot plant. Subsequently, RME nearly completed permitting and licensing for a commercial scale ISR facility.
In 1992, the Reno Creek Project was acquired by Energy Fuels Nuclear, Inc. (“EFN”) from RME. Over the next decade EFN and its successor, International Uranium Corporation (now Denison Mines), continued to advance the project toward full permitting and licensing. Subsequently, Rio Algom and Power Resources held the project until dropping all of their interests in 2003. Between 2006 and 2008, Uranerz acquired mineral and surface land interests covering approximately 1,280 acres of fee mineral leases and federal mining claims comprising the North Reno Creek Project. In June 2015, Energy Fuels Inc. acquired Uranerz, whose development assets included the North Reno Creek property.
In October 2010, Uranerz issued an NI 43-101 technical report titled “Technical Report, Reno Creek Property, Campbell County, Wyoming, U.S.A”, dated October 13, 2010 (the “Technical Report”). The Technical Report, prepared by Douglass Graves, P.E. of Trec, Inc., in accordance with NI 43-101, outlined a Measured and Indicated resource of 3.8 million tons containing 4.3 million pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 0.056 percent. In addition, they reported an Inferred resource of 190,000 tons containing 142,200 pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 0.039 percent. The Technical Report is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.* **
Figure 1
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and was reviewed by Clyde L. Yancey, P.G., Vice President-Exploration for the Company, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
Advisors and Counsel
Haywood Securities Inc. is acting as financial advisor to the Company and McMillan LLP and Holland & Hart LLP are acting as legal advisors to the Company.
About Uranium Energy Corp.
Uranium Energy Corp. is a U.S.-based uranium mining and exploration company. The Company’s fully-licensed Hobson Processing Facility is central to all of its projects in South Texas, including the Palangana ISR mine, the permitted Goliad ISR project and the development-stage Burke Hollow ISR project. Additionally, the Company controls a pipeline of advanced-stage projects in Arizona, Colorado and Paraguay. The Company’s operations are managed by professionals with a recognized profile for excellence in their industry, a profile based on many decades of hands-on experience in the key facets of uranium exploration, development and mining.
Source: Uranium Energy Corp.
