Energy Fuels and Denison Mines announced in mid-April 2012 an agreement whereby Energy Fuels will acquire all of Denison’s mining assets and operations in the United States in exchange for Energy Fuels shares valued at about C$106 million.
The key asset in the transaction is Denison’s White Mesa uranium and vanadium mill near Blanding, Utah. Denison also operates the Beaver, Pandora and Daneros mines on the Colorado Plateau and the Arizona 1 mine on the Arizona strip and has a variety of U.S. development properties.
The White Mesa Mill is the only conventional uranium mill currently operating in the United States. It is fully licensed and permitted to process 2,000 st/d, producing up to 8 million lb/y of uranium. A vanadium co-product recovery circuit allows for the processing of vanadium ore, and its central location allows for hauling of uranium ore from Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.
Steve Antony, president and CEO of Energy Fuels, said, “This transaction is transformational for Energy Fuels and reshapes the landscape of the uranium sector within the United States. It combines the highly strategic asset of the only operating uranium mill in the United States, White Mesa, with a significant resource base that substantially increases White Mesa’s available feedstock. The result is an unmatched production growth profile and the opportunity for both Energy Fuels and Denison shareholders to benefit from the clear operational synergies that result from this transaction.”
On closing of the transaction, current Denison shareholders will hold approximately 66.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of Energy Fuels. The combined company will have measured and indicated resources of 49.8 million lb of U3O8, plus inferred resources of 17.9 million lb of U3O8.
Following completion of the transaction, Denison will focus on its Canadian development assets, which include the Wheeler River project in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, and on exploration and development projects in Mongolia and Zambia.
