TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire
- March 7, 2011) - Energy Fuels Inc. (TSX:EFR)
("Energy Fuels" or the "Company"), an advanced
uranium and vanadium development company, was issued the final
Radioactive Materials License for the Pinon
Ridge Uranium Mill today. As previously announced, on January 5, 2011
the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
("CDPHE") approved a Radioactive Materials License for the
500 ton per day Pinon Ridge Mill facility to
be constructed twelve miles west of Naturita,
Colorado in western Montrose County. Energy Fuels had 60 days from the
January 5, 2011 approval date to review the CDPHE decision and the license,
and to request a formal hearing on the license. Energy Fuels decided
not to request a formal hearing, and CDPHE issued the final license.
The final license allows Energy Fuels to process an annual maximum
quantity of ore at the mill not to exceed a daily operating average of
500 short tons of uranium and vanadium ore.
The license includes 16 conditions that specify additional requirements
that must be met prior to mill construction, before the start of
operations, during mill operations, and during mill decommissioning.
These conditions include requirements for submittal of detailed designs
and plans, monitoring and testing, training, reporting, and financial
assurance among others.
In accordance with the license conditions, Energy Fuels Inc.'s subsidiary
Energy Fuels Resources Corporation provided CDPHE with an $844,400 cash
prepayment on March 4, 2011 that will be deposited in the State
Treasury's long-term care fund for eventual post-closure monitoring of
the mill facility. The Company also submitted a Decommissioning Funding
Plan to CDPHE today for the phased prepayment of $11,070,890 that
guarantees that adequate funds will be available to reclaim the mill
facility after it is closed.
With the approval of the Radioactive Materials License, Energy Fuels
now has both of the primary environmental permits needed to operate a
uranium mill in Colorado. The other major permit is the Montrose County
Special Use Permit, which was approved by the Board of County
Commissioners on September 30, 2009. Environmental permits that are
still pending are all in an advanced stage of completion and agency
decisions on these permits are anticipated during the 2nd Quarter,
2011.
About Energy Fuels: Energy Fuels Inc. is a uranium and vanadium mineral
development company actively rehabilitating and developing formerly
producing mines. With more than 38,000 acres of highly prospective
uranium and vanadium property located in the states of Colorado, Utah,
Arizona, Wyoming, and New Mexico, and exploration properties in
Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin totaling approximately 32,000 additional
acres, the Company has a full pipeline of additional development
prospects. Energy Fuels, through its wholly-owned Colorado subsidiary,
Energy Fuels Resources Corporation and its British Columbia subsidiary,
Magnum Uranium Corp., has assembled this property portfolio along with
a first class management team, including highly skilled technical
mining and milling professionals based in Lakewood and Naturita, Colorado and Kanab, Utah.
This news release contains certain "Forward-Looking
Statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and "Forward Looking
Information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact,
included herein are forward-looking statements and forward-looking
information that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be
no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual
results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are
disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time-to-time with the
British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario Securities Commissions.
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