Cecilia Jamasmie | December 21, 2022
Terrafame’s production process enables the low concentration of natural uranium found in the ore to be used as a by-product. (Image courtesy of Terrafame.)
Finland’s Terrafame will start recovering natural uranium as a byproduct of zinc and nickel production at its Sotkamo mine, in the home country, by mid 2024.
The miner, in which the Finnish state has a 67.1% stake and commodities trader Trafigura holds a 31.1% interest, is aiming to produce 200 tonnes per year by 2026, it said on Wednesday.
Terrafame, formerly known as Talvivaara, intends to refine the uranium into yellowcake, used as fuel for nuclear power plants. The commodity has so far been waste from processing the metals extracted at Sotkamo. These include nickel and cobalt sulphates for electric vehicle (EV) batteries as well as other minerals.
“As the recovery begins, Terrafame will become a Finnish uranium producer, and thus will also play a role in building Europe’s energy self-sufficiency,” chief executive officer Joni Lukkaroinen said in the statement.
“The utilization of Terrafame’s natural uranium in energy production helps in achieving climate goals since nuclear power does not result in carbon dioxide emissions in the production process. As an energy source, it is stable,” Lukkaroinen said.
Europe’s only uranium recovery operation
The company has a ready-built uranium recovery plant on site, which it says it will be Europe’s only uranium recovery operation. It will increase its net sales by about 25 million euros ($27m) per year, from 378 million euros ($401m) in 2021, it said.
Terrafame, one of Europe’s largest nickel miners, churned out last year about 28,600 tonnes of nickel and 54,400 tonnes of zinc. It also began producing battery chemicals from its own minerals at its northeastern Finland mine.
The Finnish government authorized uranium production in 2020, but environmental organizations took the decision to the courts as they feared the effects it would have in the environment.
Before uranium recovery at Sotkamo can be commissioned, the country’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority will have to verify that the company’s operations are in line with the Nuclear Energy Act’s principles.
UEC wins $17.8m award from Department of Energy to supply uranium concentrates
Staff Writer | December 21, 2022
Uranium Energy’s Palangana ISR uranium mine in south Texas. Credit: Uranium Energy
Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE American: UEC) has been awarded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) – National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to supply 300,000 pounds of uranium concentrates at $59.50/lb. for a total of $17.85 million. The award is in response to the NNSA’s request for proposals to establish its strategic national Uranium Reserve program.
The Uranium Reserve was originally designed as a 10-year, $1.5 billion, plan to help revitalize the US uranium and conversion industry. The award under the RFP is part of the initial $75 million authorized by Congress in 2020 to advance the US government’s goal of supporting America’s nuclear fuel supply chain and capabilities.
The delivery will be made by book transfer to NNSA in the first quarter of 2023, with US origin uranium currently held in the accounts of UEC.
“We are honoured and delighted to be selected as a domestic producer for this purchase of uranium concentrates by the NNSA and look forward to the further expansion of the Uranium Reserve program in the coming years,” UEC CEO Amir Adnani said in a news release.
He noted that the US nuclear reactor fleet, which provides about 20% of America’s electricity production and over half of its clean energy, imports nearly 60% of its current uranium requirements from Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
“The US overdependence on these imports creates untenable energy and national security risks that need immediate high-priority attention from industry and the federal government,” Adnani said.
“The Uranium Reserve is an important step to help rebuild America’s nuclear fuel capabilities, not only as a backup to mitigate potential supply disruptions, but also to revitalize US capability to fuel the existing reactor fleet as well as new advanced reactors. We are looking forward to the continued improvement in the nuclear fuel markets and further expanding UEC’s production capabilities to help supply America’s uranium needs,” Spencer Abraham, UEC chairman and former US Energy Secretary, added.
UEC is currently the largest diversified uranium company in North America, with in-situ recovery (ISR) mining uranium projects in the US and high-grade conventional projects in Canada. It has two production-ready ISR hub-and-spoke platforms in southern Texas and Wyoming, both anchored by fully operational central processing plants and served by seven ISR uranium projects.
The company is closing in on initial production at its Texas platform following approval last month of an amended radioactive material licence (RML) for the Hobson central processing plant, which would see its capacity rise by four-fold to 4 million pounds of U3O8 (uranium oxide) annually, distinguishing the Hobson plant as having the largest licensed capacity in Texas and the second largest in the country.
Shares of UEC rose 5.4% on the NYSE by 11:20 a.m. ET Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalization of $1.35 billion.
Staff Writer | December 21, 2022
Uranium Energy’s Palangana ISR uranium mine in south Texas. Credit: Uranium Energy
Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE American: UEC) has been awarded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) – National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to supply 300,000 pounds of uranium concentrates at $59.50/lb. for a total of $17.85 million. The award is in response to the NNSA’s request for proposals to establish its strategic national Uranium Reserve program.
The Uranium Reserve was originally designed as a 10-year, $1.5 billion, plan to help revitalize the US uranium and conversion industry. The award under the RFP is part of the initial $75 million authorized by Congress in 2020 to advance the US government’s goal of supporting America’s nuclear fuel supply chain and capabilities.
The delivery will be made by book transfer to NNSA in the first quarter of 2023, with US origin uranium currently held in the accounts of UEC.
“We are honoured and delighted to be selected as a domestic producer for this purchase of uranium concentrates by the NNSA and look forward to the further expansion of the Uranium Reserve program in the coming years,” UEC CEO Amir Adnani said in a news release.
He noted that the US nuclear reactor fleet, which provides about 20% of America’s electricity production and over half of its clean energy, imports nearly 60% of its current uranium requirements from Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
“The US overdependence on these imports creates untenable energy and national security risks that need immediate high-priority attention from industry and the federal government,” Adnani said.
“The Uranium Reserve is an important step to help rebuild America’s nuclear fuel capabilities, not only as a backup to mitigate potential supply disruptions, but also to revitalize US capability to fuel the existing reactor fleet as well as new advanced reactors. We are looking forward to the continued improvement in the nuclear fuel markets and further expanding UEC’s production capabilities to help supply America’s uranium needs,” Spencer Abraham, UEC chairman and former US Energy Secretary, added.
UEC is currently the largest diversified uranium company in North America, with in-situ recovery (ISR) mining uranium projects in the US and high-grade conventional projects in Canada. It has two production-ready ISR hub-and-spoke platforms in southern Texas and Wyoming, both anchored by fully operational central processing plants and served by seven ISR uranium projects.
The company is closing in on initial production at its Texas platform following approval last month of an amended radioactive material licence (RML) for the Hobson central processing plant, which would see its capacity rise by four-fold to 4 million pounds of U3O8 (uranium oxide) annually, distinguishing the Hobson plant as having the largest licensed capacity in Texas and the second largest in the country.
Shares of UEC rose 5.4% on the NYSE by 11:20 a.m. ET Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalization of $1.35 billion.
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