Item 8.01. Other Events.
On February 13, 2023, Energy Fuels Inc. (the "Company" or "Energy Fuels")
announced that it completed the previously announced acquisition (the "Closing")
of seventeen (17) mineral concessions between the towns of Prado and Caravelas
in the State of Bahia, Brazil totaling 15,089.71 hectares (approximately 37,300
acres or 58.3 square miles) (the "Bahia Project"). The Closing followed the
Brazilian Government's approval of the transfers to the Company's wholly owned
Brazilian subsidiary, Energy Fuels Brazil, Ltda. At Closing, the Company paid
the mineral owners the remaining $21.9 million cash.
Prior to Closing on the acquisition of the Bahia Project, the Company commenced
a sonic drilling program on the property to further explore the heavy mineral
sand, particularly at depth. Under the previous owners, 3,300 vertical
exploration auger holes were drilled on the property indicating significant
concentrations of titanium (ilmenite and rutile), zirconium (zircon), and rare
earth elements (monazite) at and near the surface. However, due to inherent
limitations, previous augur drilling averaged only 5.7 meters in depth.
Utilization of a sonic drill allows for relatively undisturbed collection of
sediments both above and below the water table. The limited sonic drilling
completed by the Company over the past few months is confirming that the mineral
bearing sands are expected to continue at depth. The Company expects to finalize
Phase 1 sonic drilling at the Bahia Project this month totaling 2,250 meters.
Following drilling, the Company expects to begin sampling and sending the
material to labs for testing, including metal assay, mineralogic
characterization, and process testing. The Company plans to announce Phase 1
drilling results this year and start Phase 2 drilling in the third quarter of
2023. Once data from both drill programs are available, the Company plans to
engage industry leaders to calculate an initial mineral resource estimate for
use in an Initial Assessment compliant with subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K in
the United States ("S-K 1300") and a Technical Report compliant with National
Instrument 43-101 in Canada ("NI 43-101").
The Bahia Project is classified as an exploration stage property for purposes of
S-K 1300 because it has no mineral reserves or mineral resources as defined in
S-K 1300. Daniel Kapostasy, a Professional Geologist licensed in Wyoming
(PG-6778) and in Utah (10110615-2250), employed as the Company's Director of
Technical Services, is the Qualified Person responsible for the disclosure of
scientific or technical information concerning the Bahia Project in this Form
8-K.
The acquisition of the Bahia Project is a part of the Company's efforts to build
a large and diverse book of monazite concentrate supply for its rare earth
element ("REE") processing business. The Company expects to procure monazite
concentrates through Company-owned properties such as the Bahia Project, joint
ventures or other collaborations, and open market purchases.
The Company, through its White Mesa Mill in Utah, is currently the only U.S.
company extracting rare earth elements ("REEs") and producing commercial
quantities of partially-separated mixed REE carbonate ("RE Carbonate"), which it
extracts as a coproduct, along with its uranium production from monazite. The
Company is currently selling its RE Carbonate to a separation facility in Europe
for further processing into advanced REE products further down the supply chain,
including metals, alloys, and magnets. The Company is currently modifying and
enhancing its existing circuits and facilities at the White Mesa Mill with the
expected ability to produce separated REE oxides (or oxalates) from these
process streams starting as soon as later this year. The Company is also
recovering the uranium that naturally occurs in monazite for use in carbon-free
nuclear energy.
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This Current Report on Form 8-K contains "forward-looking statements" and
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws
in the United States and Canada (collectively, "forward-looking statements").
Forward-looking statements may relate to future events or future performance of
Energy Fuels. All statements in this Current Report, other than statements of
historical facts, with respect to Energy Fuels' objectives and goals, as well as
statements with respect to its beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations,
anticipations, estimates, and intentions, are forward-looking statements.
Specific forward-looking statements in this discussion include, but are not
limited to, the following: any expectation as to the concentrations or
quantities of uranium and heavy minerals, including monazite, contained in the
Bahia Project; any expectation that drilling results at the Bahia Project will
confirm that the mineral bearing sands continue at depth; any expectation as to
the timing and results of the Company's drilling program at the Bahia Project
and the timing of any announcements relating to drilling results; any
expectation that the Company will complete an Initial Assessment compliant with
S-K 1300 and a Technical Report compliant with NI 43-101 relating to the Bahia
Project and the timing of any such assessments; any expectation as to the timing
of mining at the Bahia Project; any expectation as to the Company's ability to
build a large and diverse book of monazite concentrate supply; any expectation
as to the Company's ability to rapidly advance its REE processing business; and
any expectation that the Company will be successful in modifying and enhancing
its existing circuits and facilities at the White Mesa Mill with the expected
ability to produce separated REE oxides (or oxalates) from these process streams
starting as soon as later this year, or at all. Often, but not always,
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as
"plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates",
"continues", "forecasts", "projects", "predicts", "intends", "anticipates" or
"believes", or variations of, or the negatives of, such words and phrases, or
state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should",
"might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. This information involves
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual
results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include
risks associated with: technical difficulties; mining or processing difficulties
and upsets; licensing, permitting and regulatory delays; litigation risks;
competition from others; political actions or instability in foreign countries;
and market factors, including future demand for and prices realized from the
sale of uranium, vanadium and REEs. Forward-looking statements contained herein
are made as of the date of this Current Report, and Energy Fuels disclaims,
other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events,
circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or
otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove
to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from
those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not
to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Energy Fuels assumes no
obligation to update the information in this communication, except as otherwise
required by law.
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