Uranium hopefuls trim plans

By DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER
Star-Tribune energy reporter
Monday, May 11, 2009 2:04 AM MDT

A few prospective uranium mine developments across the West and in Wyoming have lost their glow since spot prices for the mineral tumbled to about $40 per pound, down from a radioactive high of $150 in 2007.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has tracked more than two dozen proposed mine start-ups and restarts in recent years and has already received five new applications. But with the downturn in the economy and the wallowing spot price for uranium, the agency recently asked prospective developers to restate their hope for the future.

“Companies were asked to submit revised plans to the NRC. Some projects have been delayed, some dropped off,” said Bill von Till, branch chief of NRC’s uranium recovery licensing branch.

The NRC said projects no longer under consideration include:

* Strathmore Minerals Corp.’s “Sky” and “Reno Creek” in-situ leach projects and the “Gas Hills” conventional mine proposal, all in Wyoming.

* The addition of a resin elution circuit at Rio Tinto’s Sweetwater conventional mill, which has remained idle for several years in south-central Wyoming.

* Rio Algom’s restart of the Abrosia Lake conventional mill in New Mexico.

* Bayswater Uranium Corp.’s “Alzada” in-situ leach project in Montana.

The uranium mining industry mounted a comeback several years ago, dusting off land records and geologic mapping of ore deposits from the 1970s and 1980s in preparation to launch more than 20 in-situ leach mine operations across the West -- most of them in Wyoming.

So far, the NRC has already received applications for five such operations. Based on updated letters from prospective operators, the agency expects to receive an additional 15 applications by 2012.

“The downturn in the economy has had some effect,” von Till said.

Yet uranium hopefuls are still planning for an invigorated energy market in the long term. Bayswater Uranium Corp. spokesman John Gomez said his company will retain its interest in the Alzada project, for example, and has since acquired a large database of drilling logs in the area so the project can be revisited when the market recovers.

Bayswater continues to compile resource data for another in-situ leach project, Elkhorn in northeast Wyoming.

In response to the wide interest in new in-situ leach uranium mining, the NRC is preparing a generic environmental impact statement. The NRC expects to issue the final document in June, which will initiate another public comment period.



Contact energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer at 307-577-6069 or {M7dustin.bleizeffer@trib.com. Read his blog at tribtown.trib.com/DustinBleizeffer/blog.





BREAKOUT

Wyoming uranium proposals

(As of March)



Uranerz Energy Corp.

* Main Wyoming properties: Powder River Basin

* Mine type: In-situ

* Projected number of employees: between 65 and 80



Uranium One/Energy Metals Corp.

* Main Wyoming properties: Powder River Basin, Sheep Mountain, Shirley Basin, greater Green River Basin

* Mine type: Mostly in-situ, and some conventional

* Projected number of employees: 200



Strathmore Minerals Corp.

* Main Wyoming properties; Powder River Basin, Gas Hills

* Type of mining; Conventional, in-situ



Ur-Energy Inc.

* Main Wyoming properties: Powder River Basin, Crook County

* Type of mining: In-situ

* Employees: 10 now, 60-80 when fully operational.



COGEMA Mining Co., subsidiary of international uranium companies AREVA NP Inc. and Electricity de France

* Main Wyoming properties: Powder River Basin, Christensen Ranch mine

* Type of mining: In-situ

Wyo uranium in operation

Cameco Corp.

* Main Wyoming properties: Powder River Basin

* Type of mining: In-situ

* Employees: 140

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2009/05/12/news/wyoming/989283f63512d850872575b20020f8e0.txt