Energy Fuels Announces 2021 Results, Including Net Profits, Strong Cash Position, and Market-Leading U.S. Uranium, Rare Earth and Vanadium Position
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Energy Fuels Announces 2021 Results, Including Net Profits, Strong Cash Position, and Market-Leading
U.S. Uranium, Rare Earth and Vanadium Position
Webcast on March 17, 2022
Lakewood, Colorado March 15, 2022
Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) (“Energy Fuels” or the “Company”) today reported
its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Company’s annual report on Form 10 -K
has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“ SEC”) and may be viewed on the
Electronic Document Gathering and Retrieval System (“ EDGAR”) at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml , on the
System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (“ SEDAR”) at www.sedar.com, and on the
Company’s website at www.energyfuels.com. Unless noted otherwise, all dollar amounts are in U.S.
dollars.
Highlights:
• Energy Fuels reported a net income of $1.5 million for 2021.
• At December 31 , 2021 , the Company had a robust balance sheet with $1 43.2 million of working
capital, including $113.0 million of cash and marketable securities, $30.8 million of inventory, and no
short term (or long term) debt . At current commodity prices, the Company’s December 31, 2021
product inventory would have a value of approximately $60.6 million.
• During 2021, prices for all the commodities Energy Fuels produces, or has the ability to produce, rose
significantly. Uranium oxide (“U3O8”) prices increased approximately 38%, neodymium-praseodymium
oxide (“NdPr”) prices increased approximately 112%, and vanadium oxide (“ V2O5”) prices increased
approximately 62%. Prices for each of these commodities have continued to show significant strength
to date in 2022. The Company continues to closely follow developments related to Russia’s invasion
of Ukraine, as Russia is a major supplier of uranium and nuclear fuel to U.S. and European customers.
Prices of uranium have risen sharply in recent days.
• While the Company chose to not sell any uranium during 2021, it is now actively engaged in pursuing
selective long-term uranium sales contracts.
• The Company produced approximately 270 metric tonnes of mixed rare earth element (“ REE”)
carbonate (“RE Carbonate”), containing 120 metric tonnes of total rare earth oxides (“TREO”) during
2021, as it commenced ramping up its REE recovery infrastructure. Energy Fuels’ RE Carbonate is the
most advanced REE material being produced in the U.S. today.
• The Company is currently in active discussions with several sources of natural monazite sands around
the world to significantly increase the supply of feed for its growing REE initiative.
• During Q1-2022, the Company began commercially separating Lanthanum (La) and Cerium (Ce) on a
small scale from its RE Carbonate, using an existing solvent extraction circuit at the Mill . This
represents the first commercial level REE separation to occur in the U.S. in many years.
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• The Company is planning to install a full separation circuit at its White Mesa Mill (the “ Mill”) to
produce both “light” and “heavy” separated REE oxides in the coming years, subject to successful
licensing, financing, and commissioning, and continued strong market conditions. The Company has
hired Carester SAS (“Carester”), a global leader in producing separated REE oxides, to support these
REE separation initiatives.
• On December 15, 2021, the Company announced a strategic venture with Nanoscale Powders LLC
(“NSP”) for the development of a novel technology that would potentially produce REE metals. The
technology has the potential to reduce the costs of production, energy consumption, and greenhouse
gas emissions versus existing technologies.
• In 2021, the Company sold small quantities of its existing V2O5 inventory to capitalize on recent market
strength. The Company expects to continue to sell vanadium as prices increase and is evaluating the
potential to resume vanadium recovery at the Mill, where its tailings pond solutions contain an
estimated additional 1.0 to 3.0 million recoverable pounds of V2O5.
• In July 2021, the Company announced the execution of a Strategic Alliance Agreement with RadTran,
LLC to evaluate the potential recovery of thorium and radium from the Company's existing RE
Carbonate and uranium process streams for use in the production of medical isotopes for emerging
targeted alpha therapy (“ TAT”) cancer therapeutics. This initiative complements the Company's
existing uranium and RE Carbonate businesses, as it investigates the potential recovery of isotopes in
existing process streams at the Mill for medical purposes.
• In September 2021, the Company announced its establishment of the San Juan County Clean Energy
Foundation (the “ Foundation”), a fund specifically designed to contribute to the communities
surrounding the Mill in southeastern Utah by providing funding to support local economic
development and local priorities.
• In October 2021, the Company completed the sale of certain, permitt ed non -core conventional
uranium assets to Consolidated Uranium Inc. (“CUR”), including the Daneros mine, the Tony M mine,
and the Rim mine. The Company reported a gain on the value of this transaction of $ 35.7 million,
resulting in a significant improvement in the Company’s results of operations and net income for 2021.
• On January 25, 2022, the Board appointed Dr. Ivy Estabrooke as a Director of Energy Fuels, bringing to
the Company experience in commercial-stage biotech, research and development program
leadership, and technology solutions for national security and public health challenges.
Mark S. Chalmers, Energy Fuels’ President and CEO, stated:
“In 2021, we believe Energy Fuels further strengthened its position as America’s leading multi-commodity,
critical mineral company, as we made excellent progress on our uranium, REEs , vanadium and medical
isotope initiatives. We are deploying our ‘one-of-a-kind’ licenses, facilities, and expertise to responsibly
recover the critical elements needed for carbon -free nuclear energy, electric vehicle powertrains, wind
generation, advanced electronics, grid-scale batteries, other clean energy and advanced technologies, and
potentially cancer therapeutics.
“We are particularly proud of our accomplishments in REEs. We announced our entry into the REE business
less than two years ago , and today w e are ramping up our production of commercial quantities of RE
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Carbonate, which is a more advanced REE material than any other U.S. company is producing, as we are
chemically recovering the REEs in a high-purity material that is ready for REE separation. We are also
moving toward licensing and installing the infrastructure needed to produce separated REE oxides on a
full commercial scale in the coming years. The proven processing technology for producing separated REE
oxides is solvent extraction, or ‘SX ,’ and our White Mesa Mill has over 40 years of experience producing
uranium and vanadium using SX . W ith the support of Carester, a leading global consultant in the
production of separated REE products , we believe it is a logical ‘next step’ for Energy Fuels to produce
separated REE oxides on a full commercial scale at the Mill. We have already successfully performed La,
Ce, and NdPr separations at pilot scale in the Mill’s lab over the past several months , and we recently
began ramping up our commercial separation of La and Ce from our RE Carbonate on a small scale using
an existing SX circuit at the Mill. Our primary REE focuses in 2022 will be building our supply of monazite
ore, designing and licensing a new full commercial scale REE separation circuit at the Mill, and advancing
our innovative REE metal initiative with NSP.
“With the recent events in Ukraine, security of supply in the U.S. for uranium is crucial . Energy Fuels
continues to be the leading low -cost U.S. uranium producer with more production facilities and capacity
than any other U.S. company , and we stand ready to be a reliable, large -scale supplier to U.S. nuclear
utilities. We are seeing an increase in utility interest for long -term contracts. We are pursuing uranium
sales contracts with pricing and terms that return acceptable project margins and maintain exposure to
further uranium market upside.
“Vanadium prices are rising, as well. In 2019, we built a significant inventory of vanadium to sell into the
abrupt upside price volatility that vanadium markets often experience, most recently in late 2018. The
next upward cycle may have begun, as prices have risen sharply in the first months of 2022, and w e are
selling some of our inventory. As we sell, we will evaluate the potential to resume production from the
Mill’s pond solutions or our conventional deposits to replace our sold inventory. We estimate our pond
solutions alone contain another 1.0 to 3.0 million pounds of recoverable V 2O5 and would be first and
lowest cost to market.
“A few words on our medical isotope initiative. This is another area where we are able to deploy our
unique facilities, licenses, and expertise to potentially help create a domestic supply chain for emerging
cancer therapies. R ecovering radioisotopes for use in cancer treatments from our existing process
streams, thereby recycling valuable material that would otherwise be lost to direct disposal, would, if
successful, be a great way to maximally use all of our feeds. And we would be accomplishing this in a way
that is environmentally beneficial and highly congruent with Energy Fuels' recycling and sustainability
goals.
“We are also very pleased to announce that, on January 25, 2022 Dr. Ivy Estabrooke was appointed to the
Board of Energy Fuels. Dr. Estabrooke brings to the Company an impressive background that is highly
pertinent, not only to our new REE and TAT cancer therapeutics initiatives, but also to our core uranium
business, which is of the utmost importance to national security at this time.”
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Webcast at 1:00 pm EDT on March 17, 2022:
Energy Fuels will be hosting a video webcast on March 17, 2022 at 1:00 pm EDT (11:00 am MDT) to discuss
its FY-2021 financial results, the outlook for 2022, uranium, rare earths, vanadium, and medical isotopes.
To join the webcast and access the presentation and viewer-controlled webcast slides, please click on the
link below:
Webcast Link
If you would like to participate in the webcast and ask questions, please dial in to 1-888-664-6392 (toll free
in the U.S. and Canada).
A link to a recorded version of the proceedings will be available on the Company’s website shortly after
the webcast by calling 1-888-390-0541 (toll free in the U.S. and Canada) and by entering the code 179864#.
The recording will be available until March 31, 2022.
Selected Summary Financial Information:
Financial Discussion:
At December 31, 2021, the Company had $1 43.2 million of working capital, including $ 113.0 million of
cash and marketable securities and $30.8 million of inventory, including approximately 691,000 pounds of
uranium and 1, 650,000 pounds of vanadium, both in the form of immediately marketable product. The
spot price of U3O8 at March 11, 2022 was $58.50 per pound, according to TradeTech (up from $42.00 per
pound at December 31, 2021. The current mid-point spot price of V2O5 at March 11, 2022 was $12.25 per
pound after remaining relatively flat near the 2021 year-end, according to FastMarkets. Based on today’s
spot prices, the Company’s December 31, 2021 uranium and vanadium inventories would have a current
market value of $ 40.4 million and $20.2 million, respectively, totaling approximately $60.6 million. O n
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October 27, 2021, the Company completed the sale of certain non -core conventional assets to CUR. In
addition to receiving $2 million cash at closing, the Company now holds 19. 1% of the outstanding shares
of CUR as of December 31, 2021, for a total value to the Company of $32.2 million as at December 31,
2021.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company realized net income of $1.5 million, compared
to a net loss of $ 27.9 for the year ended December 31, 2020. The net income in 2021 was primarily due
to the sale of non-core conventional uranium assets to CUR. The Company spent $10.75 million for
development of the Company’s properties, primarily due to the development and ramping up of the RE
Carbonate production program at the Mill. The Company also incurred underutilized capacity production
costs applicable to rare earth concentrates during the year of $0.53 million. The underutilized capacity
production costs are due to low throughput rates as the Mill ramps-up to commercial-scale production at
full capacity . To date, the Mill has focused on producing commercially salable RE C arbonate at low
throughput rates and has been very pleased with the resulting product it is shipping for separation . The
Mill expects to increase its throughput rates as its supplies of monazite sands increase. The Company is in
advanced discussions with several additional sources of monazite sands that, if successfully secured, we
expect to result in sufficient throughput to reduce underutilized capacity production costs and allow the
Company to realize its expected margins on a continuous basis.
Rare Earth Achievements in 2021 and To Date in 2022:
On March 1, 2021, the Company and Neo Performance Materials Limited (“ Neo”) announced a new rare
earth production initiative spanning European and North American critical material supply chains. Under
an agreement in principle signed on March 1, 2021 and finalized into a definitive agreement in July 2022,
Energy Fuels will proc ess natural monazite sands, currently being mined in the state of Georgia by The
Chemours Company, into an RE Carbonate at the Mill and ship a portion of the produced RE Carbonate to
Neo's rare earth separations facility in Sillamäe, Estonia (“ Silmet”). Si lmet will then process the RE
Carbonate into separated rare earth materials for use in rare earth permanent magnets and other rare
earth-based advanced materials.
On July 7, 2021, the Company announced that the first container (approximately 20 tonnes of product) of
an expected 15 containers of mixed RE Carbonate had been successfully produced by Energy Fuels at the
Mill and was en route to Silmet. This commercial-scale production of RE Carbonate by Energy Fuels from
a U.S. mined rare earth resource posit ions Energy Fuels as the only company in North America that
currently produces a monazite-derived, enhanced rare earth material. The physical delivery of this product
also represents the launch of a new, environmentally responsible rare earth supply chain that allows for
source validation and tracking from mining through to final end -use applications for manufacturers in
North America, Europe, Japan, and other nations.
The Company also announced on March 1, 2021 that, in addition to supplying RE Carbonate to Neo, Energy
Fuels is evaluating the potential to develop U.S. separation capabilities at the Mill, or nearby, as it works
to increase its monazite sand supplies, thereby fully integrating a U.S. rare earth supply chain in the coming
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years, in addition to supplying RE Carbonate to European markets. On April 27, 2021, the Company
announced it had engaged Carester to prepare a scoping study for the development of a solvent extraction
REE separation circuit at the Mill utilizing the Mill's existing equipment and infrastructure to the extent
applicable, to create a continuous, integrated and optimized rare earth production sequence. Based in
Lyon, France, Carester is one of the world's leading global consultants on rare earth supply chains, with
expertise in designing, constructing, operating and optimizing REE production facilities globally. Carester's
scoping work included an evaluation of the Mill's current monazite leaching process, preparation of an
REE separation flow sheet, capital and operating expense estimates, incorporation of new technologies
where applicable, and recommendations on equipment vendors. The Company is planning to install a full
separation circuit at its White Mesa Mill to produce both “light” and “heavy” separated REE oxides in the
coming years, subject to successful licensing, financing, and commissioning, and continued strong market
conditions. The Company has hired Carester to perform a second scoping study to support these REE
separation initiatives.
During Q1-2022, the Company began commercially separating La and Ce from its RE Carbonate on a small
scale using an existing solvent extraction circuit at the Mill. This represents the first commercial level REE
separation to occur in the U.S. in many years. The Company has been performing laboratory -scale REE
separations for the last several months on a 24/7 basis, successfully executing the La, Ce, and NdPr
separations at high-purities and with excellent recoveries.
On December 15, 2021, the Company announced the execution of an MOU with NSP for the development
of a novel technology for the potential production of REE metals, subject to the finalization of definitive
agreements. We believe this technology, which was initially developed by NSP , and will be advanced by
the Company and NSP working together, has the potential to revolutionize the rare earth metal making
industry by reducing costs of production, reducing energy consumption, and significantly reducing
greenhouse gas emissions. Producing REE metals and alloys is a key step in a fully integrated REE supply
chain, after production of separated REE oxides and before the manufacture of neodymium iron boron
(“NdFeB”) magnets used in electric vehicles, wind generation and other clean energy and advanced
technologies.
In addition, during 2022, the Company announced the execution of a non -binding memorandum of
understanding (“MOU”) for the supply of natural monazite sands from IperionX Limited’s (“IperionX’s”,
formerly known as Hyperion Metals Limited ) Titan Project in Tennessee, if and when the project is
developed and mined. I perionX’s Titan Project covers a large area of heavy mineral sands properties in
Tennessee prospective for titanium, zircon, monazite and other valuable minerals such as high-grade silica
sand and other refractory minerals.
In 2021, the Company also announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) Office of Fossil Energy
and National Energy Technology Laboratory had exercised its option to award Energy Fuels, working with
a team from Penn State University, an additional $1.75 million to complete a feasibility study on the
production of REE products from natural coal -based resources, as well as from other materials such as
REE-containing ores like the natural monazite sands the Company is currently processing at the Mill. This
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award follows the DOE providing Energy Fuels a $150,000 contract in 2020 for the successful completion
of a conceptual design for the same initiative, resulting in a total award to Energy Fuels of $1.9 million.
Update on Medical Isotope Initiative:
On July 28, 2021, the Company announced the execution of a Strategic Alliance Agreement with RadTran,
LLC, a technology development company focused on closing critical gaps in the procurement of medical
isotopes for emerging TAT cancer therapeutics and other applications. Under this strategic a lliance, the
Company is evaluating the feasibility of recovering Th-232, and Ra-226 from its existing RE Carbonate and
uranium process streams at the Mill and, together with RadTran, is evaluating the feasibility of recovering
Ra-228 from the Th -232, Th -228 from the Ra -228 and concentrating Ra -226 at the Mill using RadTran
technologies. Recovered Ra-228, Th-228 and Ra-226 would then be sold to pharmaceutical companies and
others to produce Pb-212, Ac-225, Bi-213, Ra-224 and Ra-223, which are the leading medically attractive
TAT isotopes for the treatment of cancer. Existing supplies of these isotopes for TAT applications are in
short supply, and methods of production are costly and currently cannot be scaled to meet the demand
created as new drugs are develo ped and approved. This is a major roadblock in the research and
development of new TAT drugs as pharmaceutical companies wait for scalable and affordable production
technologies to become available. Under this initiative, the Company has the potential to recover valuable
isotopes from its existing process streams , therefore recycling back into the market material that would
otherwise be lost to disposal for use in treating cancer.
Establishment of San Juan County Clean Energy Foundation:
On September 16, 2021, the Company announced its establishment of the San Juan County Clean Energy
Foundation, a fund specifically designed to contribute to the communities surrounding the Mill in
Southeastern, Utah. The Company made an initial deposit of $1 million into the Foundation and anticipates
providing ongoing annual funding equal to 1% of the Mill’s future revenues, providing funding to support
local economic development and local priorities. The Foundation will focus on supporting education, the
environment, health/wellness, and local economic development in the City of Blanding, San Juan County,
the White Mesa Ute Community, the Navajo Nation and other area communities.
Sale of Non-Core Assets to Consolidated Uranium Inc.:
On October 27, 2021, CUR and the Company jointly announced the closing of a transaction whereby CUR
acquired a portfolio of Energy Fuels’ non -core conventional uranium projects located in Utah and
Colorado, including the Daneros mine, the Tony M mine (formerly a part of the Henry Mountains Project),
the Rim mine, the Sage Plain project, and several DOE leases located in Colorado, in consideration for a
19.9% share ownership interest in CUR (as of the 2021 year -end, 19.1%) and other consideration. The
Company reported a gain on the value of this transaction of $35.7 million, resulting in a significant
improvement in the Company’s results of operations and net income for 2021.
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Proposed U.S. Uranium Reserve:
On December 27, 2020, Congress passed the COVID-Relief and Omnibus Spending Bill, which includes $75
million for the proposed establishment of a strategic U.S. Uranium Reserve (the “U.S. Uranium Reserve”)
and was signed into law by the president then serving. This key funding opens the door for the U.S.
government to purchase domestically produced uranium to guard against potential commercial and
national security risks presented by the country’s near -total reliance on foreign imports of uranium.
Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine has raised concerns about the United States’ reliance on imports of
Russian uranium and enrichment services, which could provide further impetus for the U.S. government
to bring this program into effect.
The Company stands ready to benefit from this program through future production from its mines and
facilities and potentially sales out of its existing uranium inventories. However, because the U.S. Uranium
Reserve has yet to be established at this time, the details of implementation of activities pursuant to t he
new law have not yet been defined. As a result, there can be no certainty as to the outcome of the U.S.
Uranium Reserve, including the process for and details of its development, and any resulting support for
the Company’s ongoing and planned activities or for any further evaluations of the Working Group.
Appointment of New Director:
On January 25, 2022, the Board appointed Dr. Ivy Estabrooke as a Director of Energy Fuels, bringing to the
Company experience in commercial -stage biotech, research and development program leadership, and
technology solutions for national security and public health challenges. Dr. Estabrooke is currently the Vice
President of Operations and Corporate Affairs at IDbyDNA Inc., a venture backed commercial stage biotech
company. She has led innovative research and development programs in both the public and priv ate
sectors delivering technology solutions for national security and public health challenges. Prior roles
include as a technical program manager for the U.S. Department of the Navy, the executive director of the
State of Utah’s technology-based economic development agency, and science advisor to the Governor of
Utah. She earned her doctorate in neuroscience at Georgetown University in 2005, received a master’s
degree in national resource strategy from the National Defense University in 2013, and a bachelor’s degree
in biological sciences from Smith College in 1998. Dr. Estabrooke is also an engaged member in her local
community, serving on the board of the Girl Scouts of Utah and as a member of the Utah District Export
Council.
Operations Update and Outlook for 2022:
Overview
The Company continues to believe that uranium supply and demand fundamentals point to higher
sustained uranium prices in the future. In addition, Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine and the recent entry
into the uranium market by financial entities purchasing uranium on the spot market to hold for the long-
term has the potential to result in higher sustained spot and term prices and, perhaps, induce utilities to