Energy Fuels Announces Management Streamlining LAKEWOOD, Colo. ,
Energy Fuels Announces Management
Streamlining
LAKEWOOD, Colo.
,
Aug. 20, 2020
/CNW/ -
Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR)
("Energy Fuels" or the "Company")
, the leading uranium producer in
the United States
, is pleased to
announce that it is making a number of changes to its management team in order to reduce costs, flatten the
organizational structure, and focus on the ongoing growth of a new generation of U.S. uranium and rare earth
element ("REE") professionals, including the following, effective
September 1, 2020
:
Mr.
Scott Bakken
, the current Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs, will become the Vice President of
Regulatory Affairs. Mr. Bakken has been with the Company since 2014, where he has held senior
positions over permitting and regulatory matters relating to both the Company's conventional mine and mill
operations and its
in situ
recovery ("ISR") operations. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Bakken held
several positions with Cameco Corporation's U.S. subsidiaries, Power Resources, Inc. and Cameco
Resources, and with MDU Resources Group, Inc.'s mining and construction materials subsidiary, Knife
River Corporation, through which he gained extensive experience in permitting and regulatory activities at
mining and ISR uranium recovery facilities since 1997. In his new role, Mr. Bakken will be responsible for
permitting and regulatory matters relating to all of the Company's operations, both conventional and ISR,
and will also assume the overall responsibility for worker health and safety matters at the Company.
Mr.
Bernard Bonifas
, the current Director, Wyoming Operations, will become the Director of ISR
Operations. Mr. Bonifas, a veteran in both ISR and conventional uranium mining over a career that has
spanned over 30 years, has been with the Company since
March 2015
, and has primarily been
responsible for the Company's Nichols Ranch ISR facility operations in
Wyoming
. Prior to joining the
Company, Mr. Bonifas was General Manager of Cameco Corporation's Smith Ranch and Highland ISR
facility in
Wyoming
from
November 2013
to
June 2014
, Senior Managing Director of COMUF in
Gabon
from
December 2010
to
March 2012
, and General Manager of the
Shirley Basin
and Lucky Mc Mines and
the Christensen Ranch ISR facility in
Wyoming
from
February 2007
to
January 2010
. Prior thereto, Mr.
Bonifas worked for Areva (now Orano Cycle) in a number of capacities on uranium projects around the
world, including in
France
,
Zambia
,
Kazakhstan
,
Paraguay
,
Argentina
,
Mexico
and
Texas
. In his new role,
Mr. Bonifas will be responsible for all of the Company's ISR operations, including its Nichols Ranch ISR
project in
Wyoming
and its Alta Mesa ISR project in
Texas
.
Ms.
Sarai Luksch
, CPA, will join the Company as Controller. Ms. Luksch comes from Crimson Midstream,
LLC, a provider of crude oil transportation and storage services, where she served as Controller and
Manager of Financial Reporting since
November 2016
. Prior to that time, she was a Senior Associate
within Transaction Services and an Experienced Associate within Assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers,
LLP, and has audit experience within the rare earth mining industry. She also spent a year with
Opportune, LLP, a privately held global business advisory firm specializing in the energy industry. Ms.
Luksch has experience in all facets of public and private company financial statement preparation and in
managerial reporting. Ms. Luksch has a Dual Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with
concentrations in International Business and Accounting, as well as a Master of Accountancy, both from
the
University of Denver
.
Ms.
Dee Ann Nazarenus
, the current Director, Human Resources & Administration, will become the Vice
President of Human Resources & Administration. Ms. Nazarenus has been with the Company for 14
years, and prior to joining the Company held human resource and administration management positions
with a number of different organizations since 1995. She has been an integral part of the Company in
overseeing all aspects of human resources and administration. As Vice President of Human Resources &
Administration, Ms. Nazarenus will be responsible for planning, developing, organizing, implementing,
directing and evaluating all human resource functions of the Company, in addition to being responsible for
directing and managing all administrative functions of the Company.
Mr.
Logan Shumway
, the current Manager of the Company's White Mesa Mill, will become Director of
Conventional Operations, including advancement of the Company's REE objectives. Mr. Shumway has
been with the Company for 10 years and has been instrumental in a number of innovative initiatives at the
White Mesa Mill, including the development and implementation of the Mill's uranium and vanadium pond
return recycling programs and the Company's current REE initiative, in addition to being responsible for
overall White Mesa Mill management. In his new role as Director of Conventional Operations, Mr.
Shumway will add responsibility over the Company's conventional uranium and uranium/vanadium mines
and abandoned uranium mine clean-up initiatives to his continuing responsibilities over all activities at the
White Mesa Mill.
In addition, and in support of the objective to reduce costs, effective as of
August 31, 2020
, Chief Operating
Officer, Mr.
W. Paul Goranson
, and effective as of
October 31, 2020
, Chief Accounting Officer, Mr.
Matt
Tarnowski
, will each be leaving the Company to pursue other opportunities.
Energy Fuels' President and CEO
Mark S. Chalmers
stated: "While the U.S. uranium mining and rare earth
element industries are small, there are excellent opportunities, and we have some extremely talented and
knowledgeable rising professionals who have shown a true dedication to the values we uphold at Energy
Fuels, including safety, environmental protection, social responsibility, meeting and exceeding regulatory
standards, creativity, and continuous improvement. This is the reason why I am proud to announce the
promotions of
Scott Bakken
,
Bernard Bonifas
,
Dee Ann Nazarenus
and
Logan Shumway
. I am also very
pleased to introduce
Sarai Luksch
to the team. These individuals will be the leaders of our industry in the
years and decades to come, and I look forward to witnessing their continued professional growth as we work
to bring U.S. uranium and rare earth production back to global prominence.
"At the same time, I wish to personally thank
Paul Goranson
for his leadership and service to the Company
over the past several years. Paul was instrumental in a number of initiatives for the Company, including playing
an important role in our rare earth element processing initiative. In addition, he has played a leading role
nationally in Energy Fuels' efforts to gain U.S. government recognition of domestic uranium mining. Paul is a
consummate professional and one of the leading U.S. authorities in the uranium sector. We wish Paul the very
best as he moves onto new opportunities, and we look forward to working with him in the future on industry-
wide initiatives. Likewise, I would like to thank
Matt Tarnowski
for his service and dedication to the Company
for many years as it grew from a small company to the Company it is today, and wish him the very best in his
future endeavors."
About Energy Fuels
: Energy Fuels is the leading U.S.-based uranium mining company, supplying U
3
O
8
to
major nuclear utilities. The Company also produces vanadium from certain of its projects, as market
conditions warrant. Its corporate offices are near
Denver, Colorado
, and all of its assets and employees are
in
the United States
. Energy Fuels holds three of America's key uranium production centers – the White
Mesa Mill in
Utah
, the Nichols Ranch in-situ recovery ("ISR") Project in
Wyoming
, and the Alta Mesa ISR
Project in
Texas
. The White Mesa Mill is the only conventional uranium mill operating in the U.S. today, has
a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U
3
O
8
per year, and has the ability to produce vanadium
when market conditions warrant. The Nichols Ranch ISR Project is on standby and has a licensed capacity
of 2 million pounds of U
3
O
8
per year. The Alta Mesa ISR Project is also on standby and has a licensed
capacity of 1.5 million pounds of U
3
O
8
per year. In addition to the above production facilities, Energy Fuels
has one of the largest NI 43-101 compliant uranium resource portfolios in the U.S. and several uranium and
uranium/vanadium mining projects on standby and in various stages of permitting and development. The
primary trading market for Energy Fuels' common shares is the NYSE American under the trading symbol
"UUUU," and the Company's common shares are also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the
trading symbol "EFR." Energy Fuels' website is
www.energyfuels.com
.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release contains certain "Forward-
Looking Information" and "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable
United States
and
Canadian securities legislation, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to:
any
expectation that the management changes will
reduce costs; any expectation as to the future performance of
management or the Company as a result of these changes; any expectation that there are excellent
opportunities in the U.S. uranium mining and rare earth element industries; any expectation that U.S.
uranium and rare earth production may be brought back to global prominence; and
any expectation that
the
Company may continue to be the leading U.S.-based uranium mining company
.
Generally, these forward-
looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans," "expects,"
"does not expect," "is expected," "is likely," "budgets," "scheduled," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends,"
"anticipates," "does not anticipate," or "believes," or variations of such words and phrases, or state that
certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "might" or "will be taken," "occur," "be achieved" or
"have the potential to." All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, are considered to be
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance of or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements, express or implied, by the
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated
in these forward-looking statements include risks associated with:
any expectation that the management
changes will
reduce costs; any expectation as to the future performance of management or the Company as
a result of these changes; any expectation that there are excellent opportunities in the U.S. uranium mining
and rare earth element industries; any expectation that U.S. uranium and rare earth production may be
brought back to global prominence;
any expectation that
the Company may continue to be the leading U.S.-
based uranium mining company;
and the other factors described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the
Company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is available for review on EDGAR at
www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
, on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com
, and on the Company's website at
www.energyfuels.com
. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news
release, and the Company 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 as a
result of changes in management's estimates or opinions, 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. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in
this communication, except as otherwise required by law.
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Energy Fuels Inc.
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%SEDAR: 00004321E
For further information:
Energy Fuels Inc., Curtis Moore - VP - Marketing & Corporate Development, (303)
974-2140 or Toll free: (888) 864-2125, [email protected], www.energyfuels.com
CO: Energy Fuels Inc.
CNW 07:30e 20-AUG-20