Former Critical Minerals Leader from General Motors Joins Energy Fuels to Advance Rare Earth Business; Separated NdPr Now Being Packaged at Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Mill
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Former Critical Minerals Leader from General Motors Joins Energy Fuels to Advance Rare Earth
Business; Separated NdPr Now Being Packaged at Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Mill
LAKEWOOD, Colo., June 17, 2024 /CNW/ - Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) ( "Energy
Fuels" or the "Company" ), a leading U.S. producer of uranium, rare earth elements (“ REEs”), and
vanadium, is pleased to welcome Debra Bennethum to Energy Fuels’ Management Team as Director,
Critical Minerals & Strategic Supply Chain. Ms. Bennethum is a chemical engineer who previously served
as the EV Critical Minerals Manager in the Global Purchasing and Supply Chain Division of General Motors
(“GM”), and previously as the Program Purchasing Manager for GM’s Battery Electric Vehicles and
Crossovers division. At GM, Ms. Bennethum executed supply strategies to ensure resilient EV critical
mineral supply chains, which included the REEs for production of permanent magnets as well as battery
critical minerals . She al so identified innovative suppliers, vetted technical merit, evaluated cost
competitiveness, and led negotiations for long-term supply arrangements. She further managed over $1.5
billion in investment projects from conception to execution, collaborating with engineering and internal
stakeholders to ensure resilient supply chains for GM.
Energy Fuels believes Ms. Bennethum’s experience at General Motors will provide Energy Fuels with
invaluable insight and experience to fill a critical role in the Company’s REE sales and marketing
enterprises, including cultivating relationships with original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) and other
customers, negotiating supply, offtake and/or other agreements for the Company’s REE products,
evaluating REE collaborations in metal -making, alloying, and/or magnet -making, and assisting in
evaluating, and potentially pursuing, government funding and other support.
MARK S. CHALMERS, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF ENERGY FUELS STATED:
“I would like to personally welcome Debra Bennethum to the Energy Fuels team. Ms. Bennethum brings a
wealth of knowledge and relationships in EV and automotive supply chains to advance Energy Fuels’ U.S.-
leading, integrated rare earth business, which recently began commercial production of ‘on spec’
separated rare earths at our White Mesa Mill in Utah, USA . Ms. Bennethum will be based in Detroit,
Michigan, which is the hub of the U.S. automotive industry. Having worked at GM for over 12 years,
including key roles in EV, hybrid and critical mineral supply chains, we believe Ms. Bennethum is the ideal
person to lead Energy Fuels’ rare earth marketing efforts and collaborations , including the sale of our
products to metal-makers, magnet-makers, EV and automotive OEMs, renewable energy companies, rare
earth recycling companies, U.S. defense suppliers, and other customers . Ms. Bennethum is well -known
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throughout the rare earth industry, and we believe her decision to join Energy Fuels is a significant ‘vote
of confidence’ in our rare earth plans going forward.”
FINISHED AND PACKAGED SEPARATED NDPR AT ENERGY FUELS’ WHITE MESA MILL
As previously announced on June 10, 2024, Energy Fuels has achieved commercial production of ‘on spec’
separated rare earth elements at its 1 00%-owned White Mesa Mill in Utah (the “ Mill”), while
simultaneously advancing uranium production. The Company’s new “Phase 1” REE separation circuit has
the capacity to produce roughly 850 to 1,000 metric tons (“ tonnes”) of separated neodymium -
praseodymium (“NdPr”) per year. It is the Company’s belief that this is one of the largest commercial REE
separation circuits in the World, ex China.
The Mill has begun drying and packaging separated NdPr, which is expected to continue through the end
of the quarter. As previously announced, the Company expects to produce roughly 25 to 35 tonnes of ‘on
spec’ separated NdPr in Q2-2024, before shifting operations to processing inventoried uranium ores and
alternate feed materials for the remainder of the year. During the current REE campaign, the Mill will also
produce a “heavy” REE concentrate, containing roughly 1,500 kilograms of dysprosium (“Dy”) and 400
kilograms of terbium (“Tb”). The Company plans to utilize all or a portion of this “heavy” REE concentrate
for pilot-scale test work to design, permit and construct commercial Dy, Tb and potentially other REE
separation at the Mill in the coming years.
ABOUT ENERGY FUELS
Energy Fuels is a leading US -based uranium and critical minerals company. The Company, as a leading
producer of uranium in the United States, mines uranium and produces natural uranium concentrates that
are sold to major nuclear utilities for the production of carbon -free nuclear energy. Energy Fuels recently
began production of advanced REE materials, including mixed REE carbonate in 2021, and commenced
production of commercial quantities of separated REEs in 2024. Energy Fuels also produces vanadium from
certain of its projects, as market conditions warrant, and is evaluating the recovery of radionuclides needed
for emerging cancer treatments. Its corporate offices are in Lakewood, Colorado, near Denver, and
substantially all its assets and employees are in the United States. Energy Fuels holds two of America's key
uranium production centers: the White Mesa Mill in Utah and the Nichols Ranch in -situ recovery (" ISR")
Project in Wyoming. The White Mesa Mill is the only conventional uranium mill operating in the US today,
has a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U3O8 per year, and has the ability to produce vanadium
when market conditions warrant, as well as REE products, from various uranium-bearing ores. The Nichols
Ranch ISR Project is on standby and has a licensed capacity of 2 million pounds of U 3O8 per year. The
Company recently acquired the Bahia Project in Brazil and entered into a joint venture agreement to
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develop the Donald Project in Australia, each of which is believed to have significant quantities of titanium
(ilmenite and rutile), zirconium (zircon) and REE (monazite) minerals. In addition to the above production
facilities, Energy Fuels also has one of the largest NI 43 -101 compliant uranium resource portfolios in the
US and several uranium and uranium/vanadium mining projects in production, 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 Company will maintain its position as a leading U.S. -based uranium and critical
minerals company or as the leading producer of uranium in the U.S.; any expectation that the Company
will be successful in cultivating relationships with OEM and other customers ; any expectation that the
Company will be successful in negotiating satisfactory supply, offtake and/or other agreements for the
Company’s REE products with metal-makers, magnet-makers, EV and automotive OEMs, renewable energy
companies, rare earth recycling companies, U.S. defense suppliers, or other customers; any expectation
that the Company will be successful in entering the REE metal, alloy, and magnet -making space; any
expectation that the Company will be successful in obtaining government funding and other support for
any of its activities; any expectation that the Company has one of the largest commercial REE separation
circuits in the World, ex China; any expectation that the Company will be successful in designing, permitting
and constructing commercial Dy, Tb and potentially other REE separation at the Mill in the coming years ;
any expectation as to production levels or timing or duration of production from any of the Company’s
mines, facilities or projects; any expectation as to costs of production at any of the Company’s mines ,
facilities or other projects; any expectation that the Bahia and Donald Projects have significant quantities
of titanium (ilmenite and rutile), zirconium (zircon) and REE (monazite) minerals; any expectation that the
Company will be successful in advancing its REE initiatives or that it will be successful in installing REE
production capacity at the Mill and the timing of installation of any such production capacity; and any
expectation as to the success of the Company’s permitting programs. 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,” “es timates,” “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, other than statements of historical fact, herein are considered
to be forward -looking statements. Forward -looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actua l results, performance or achievements of the
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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: commodity prices
and price fluctuations; engineering, construction, processing and mining difficulties, upsets and delays;
permitting and licensing requirements and delays; changes to regulatory requirements; legal cha llenges;
the availability of feed sources for the Mill; competition from other producers; public opinion; government
and political actions; the failure of the Company to provide or obtain the necessary financing required to
develop any of its projects or initiatives; available supplies of monazite; the ability of the Mill to produce
rare earth carbonate, rare earth element oxides or other rare earth element products to meet commercial
specifications on a commercial scale at acceptable costs or at all; market factors, including future demand
for uranium, rare earth elements and heavy mineral sand concentrates; the ability of the Mill to be able to
separate radium or other radioisotopes at reasonable costs or at all; market prices and demand for medical
isotopes; 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 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 a nticipated 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.
Investor Inquiries:
Energy Fuels Inc.
Curtis Moore, SVP - Marketing and Corporate Development
(303) 974-2140 or Toll free: (888) 864-2125
www.energyfuels.com