enCore Energy Announces Acquisition of Proprietary PFN Technology, Equipment and Global Licensing Rights NYSE American:EU
enCore Energy Announces Acquisition of Proprietary PFN Technology,
Equipment and Global Licensing Rights
NYSE American:EU
TSXV:EU
www.encoreuranium.com
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas
,
May 8, 2023
/CNW/ -
enCore Energy Corp.
(NYSE: EU) (TSXV: EU) (the "
Company
" or "
enCore"
) announced today the acquisition
of all of the proprietary Prompt Fission Neutron ("
PFN
") technology and equipment, including related exclusive intellectual property, and global licensing rights from
Energy Fuels Resources (
USA
) Inc. ("
Energy Fuels
"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Fuels, Inc. The use and ownership of PFN technology provides
enCore with a clear competitive advantage by providing close to real time assays for uranium that cannot be achieved using conventional coring and assay
methods. This technology is unavailable to many other uranium exploration and development companies.
The PFN equipment and technology acquired by enCore for
$3.1 million USD
includes:
Associated proprietary intellectual property, including all internal details of the tools, circuit board diagrams, firmware code, software, manuals, instructions;
The sole right to utilize the license of the PFN technology globally;
Six PFN downhole wireline probes;
Nine gamma downhole wireline probes with single point resistivity, spontaneous potential and deviation;
Two low-mileage, heavy-duty logging trucks with logging and associated equipment;
Power supplies, computers, communication equipment, and other technology.
Paul Goranson
, enCore's Chief Executive Officer, said, "PFN technology is far superior to traditional downhole gamma measurements where an array of different
elements emits a collective gamma signature which may or may not correlate well with the actual uranium content. We have already seen the benefits of the
technology in the past with reliable uranium resource estimates derived from PFN that were confirmed by historical production results. We are using this proven
PFN technology right now as we install our production patterns in our soon to be producing wellfields."
PFN technology is critical to successful in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium project development as it directly measures downhole U
3
O
8
ore grade versus traditional
Total Gamma and Spectral Gamma methods which measure radioactivity emitted from a variety of elements associated with uranium. This is particularly
applicable at enCore's
South Texas
properties where in-situ geochemical conditions allow some of the radiometric components, such as uranium, to be out of
equilibrium with their gamma signatures. The same conditions occur elsewhere in
the United States
including some deposits in
Wyoming
.
enCore currently uses PFN technology in its delineation of ore bodies in anticipation of installing production wellfields at the Company's South Texas Rosita and
Alta Mesa ISR Uranium Projects. Energy Fuels retains the right, subject to availability, to purchase, lease, and/or license at least one fully functional PFN Tool and
all related and/or required equipment, technology and licenses as may reasonably be requested solely for their use, for a period of up to 20 years.
The Benefits of PFN (Prompt Fission Neutron) Technology
PFN technology has played an important part in the development and advancement of uranium projects in
the United States
and
South Australia
. enCore's Alta
Mesa ISR Uranium Project in
South Texas
, produced 4.9 million pounds of U
3
O
8
between 2005 and 2013 from wellfields and mineral resources identified and
measured using this PFN technology.
Many geologically younger ISR uranium deposits in
the United States
, and particularly in
South Texas
, have a certain degree of disequilibrium. Consequently, the
radioactivity measured in drill holes using traditional Total Gamma and Spectral Gamma methods does not accurately correspond to ore grade due to the
continued decay of uranium daughter products including potassium, thorium, lead and bismuth relative to radium (Ra
226
), a significant gamma emitter.
Traditionally, disequilibrium is calculated using mud rotary coring techniques and laboratory gamma and alpha spectrometry, all of which are expensive and time
consuming. Without accurate in-situ measurement of uranium, significant high-grade ore has been missed using traditional downhole techniques. PFN technology
solves this issue by instead using neutron activation to detect uranium in drill holes. The PFN tool creates very fast neutrons (14MeV) and fires 108 neutrons per
second. The neutrons emitted by the PFN tool excite, at an atomic level, in-situ uranium atoms in the drill hole creating fast (epithermal) neutrons and slow
(thermal) neutrons. The ratio of epithermal to thermal neutrons is proportional to uranium allowing the U
3
O
8
ore grade to be accurately calculated. This provides a
relatively inexpensive and instantaneous means for accurate assaying in-situ ore grades over large areas and allows for accurate ore body mapping, resource
estimation, and wellfield planning.
About enCore Energy Corp.
enCore Energy Corp. is committed to providing clean, reliable, and affordable domestic nuclear energy by becoming the next
United States
uranium producer in
2023. enCore solely utilizes In-Situ Recovery (ISR) for uranium extraction, a well-known and proven technology co-developed by the leaders at enCore Energy.
In-Situ Recovery extracts uranium in a non-invasive process through the use of natural groundwater and oxygen, coupled with a proven ion exchange process, to
recover the uranium. Uranium production is planned at enCore's licensed and past-producing South Texas Rosita Processing Plant in 2023, and at its licensed and
past-producing South Texas Alta Mesa Processing Plant in 2024. Future projects in enCore's production pipeline include the Dewey-Burdock project in
South
Dakota
and the Gas Hills project in
Wyoming
, along with significant uranium resource endowments in
New Mexico
providing long-term opportunities. The enCore
team is led by industry experts with extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of ISR uranium operations and the nuclear fuel cycle. enCore diligently
works to realize value from other owned assets, including our proprietary uranium database that includes technical information from many past producing
companies, from our various non-core assets, and by leveraging our ISR expertise in researching opportunities that support the use of this technology as applied
to other metals. enCore is also committed to working with local communities and indigenous governments to create positive impact from corporate developments.
www.encoreuranium.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain information contained in this news release, including: any information relating to the
Company being a leading uranium company; and any other statements regarding future expectations, beliefs, goals or prospects; may constitute "forward-
looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and
United States
securities legislation (collectively, "forward-
looking statements"). All statements in this news release that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words "expects", "is
expected", "does not expect", "plans", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast",
"budget" and similar expressions or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results
"may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken) should be considered forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to
important risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the companies' ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve
known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; future legislative and
regulatory developments; that results of past mining operations at the Alta Mesa and Rosita sites are indicative of the results of proposed mining activities at
those sites; that a production decision will result in actual production commencing and that such production will be economically viable over time; the ability of
enCore to implement its business strategies; and other risks. A number of important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those
indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements, including without limitation exploration and development risks, changes in commodity prices, access
to skilled mining personnel, the results of exploration and development activities; production risks; uninsured risks; regulatory risks; defects in title; the
availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals and unanticipated environmental impacts on operations; risks posed by the
economic and political environments in which the Company operates and intends to operate; increased competition; assumptions regarding market trends and
the expected demand and desires for the Company's products and proposed products; reliance on industry equipment manufacturers, suppliers and others; the
failure to adequately protect intellectual property; the failure to adequately manage future growth; adverse market conditions, the failure to satisfy ongoing
regulatory requirements and factors relating to forward looking statements listed above which include risks as disclosed in the companies' annual information
form filings. Should one or more of these risks materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results
may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. The Company assumes no obligation to
update the information in this communication, except as required by law. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in filings by the
Company with the various securities commissions which are available online at
www.sec.gov
and
www.sedar.com
. Forward-looking statements are provided
for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations, beliefs and plans of management. Such statements may not be appropriate for other
purposes and readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, that speak only as of the date hereof, as there can be no
assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management
at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in
this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
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For further information:
Please contact:
William M. Sheriff, Executive Chairman, 972-333-2214, [email protected]
CO: enCore Energy Corp.
CNW 07:00e 08-MAY-23