United States Court of Appeals Upholds Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Handling of enCore Energy's Dewey Burdock Project Source Material License
United States Court of Appeals Upholds Nuclear Regulatory Commission's
Handling of enCore Energy's Dewey Burdock Project Source Material
License
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas
,
Dec. 15, 2022
/CNW/ -
enCore Energy Corp.
("
enCore
" or the "
Company
") (TSXV: EU) (OTCQB: ENCUF) today announced
the
United States
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the request of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the group "Aligning for Responsible Mining" for
a full panel review of a prior decision by a three judge panel of that court. In the prior decision (see enCore news release dated
August 9, 2022
) the panel found
that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had adequately complied with the relevant statutory and regulatory requirements in granting a source materials license to
Powertech
USA
Inc., a subsidiary of enCore Energy Corp., for extraction of uranium from ore beds at the company's Dewey-Burdock project in
South Dakota
.
The Sioux and Aligning for Responsible Mining may petition the United States Supreme Court to review the ruling. They have 90 days in which to file for review,
and possibly 60 additional days after that period if the court chooses to grant an extension. The case may be cited as 20-1489 Oglala Sioux Tribe and Aligning v.
NRC, et al "Per Curiam Order Filed (Merits Panel)" (NRC-40-9075-MLA) (
December 13, 2022
).
To view the previous Opinion please visit:
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/E4FBC75E78CE05F08525889900538B63/$file/20-1489-1958435.pdf
The Dewey Burdock Project,
South Dakota
The Company's 100% owned Dewey Burdock Project is an in-situ recovery ("ISR") uranium project located in the
Edgemont
uranium district,
South Dakota
and is
comprised of 12,613 surface acres and 16,962 net mineral acres. In
December 2020
, the Company filed an amended and restated NI 43-101 compliant
independent Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA")
2
.
Dewey Burdock
Project ISR
Mineral
Resource
Estimate
Measured
Resources
Indicated
Resources
Measured plus
Indicated
Resources
Inferred
Resources
Tons
5,419,779
1,968,443
7,388,222
645,546
Average grade
(%U
3
O
8
)
0.132
0.072
0.116
0.055
Average
thickness (feet)
5.56
5.74
5.65
5.87
Average grade-
thickness ("GT")
0.733
0.413
0.655
0.324
Uranium
(pounds) at a
0.20 GT cut-off
14,285,988
2,836,159
17,122,147
712,624
Initial capital expenditures are estimated at
$31.7 million
. The Dewey Burdock Project is forecast to produce 14.3 million pounds of U
3
O
8
over its 16 years of
production and the projected cash flows of the Dewey Burdock Project are expected to be positive in the second year of production, two years after the
commencement of construction.
The Dewey Burdock PEA resulted in a pre-income tax NPV of
$171.3 million
at a discount rate of 8% and an IRR of 55% compared to a post-income tax NPV of
$147.5 million
at a discount rate of 8% and an IRR of 50%. The Dewey Burdock PEA post-income tax calculations do not include a corporate level assessment of
income tax liabilities; taxes have only been calculated at the Dewey Burdock Project level. The estimate of income tax at the corporate level is subject to a number
of additional considerations that have not been factored in when calculating income taxes at the project level, including, but not limited to, the capital structure to
finance the Dewey Burdock Project, which has not yet been determined and loss carry forwards available at the corporate level.
The Dewey Burdock PEA estimated uranium prices of
$55
/lb U
3
O
8
, direct cash operating costs of
$10.46
per pound of production and royalties and local taxes
(excluding property tax) of
$5.15
per pound of production. The total pre-income tax cost of uranium production is estimated to be
$28.88
per pound of production.
Income taxes are estimated to be
$3.39
per pound of production.
Details of the assumptions and parameters used with respect to the Dewey Burdock PEA, including information on data verification, are set out in the "NI 43-101
Technical Report Preliminary Economic Assessment, Dewey-Burdock Uranium ISR Project,
South Dakota, USA
", dated
December 22, 2020
, with an effective
date of
December 3, 2019
, by Yovich, M., PE and S. Cutler, PG, a copy of which is available under the Company's profile at
www.sedar.com.
The Dewey
Burdock mineral resource estimate includes resources in the measured, indicated and inferred classes. However Yovich and Cutler (2020) concluded the
resources in the inferred class are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations to be included in the PEA. The Dewey Burdock
PEA is preliminary in nature; There is no certainty that the Dewey Burdock PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have
demonstrated economic viability.
William Paul Goranson
, P.Eng. Chief Executive Officer, Director and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has approved the technical disclosure in this news
release.
About enCore Energy Corp.
enCore Energy is the most diversified In-Situ Recovery uranium development company in
the United States
and recently announced it entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire the Alta Mesa In-Situ Recovery uranium project (the "Transaction"). The Transaction will position enCore as a leading US-focused ISR
uranium company with the proven management expertise required to advance multiple production opportunities within its portfolio. enCore is focused on becoming
the next uranium producer from its licensed and past-producing South Texas Rosita Processing Plant by 2023. The
South Dakota
-based Dewey-Burdock project
and the Wyoming Gas Hills project offer mid-term production opportunities, with significant
New Mexico
uranium resource endowments 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 is committed to engaging and working with local communities and indigenous governments to create positive impact from corporate developments.
1
Mineral resource estimates are based on technical reports prepared in accordance with NI43-101 and available on SEDAR as well as company websites at
www.encoreuranium.com
.
2
Dewey Burdock Preliminary Economic Assessment: Woodard & Curran and Rough Stock Mining Services (the "Dewey Burdock PEA") with an effective date of December 3, 2019
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX
VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements
under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-
looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "potential", "believe", "intend" or the
negative of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the
intended use of the net proceeds of the Offering and the completion of any capital project or property acquisitions. 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; inability to access additional capital; the ability of enCore to implement its business strategies; and other risks. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements 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:
William M. Sheriff, Executive Chairman, 972-333-2214, [email protected], www.encoreuranium.com
CO: enCore Energy Corp.
CNW 07:00e 15-DEC-22