Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) announced that preparations for the restart of its Nichols Ranch uranium mine in Wyoming are progressing as planned. Initial pre-production drilling has shown stronger mineralization than anticipated.
Located 80 miles northeast of Casper, in the Powder River Basin, the Nichols Ranch in-situ recovery (ISR) mine is expected to commence production as early as July 1, 2025, depending on market conditions. Energy Fuels, based in Lakewood, may quickly increase uranium production from Nichols Ranch alongside its existing operations in Arizona and Utah.
Additionally, the company revealed an extra uranium supply contract with a U.S. nuclear energy utility in its Q2 2024 quarterly report, further supporting its commitment to the domestic uranium market. “We are very pleased with our progress to date in preparing Nichols Ranch for a potential restart of production in 2025, and these significant drilling results are exceeding our expectations and further demonstrate the strength of this project,” said Mark Chalmers, president and CEO of Energy Fuels Inc.
The Nichols Ranch ISR facility has a licensed annual capacity of 2 million pounds of uranium and remains a priority in the company’s development pipeline. Current activities include delineation drilling to inform future well-field designs, as well as upgrading the on-site deep disposal well and executing capital improvements at the existing plant.
Dan Kapostasy, vice president of technical services, stated, “We recently drilled 39 out of the planned 125 delineation holes at Nichols Ranch, with five that significantly exceeded expectations and the rest consistent with anticipated results.” The company aims to complete this drilling campaign later this year and will update the Nichols Ranch Technical Report accordingly.