Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) ('URI?) reported today on its
plan of action for advancing its Churchrock project; having received the
recent U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals determination that its
Section 8 property is not Indian Country.
Don Ewigleben, President and CEO, commented, 'The significance of this
ruling lies in our ability to now take the actions necessary to advance
this property toward production. Our Discharge Plan (Underground
Injection Control Permit) from the New Mexico Environmental Department
(NMED) and our Source Material License from the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) are both in timely renewal status. We will be meeting
with the appropriate state and federal agencies over the next several
weeks to discuss next steps.
URI′s objective is to be in a position to begin uranium production in
New Mexico by the first half of 2013, assuming the renewal processes
move forward in a timely manner, a recovery in uranium prices and the
availability of financing for the necessary capital expenditures to
build the infrastructure. Our project will be a major contributor to
addressing the need for domestic uranium production to supply U.S.
nuclear power plant needs.?
Our license will allow us to produce one million pounds of uranium per
year for the initial project, after which we will demonstrate certain
restoration parameters and can then move forward to produce up to three
million pounds per year.?
A public meeting is scheduled with the NRC at their headquarters in
Rockland, MD on July 29th from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
URI has 183,000 acres of mineral holdings in New Mexico and 101.4
million pounds of in place mineralized uranium material. There are 33.9
million pounds of in place mineralized uranium material that can be
produced under its NRC Source Materials License. The Section 8 portion
of the NRC licensed area is underlain by 6.5 million pounds of in place
mineralized uranium material.
Mr. Ewigleben continued, 'After we have completed preliminary
discussions with the appropriate staff of both the NRC and NMED, we plan
on submitting the materials that they may need to renew our Source
Materials License and Discharge Plan. These meetings will help to
determine the scope of the submittals and staff expectations.?
Concurrently, the Company is updating its project feasibility study and
reviewing the project engineering including facility design and cost
estimates. The Tenth Circuit decision is still subject to the EPA and
the Navajo seeking review at the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Ewigleben concluded, 'We will continue to demonstrate how in situ
recovery mining is safe and environmentally friendly, while also showing
that modern safety protocols have advanced significantly from the last
mining cycle. Bringing uranium mining back to New Mexico will have a
strong economic impact on the State by creating jobs in the communities
of Cibola and McKinley Counties where we will operate.?
About Uranium Resources, Inc.
Uranium Resources Inc. explores for, develops and mines uranium. Since
its incorporation in 1977, URI has produced over 8 million pounds of
uranium by in-situ recovery (ISR) methods in the state of Texas where
the Company currently has ISR mining projects. URI has 183,000 acres of
uranium mineral holdings and 101.4 million pounds of in-place
mineralized uranium material in New Mexico, as well as a NRC license to
produce up to 1 million pounds of uranium. The Company acquired these
properties over the past 20 years along with an extensive information
database of historic mining logs and analysis. None of URI′s properties
is currently in production.
URI′s strategy is to fully exploit its resource base in New Mexico and
Texas, expand its asset base both within and outside of New Mexico and
Texas, partner with larger mining companies that have undeveloped
uranium or with junior mining companies that do not have the mining
experience of URI, as well as provide restoration expertise to those
that require the capability or lack the proficiency.
Uranium Resources routinely posts news and other information about the
Company on its Web site at
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and
assumptions and are identified by words such as 'expects,? 'estimates,?
'projects,? 'anticipates,? 'believes,? 'could,? and other similar words.
All statements addressing operating performance, events, or developments
that the Company expects or anticipates will occur in the future,
including but not limited to statements relating to the Company′s
mineralized uranium materials, timing of receipt of mining permits,
production capacity of mining operations planned for properties in South
Texas and New Mexico, planned dates for commencement of production at
such properties, revenue, cash generation and profits are
forward-looking statements. Because they are forward-looking, they
should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and
uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, the spot price and long-term contract price of uranium,
weather conditions, operating conditions at the Company′s mining
projects, government regulation of the mining industry and the nuclear
power industry, world-wide uranium supply and demand, availability of
capital, timely receipt of mining and other permits from regulatory
agents and other factors which are more fully described in the Company′s
documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one
or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of
the Company′s underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may
vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue
reliance should not be placed on the Company′s forward-looking
statements. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any
obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release.
