Low uranium prices are not deterring the company that plans to build the countrys first new uranium mill in two decades.
Energy Fuels Inc. recently announced plans for a summer and fall program in Colorado and Utah to improve its uranium mines, but the company will wait until a lawsuit is resolved before it begins construction of its Piñon Ridge mill in the Paradox Valley near Naturita.
In late May, Denver District Judge Brian Whitney ruled for the environmental group Sheep Mountain Alliance, saying its lawsuit against the state health department could proceed. The alliance is challenging the states issuance of a radioactive materials permit to Energy Fuels.
Jennifer Thurston of Sheep Mountain Alliance said the judges decision was a big victory.
It was really the first independent review of looking at the basic issues in the case, Thurston said. He said that there are real issues at stake, and real damages can occur. That was a very important validation for us.
But the case is only at the beginning stages, and lawyers will do months of briefings and evidence analysis.
Energy Fuels is drawing up construction plans, but it will not start building the mill until the legal case is finished, said Curtis Moore, director of communications and legal affairs for Energy Fuels.
Meanwhile, Energy Fuels announced June 16 that it will begin work on uranium and vanadium mines it already owns.
What were looking to invest in is further study, further resource assessments to determine the viability of these mines, Moore said.
If the results are positive, Energy Fuels would have to decide whether to seek permits to reopen the mines, Moore said.
This years effort probably will not lead to an immediate jobs boom, because most of the work will be scientific and technical. But the company will do some drilling, Moore said.
The March tsunami at Japans Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant sent uranium prices into a downward spiral, along with the stock of companies like Energy Fuels.
The disaster happened the same week Energy Fuels made a major offering on the Toronto Stock Market. It raised 11.5 million Canadian dollars, or roughly $12 million.
Energy Fuels stock closed Thursday at 36.5 Canadian cents per share, after hitting a high of $1.58 on Feb. 8.
Since the Japanese disaster, Germanys government and Italian voters backed away from nuclear power.
But China, India, Brazil, Russia and South Korea are still committed to nuclear power, Moore said.
Despite Fukushima, they are moving forward with their previous plans to build nuclear capacity, Moore said. Long-term, the price of uranium is expected to increase to supply that consumption.
Thurston thinks it will take years to reveal the effects of the tsunami, and predictions of a nuclear renaissance are overblown.
Thats a harder story to sell now to investors, she said.
Reach Joe Hanel at joeh@cortezjournal.com.