Consolidated Uranium Inc. ("
CUR") (TSXV: CUR)
(OTCQB: CURUF) and Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU)
(TSX: EFR) (“
Energy Fuels”) are pleased to
announce the closing of the acquisition (the
“
Transaction”), previously announced on July 15,
2021, of a portfolio of conventional uranium projects located in
Utah and Colorado (the “
Projects”) pursuant to the
asset purchase agreement (the “
Purchase
Agreement”) among CUR and certain wholly-owned
subsidiaries of Energy Fuels (collectively, the “
EF
Parties”). In connection with the closing of the
Transaction, the companies have also entered into toll-milling,
operating and investor rights agreements with respect to the
Projects.
Transaction Highlights:
- New Entrant into the U.S.
Uranium Sector – The acquisition establishes CUR as a new
player in the U.S. uranium sector. The U.S. is currently the
largest generator of nuclear power in the world and, by extension,
the largest consumer of uranium. Over the past 15 years, production
from these mines have totalled over 1 million pounds of uranium,
which would rank these mines 5th among all U.S. producers during
that time.
- Unlocks the Value of Past
Producing, Permitted Mines Well-Positioned for Rapid
Restart – The portfolio of Projects acquired pursuant to
the Transaction includes, among other assets, the following three
permitted, past-producing mines in Utah, which will be the
immediate focus of CUR:
- Tony M Mine –
Located in the Henry Mountains area of southeastern Utah, the
Project is a large-scale, fully-developed and permitted underground
mine that operated most recently in 2008.
- Daneros Mine –
Located in the White Canyon District, the Project is a
fully-developed and permitted underground mine that was most
recently in production in 2013.
- Rim Mine – Located
in the East Canyon portion of the Uravan Mineral Belt, the Project
is a fully-developed and permitted underground mine that was most
recently in production in 2009.
- Strategic Alliance with
Energy Fuels, the Leading U.S. Uranium Producer – With the
toll-milling agreement now executed, CUR becomes the only current
U.S. uranium company (other than Energy Fuels) with guaranteed
access to Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Mill, which is the only
permitted and operating conventional uranium mill in the U.S.
Further, the operating agreement allows the Projects to continue to
be managed by the experienced team at Energy Fuels.
- Board of Directors
Strengthened with Addition of Mark Chalmers. Mr. Chalmers,
President and CEO of Energy Fuels, will join the CUR Board of
Directors effective immediately. Mr. Chalmers, a mining engineer by
training, is a recognized leader in the uranium sector, both in the
U.S. and globally, and will bring decades of experience in uranium
project development and mining to CUR, including significant
experience in the region of these assets.
Philip Williams, President and CEO of CUR
commented, “This is a seminal moment for Consolidated Uranium. With
the closing of this acquisition and entering into of the
toll-milling and operating agreements, CUR is firmly established as
a U.S. uranium player with near term production potential from a
portfolio of past producing mines with a clear pathway to
production from guaranteed access to the White Mesa Mill. We have
been very busy in the background putting plans in place to
accelerate development of these projects and look forward to
updating the market on that plan in due course. Finally, on behalf
of myself and the rest of the directors of CUR, I would formally
like to welcome Mark to the Board and look forward to working
closely together as we advance this exciting portfolio of
projects.”
Mark Chalmers, President and CEO of Energy Fuels
Stated: “We are pleased to partner with Consolidated Uranium in
unlocking the value of these significant U.S. uranium assets.
Energy Fuels will continue to focus on our core, low-cost uranium
projects – the Nichols Ranch and Alta Mesa ISR facilities, and the
Pinyon Plain, La Sal and other conventional properties, in addition
to our quickly emerging rare earth business at the White Mesa Mill.
We have long believed that markets have not properly value these
mines and properties within our asset portfolio. We look forward to
working with Phil and his team to advance these projects in the
near term, while also providing our shareholders with an
opportunity to enjoy significant exposure to the future share price
performance of CUR.”
Terms of the Purchase
Agreement
Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, CUR has
acquired from the EF Parties a 100% interest in the Tony M, Daneros
and Rim mines in Utah, as well as the Sage Plain property and eight
U.S. Department of Energy Leases in Colorado, for the following
consideration:
- the payment of US$2.0 million in
cash at closing;
- the issuance of 11,860,101 CUR
common shares (“CUR Shares”) at closing, which has
resulted in Energy Fuels holding 19.9% of the outstanding CUR
Shares;
- the payment of Cdn$3.0 million in
cash on or before the 18-month anniversary of closing of the
Transaction (the “First Deferred Payment”);
- the payment of an additional
Cdn$3.0 million in cash on or before the 36-month anniversary of
closing of the Transaction (the “Second Deferred
Payment”); and
- the payment of up to Cdn$5.0
million in contingent cash payments tied to achieving commercial
production at the Tony M Mine, the Daneros Mine and the Rim
Mine.
The Purchase Agreement includes provision for
the return of the Projects to Energy Fuels in the event that CUR
does not make the First Deferred Payment or Second Deferred
Payment, as described above. In the event that CUR proposes to
complete a private placement or prospectus offering for minimum
gross proceed of Cdn$1,000,000 within 36 months, the EF Parties
will have the right to accelerate (the “Acceleration
Right”) a portion of the First Deferred Payment and the
Second Deferred Payment, as applicable, through the issuance of CUR
Shares up to a maximum amount equal to the product of: (A) the
gross proceeds of the financing, multiplied by (B) the EF Parties’
then current cumulative percentage ownership of CUR Shares on a
non-diluted basis prior to completion of the financing. The CUR
Shares issued pursuant to the Acceleration Right will be based on
the market price of the CUR Shares at the time of issuance and will
be subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the
“TSXV”).
CUR engaged Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation
(“Cantor Fitzgerald”) as its financial advisor in
connection with the Transaction. Pursuant to such engagement, CUR
has agreed to pay Cantor Fitzgerald an advisory fee comprised of
$450,623.98 in cash and 83,786 CUR Shares at a deemed price of
Cdn$2.90 per CUR Share, subject to the approval of the TSXV.
All securities issued in connection with the
Transaction are subject to a hold period expiring four months and
one day from the date of issuance.
The Strategic
Alliance
The strategic alliance
between CUR and Energy Fuels for the Projects involves three key
components:
- The Toll-Milling Agreement
– Under this agreement, the EF Parties will toll-mill ore
mined from the Projects at the White Mesa Mill, subject to payment
by CUR of a toll-milling fee and certain other terms and
conditions.
- The Operating Agreements
– Under these agreements, the EF Parties will provide
ongoing services for a fee to maintain the Projects in good
standing, as well as additional services as agreed to by the
parties.
- The Investor Rights
Agreement – Under this agreement, for so long as Energy
Fuels’ equity ownership in CUR remains at or above 10%, it will be
entitled to equity participation rights to maintain its pro rata
equity ownership in CUR and to appoint one nominee to the CUR Board
of Directors. Energy Fuels has also agreed to certain resale
restrictions on the CUR Shares it holds and to provide voting
support in certain circumstances.
Tony M Technical
Report
In connection with closing of the Transaction,
CUR expects to file an updated technical report for the Tony M Mine
in order to provide updated information. The technical report will
be available under CUR’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Early Warning
Disclosure
Pursuant to the
Transaction, Energy Fuels acquired 11,860,101 CUR Shares,
representing approximately 19.9% of the issued and outstanding CUR
Shares on a non-diluted basis. Immediately prior to completion of
the Transaction, Energy Fuels owned nil CUR Shares.
While Energy Fuels
currently has no plans or intentions with respect to the CUR
Shares, subject to the resale restrictions noted above, and
depending on market conditions and/or other relevant factors,
Energy Fuels may from time to time in the future decide to acquire
additional securities or to dispose of some or all of the existing
CUR Shares or other securities of CUR it holds.
Energy Fuels will file
an early warning report under National Instrument 62-103 in
connection with the closing of the Transaction. A copy of the early
warning report filed by Energy Fuels will be available under CUR’s
profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or by contacting Curtis Moore, VP
of Marketing & Corporate Development at (303) 974-2154
(cmoore@energyfuels.com). Energy Fuels’ head office is located at
225 Union Blvd., Suite 600, Lakewood, Colorado 80228 and CUR’s head
office is located at 217 Queen St. West, Suite 401, Toronto,
Ontario M5V 0R2.
Moran Lake Option
Further to CUR’s press
release dated October 18, 2021, CUR has issued 191,570 CUR Shares
to the vendor of the Moran Lake project, at a deemed price of
Cdn$2.61 per CUR Share being the five-day volume weighted average
price of the CUR Shares up to October 15, 2021. The CUR Shares are
subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from the
date of issuance.
LTIP Amendment
In addition, CUR
announces that it has implemented certain housekeeping amendments
to its omnibus long-term incentive plan (the
“LTIP”) in accordance with the policies of the
TSXV, including changes to clarify that only awards that expire
during a blackout period can be extended to expire on the date that
is ten business days following the expiration of the blackout
period.
Counsel and
Advisors
Cassels Brock &
Blackwell LLP and Parr Brown Gee & Loveless acted as legal
advisors to CUR and Cantor Fitzgerald acted as financial advisor to
CUR in connection with the Transaction.
Dorsey & Whitney
LLP and Borden Ladner Gervais LLP acted as legal advisors to Energy
Fuels in connection with the Transaction.
About Consolidated Uranium
Consolidated Uranium Inc. (TSXV: CUR) (OTCQB:
CURUF) was created in early 2020 to capitalize on an anticipated
uranium market resurgence using the proven model of diversified
project consolidation. To date, the company has acquired or has the
right to acquire uranium projects in Australia, Canada, Argentina
and the United States each with significant past expenditures and
attractive characteristics for development. Most recently, the
Company entered a transformational strategic acquisition agreement
and alliance with Energy Fuels Inc (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX:
EFR), a leading U.S.-based uranium mining company, to acquire a
portfolio of permitted, past-producing conventional uranium and
vanadium mines in Utah and Colorado. These mines are currently on
stand-by, ready for rapid restart as market conditions permit,
positioning CUR as a near-term uranium producer.
About Energy Fuels Inc.
Energy Fuels is a
leading U.S.-based uranium mining company, supplying U3O8 to major
nuclear utilities. Energy Fuels also produces vanadium from certain
of its projects, as market conditions warrant, and is ramping up to
commercial production of rare earth carbonate in 2021. Its
corporate offices are in Lakewood, Colorado, near Denver, and all
of its assets and employees are in the United States. Energy Fuels
holds three of America's key uranium production centers: the White
Mesa Mill in Utah, the Nichols Ranch ISR Project in Wyoming, and
the Alta Mesa ISR Project in Texas. The White Mesa Mill is the only
conventional uranium mill operating in the U.S. today, has a
licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U3O8 per year, has
the ability to produce vanadium when market conditions warrant, as
well as rare earth carbonate from various uranium-bearing ores. The
Nichols Ranch ISR Project is on standby and has a licensed capacity
of 2 million pounds of U3O8 per year. The Alta Mesa ISR Project is
also on standby and has a licensed capacity of 1.5 million pounds
of U3O8 per year. In addition to the above production facilities,
Energy Fuels also has one of the largest NI 43-101 compliant
uranium resource portfolios in the U.S. and several uranium and
uranium/vanadium mining projects on standby and in various stages
of permitting and development. The primary trading market for
Energy Fuels' common shares is the NYSE American under the trading
symbol "UUUU," and Energy Fuels’ common shares are also listed on
the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "EFR." Energy
Fuels' website is www.energyfuels.com.
Contacts
Consolidated Uranium Inc.
Philip Williams
President and
CEOpwilliams@consolidateduranium.com
Energy Fuels
Curtis MooreVP of Marketing &
Corporate Development(303) 974-2154
cmoore@energyfuels.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies
of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Information.
This news release contains "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S.
securities legislation. “Forward-looking information” includes, but
is not limited to, statements with respect to activities, events or
developments that CUR and Energy Fuels expect or anticipate will or
may occur in the future including: any expectation with respect to
costs of production; any expectation with respect to any
permitting, development or other work that may be required to bring
any of the Projects into production; any expectation that any of
the Projects can be brought back into production rapidly or
expeditiously; any expectations as to future exploration potential
for any of the Projects; any expectation as to the outcome or
success of any proposed programs for any of the Projects; any
expectation regarding Energy Fuels’ continued focus core project
and rare earth business; any expectation regarding the future
success of the White Mesa Mill’s emerging rare earth program; any
expectation that the proposed strategic alliance will be
successful; any expectation that market conditions will warrant
future production from any of the Projects; any expectation that
any future production payments will become due and payable and be
paid; any expectation that the TSXV will approve the issuance of
CUR Shares pursuant to the Acceleration Right; any expectation that
markets will properly value the Projects; and any expectation as to
future share price performance of CUR; and any expectations
regarding the filing of the updated technical report for the Tony M
Mine. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and
statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”,
“expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”,
“forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or the
negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and
phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”,
“could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be
achieved” or the negative connotation thereof. This information
involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from
those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks
associated with: potential conflicts of interest between CUR and
Energy Fuels; the costs associated with bringing any of the
Projects back into production; permitting and regulatory delays;
litigation risks; competition from others; market factors,
including future demand for and prices realized from the sale of
uranium and vanadium; government actions that could restrict or
eliminate the ability to mine on public lands, such as through the
creation or expansion of national monuments or through mineral
withdrawals; and the policies and actions of foreign governments,
which could impact the competitive supply of and global markets for
uranium and vanadium. Forward-looking statements contained herein
are made as of the date of this news release, and CUR and Energy
Fuels disclaim, other than as required by law, any obligation to
update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, results, future events, circumstances, or if
management’s estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will
prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. CUR and Energy Fuels assume no
obligation to update the information in this communication, except
as otherwise required by law.
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