Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) an industry leader in uranium and rare earth elements production for the energy transition, today reported its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The Company previously announced details for its upcoming August 5, 2024 earnings call, which are also included in this news release.

“Energy Fuels continues to capitalize on uranium market opportunities, profitably selling an additional 100,000 pounds of uranium on the spot market, signing a new long-term sales contract with a U.S. nuclear utility at supportive pricing, and mining uranium from three of our conventional mines in anticipation of a large-scale uranium processing campaign at our White Mesa Mill expected to begin later this quarter and continue through 2025 and into 2026. Simultaneously, we achieved several milestones in the Company’s long-term value creation strategy by entering into agreements to add two world-scale rare earth and heavy mineral sand projects to our portfolio which, upon earn-in of one and acquisition of the other, will together have the potential to generate significant margins and cash flows in the future,” said Mark Chalmers, Energy Fuels’ President and Chief Executive Officer.

“This quarter, we also achieved another U.S. critical mineral industry milestone when we produced ‘on-spec’ separated NdPr at commercial scale at our White Mesa Mill in Utah from monazite sourced from Florida and Georgia. Our efforts this quarter have moved us closer to our business objective of becoming a long-term U.S. critical minerals company that produces many of the raw materials needed for the energy transition.”

“It is an extremely exciting and busy time at Energy Fuels, as we plan for a future in which we profitably produce uranium, rare earth elements, titanium, zirconium, vanadium, and even potentially radioisotopes needed for life-saving cancer treatments. The ‘common thread’ connecting all these critical minerals is that they are typically produced from naturally radioactive feedstocks, which Energy Fuels has the licenses, infrastructure and capability to manage in a way unique to the Company within the Western Hemisphere.”

“We invite all stakeholders to join us in our upcoming August 5, 2024 earnings call, details of which are below, to learn more about these exciting achievements.”

 

Q2-2024 Highlights

Unless noted otherwise, all dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars.

• Robust Balance Sheet with Over $200 million of Liquidity and No Debt: As of June 30, 2024, the Company had $200.94 million of working capital including $24.59 million of cash and cash equivalents, $146.66 million of marketable securities (interest-bearing securities and uranium stocks), $23.52 million of inventory, and no debt.
• Nearly $15 Million of Additional Liquidity from Market Value of Inventory: At July 31, 2024 commodity prices, the Company’s product inventory has a market value of approximately $30.08 million, while the balance sheet reflects product inventory carried at cost of $15.95 million.
• Incurred Net Loss of $6 Million: During the three months ended June 30, 2024, the Company incurred a net loss of $6.42 million, or $0.04 per common share, primarily due to costs related to negotiating the Donald Project joint venture (described below), the proposed acquisition of Base Resources (described below) and recurring operating expenses, partially offset by sales of natural uranium concentrates (“U₃O₈“).
• Uranium Continues to Drive Revenue: The Company sold 100,000 pounds of U₃O₈ on the spot market at a realized sales price of $85.90 per pound of U₃O₈ for total proceeds of $8.59 million, which resulted in a gross profit of $4.91 million and a gross margin of 57%.
• New Long-Term Uranium Sales Contract with U.S. Utility: The Company added a fourth long-term uranium sales contract to its existing portfolio. Under the contract, the Company will deliver a total of 270,000 to 330,000 pounds of uranium between 2026 and 2027, and potentially an additional 180,000 to 220,000 pounds until 2029, under a “hybrid” pricing formula, subject to floor and ceiling prices, that maintains exposure to further uranium market upside and protection from inflation.
• “Phase 1” REE Separation Circuit Successfully Commissioned: The Phase 1 REE separation circuit at the Company’s White Mesa Mill (the “Mill“) was completed under-budget in Q1-2024 and successfully commissioned in Q2-2024, producing ‘on-spec’ separated NdPr, thereby allowing the Company to realize a major strategic goal that we believe could generate long-term value by adding an entirely new, high-value product line.
• Well-Stocked to Capture Market Opportunities: As of June 30, 2024, the Company held 285,000 pounds of finished U₃O₈ and 653,000 pounds of U₃O₈ in ore and raw materials and work-in-progress inventory for a total of 938,000 pounds of U₃O₈ in inventory, which increased from last quarter due to Pinyon Plain, La Sal and Pandora mine ore production and additional alternate feed materials received, partially offset by our spot sale during Q2-2024. The Company expects these uranium inventories to increase as we continue to mine additional ore. The Company also held 905,000 pounds of finished vanadium (“V₂O₅“), 12 tonnes of finished separated neodymium praseodymium and 9 tonnes of finished high purity, partially separated mixed rare earth carbonate in inventory. Once the Company finishes processing its remaining monazite in early Q3-2024, the Company expects to have a total of 25 – 35 tonnes of separated NdPr in inventory, along with 10 – 20 tonnes of “heavy” samarium-plus (“Sm+“) mixed REE carbonate.

 

Capitalizing on Strong Uranium Pricing:

• Due to multiple uranium market tailwinds and upcoming commitments in long-term contracts with U.S. nuclear utilities, the Company is currently mining and stockpiling uranium ore from its Pinyon Plain, La Sal and Pandora mines and plans to ramp up to a production run-rate of approximately 1.1 to 1.4 million pounds of U₃O₈ per year by late-2024.
• The Company expects to produce a total of 150,000 to 500,000 pounds of finished U₃O₈ during 2024 from stockpiled alternate feed materials and newly mined ore.
• The Company is also preparing its Nichols Ranch in-situ recovery Project in Wyoming and Whirlwind Mine in Colorado for production within one year from a “go” decision, which when combined with alternate feed materials, uranium from monazite, and 3^rd party uranium ore purchases, would be expected to increase the Company’s production run-rate to roughly two million pounds per year by as early as 2026, as market conditions warrant.
• The Company continued advancing permitting and other pre-development activities on its large-scale Roca Honda, Sheep Mountain and Bullfrog uranium projects in Q2-2024, which could expand the Company’s uranium production to a run-rate of up to five million pounds of U₃O₈ per year in the coming years.
• As of July 31, 2024, the spot price of U₃O₈ was $86.50 per pound and the long-term price of U₃O₈ was $80.00 per pound, according to data from TradeTech.

 

Rare Earth Element Production Milestones:

• In a major Q2-2024 accomplishment for the Company and the United States, the Company successfully commissioned its commercial scale “Phase 1” REE separation circuit at the Mill, achieving one of the Company’s major long-term strategies of creating a complementary and additive business at the Mill without diminishing the Company’s uranium capacity or production profile in any way.
• The Company expects to produce about 25 – 35 tonnes of separated NdPr and 10 to 20 tonnes of a “heavy” Sm+ mixed rare earth carbonate from its newly commissioned Phase 1 REE separation circuit by early Q3-2024, after which time the Company expects to begin processing stockpiled uranium ore and alternate feed materials for the large-scale production run of U₃O₈ at the Mill for the remainder of the year, through 2025, and into 2026. During Q2-2024, the Company produced approximately 12 tonnes of separated NdPr.
• The Mill’s Phase 1 REE separation circuit has the capacity to process approximately 8,000 to 10,000 tonnes per annum of monazite, which will likely be sufficient to accommodate the quantity of monazite the Company is currently receiving from The Chemours Company, along with the first phases of both the Company’s Donald and Bahia Projects (described below) without further construction or capital investment at the Mill of any significance.
• On April 24, 2024, the Company released an AACE International  Class 4 Pre-Feasibility Study (not a Pre-Feasibility Study subject to or intended to be compliant with NI 43-101 or S-K 1300) dated April 22, 2024, indicating globally competitive capital and operating costs for the Mill’s planned Phase 2 expanded REE oxide production. The economics detailed in the Mill PFS are for the Phase 2 expansion of REE separation capacity in one or more additional facilities at the Mill, capable of processing 30,000 tpa of Monazite to produce approximately 3,000 tpa of NdPr oxide. The Mill PFS shows globally competitive capital expenditures of $348 million for the 30,000 tpa Phase 2 separation facility and an average processing cost of $29.88/kg NdPr. This analysis does not include any capital or operating costs associated with the recovery of Dy and Tb or any revenues associated with the sales of those “heavy” REE oxides. The Mill PFS can be viewed on the Company’s website, www.energyfuels.com.
• The Company is currently in the process of updating the Mill PFS to increase throughput to 40,000 to 60,000 tpa of monazite, producing roughly 4,000 to 6,000 tpa of NdPr, 150 to 225 tpa of Dy, and 50 to 75 tpa of Tb.
• On June 17, 2024, the Company announced that Deb Bennethum, a former critical minerals leader with General Motors (“GM“), had joined Energy Fuels as Director, Critical Minerals and Strategic Supply Chain to advance the Company’s burgeoning REE business.

 

Heavy Mineral Sands:

• The Company has entered into agreements to add two world-scale REE and heavy mineral sand projects to our portfolio in order to secure low-cost sources of monazite feed for the Mill’s current and future REE separation infrastructure, while also potentially producing significant standalone cashflow from the sale of ilmenite, rutile (titanium), zircon (zirconium), and other minerals.
  • On June 3, 2024, the Company announced that it had completed binding agreements with Astron Corporation Limited to jointly develop the Donald HMS and REE project in Australia. The Donald Project is a well-known HMS and REE deposit that the Company believes could provide the Mill with a near-term, low-cost, and large-scale source of monazite sand for the recovery of REE oxides. The Donald Project has most licenses and permits in place (or at an advanced stage of completion). Under the JV Agreements, Energy Fuels has the right to invest up to AUS$183 million (approximately $122 million at current exchange rates) to earn up to a 49% interest in the Donald Project Joint Venture, of which approximately $10.6 million is expected to be invested in 2024 in preparation for a final investment decision, and, if a positive FID is made, the remainder would be invested to develop the project and to earn into the full 49% interest in the Donald Project Joint Venture. In addition, the Company would issue Energy Fuels common shares  to Astron having a value of up to $17.5 million, of which $3.5 million of Common Shares would be issued in 2024 upon the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent and the remainder would be issued upon a positive FID. Based on a Definitive Feasibility Study prepared under the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, 2012 Edition, the Donald Project has the potential to produce approximately 7,000 to 8,000 tonnes of monazite per year during its first phase, and 13,000 to 14,000 tonnes during its second phase¹.
  • On April 21, 2024, the Company announced an agreement for the acquisition of all the issued and outstanding shares of Base Resources Ltd.  which upon completion, is expected to create a global leader in critical minerals production, including HMS, REEs and uranium. The acquisition of Base will include the advanced, world-class Toliara HMS project in Madagascar. In addition to its stand-alone, ilmenite, rutile (titanium) and zircon (zirconium) production capability, the Toliara Project also contains a long-life, high-value and low-cost monazite stream, produced as a byproduct of primary titanium and zirconium production. Toliara’s monazite is expected to be processed at the Company’s Mill into separated REE products, along with uranium, at globally competitive capital and operating costs. The Toliara Project is subject to negotiation of fiscal terms with the Madagascar government and the receipt of certain Madagascar government approvals and actions before a current suspension on activities at the Toliara Project will be lifted and development may occur. The transaction will also include Base’s management, mine development and operations teams, who have a successful track-record of designing, constructing, and profitably operating a world-class HMS operation in Kenya. The transaction is expected to be completed in early October 2024.
  • During Q2-2024, the Company also continued to advance its wholly owned Bahia HMS project in Brazil, initiating its Phase 2 drilling campaign with its newly purchased sonic rig in Q2-2024, which is expected to continue through the rest of the year. Additionally, the Company completed bulk test work on a 2.5 tonne sample in March 2024, and is currently collecting a larger 15 tonne sample for additional process test work. The Company expects to complete a U.S. Subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K and Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate on the Bahia Project during 2024.

 

Vanadium Highlights:

• The Company chose not to execute any vanadium sales during Q2-2024 and holds about 905,000 pounds of V₂O₅ in inventory.
• As of July 31, 2024, the spot price of V₂O₅ was $6.00 per pound, according to data from Fastmarkets.

 

Medical Isotope Highlights:

• In June 2023, the Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control issued the Company a research and development license for the recovery of R&D quantities of Ra-226 at the Mill, with the intent to recover radioisotopes from the Mill’s process streams for use in emerging targeted alpha therapy cancer therapeutics.
• This license was an essential step in the Company’s stated plans to complete engineering on the R&D pilot facility for Ra-226 production at the Mill; to set up the first stages of the pilot facility; and to produce R&D quantities of Ra-226 at the Mill for testing by end-users of the product.

 

Mr. Chalmers continued:

“We believe we are innovating a new model for low-cost, responsible critical mineral supply chains, by leveraging Energy Fuels’ 40+ years of relevant expertise in the handling and processing of naturally radioactive feedstocks, along with the facilities and permits of our foundational uranium business. As a result, we believe we are building profitable, cash flow generating businesses in three, distinct growth areas: uranium, REE’s and HMS, with the added potential of producing radioisotopes for emerging cancer treatments.

“We are capitalizing on these new, complementary opportunities in rare earths and heavy mineral sands, while simultaneously ramping-up Energy Fuels’ U.S. industry leading uranium operations.

“Our goal is to create a profitable, sustainable company with low-cost exposure to several critical minerals needed for the energy transition, that is able to withstand the natural business cycles associated with these critical minerals. We plan to be globally competitive in these markets, offering commercial and government customers a reliable, low-cost U.S. alternative.”

The Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and may be viewed on the Electronic Document Gathering and Retrieval System (“EDGAR“) at www.sec.gov/edgar, on the System for Electronic Data Analysis and Retrieval + (“SEDAR+“) at www.sedarplus.ca, and on the Company’s website at www.energyfuels.com. Unless noted otherwise, all dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars.

 

Selected Summary Financial Information:

 

 

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

THE TECHNICAL INFORMATION IN THIS PRESS RELEASE RELATING TO THE DONALD PROJECT HAS BEEN PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH JORC STANDARDS AND REVIEWED ON BEHALF OF THE COMPANY BY DAN KAPOSTASY, VP, TECHNICAL SERVICES OF ENERGY FUELS, A QUALIFIED PERSON UNDER BOTH SK-1300 AND NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 43-101 REGULATIONS. THE JORC-COMPLIANT TECHNICAL INFORMATION ON THE DONALD PROJECT WAS DISCLOSED BY ASTRON ON JUNE 27, 2023. ENERGY FUELS IS NOT TREATING ANY OF THIS TECHNICAL INFORMATION AS BASED ON CURRENT ESTIMATES OF MINERAL RESOURCES, MINERAL RESERVES, OR EXPLORATION RESULTS AND IS TREATING THE INFORMATION RELATING TO THE DONALD PROJECT AS HISTORICAL IN NATURE.

 

ABOUT ENERGY FUELS

 

Energy Fuels is a leading US-based critical minerals company. The Company, as the leading producer of uranium in the United States, mines uranium and produces natural uranium concentrates that are sold to major nuclear utilities for the production of carbon-free nuclear energy. Energy Fuels recently began production of advanced rare earth element materials, including mixed REE carbonate in 2021, and commenced production of commercial quantities of separated REEs in 2024. Energy Fuels also produces vanadium from certain of its projects, as market conditions warrant, and is evaluating the recovery of radionuclides needed for emerging cancer treatments. Its corporate offices are in Lakewood, Colorado, near Denver, and substantially all its assets and employees are in the United States. Energy Fuels holds two of America’s key uranium production centers: the White Mesa Mill in Utah and the Nichols Ranch in-situ recovery Project in Wyoming. The White Mesa Mill is the only conventional uranium mill operating in the US today, has a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U₃O₈ per year, and has the ability to produce vanadium when market conditions warrant, as well as REE products, 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 Company recently acquired the Bahia Project in Brazil and entered into a joint venture agreement to develop the Donald Project in Australia, each of which is believed to have significant quantities of titanium (ilmenite and rutile), zirconium (zircon) and REE (monazite) minerals. In addition to the above production facilities, Energy Fuels also has one of the largest NI 43-101 compliant uranium resource portfolios in the US and several uranium and uranium/vanadium mining projects on standby and in various stages of permitting and development.