Date: Feb 13, 2019
LAKEWOOD, CO, Feb. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ – Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU; TSX: EFR) (“Energy Fuels” or the “Company”), a leading producer of uranium and vanadium in the United States, is pleased to announce that it is now producing high-purity vanadium at commercial rates of approximately 175,000 to 200,000 pounds of V2O5 per month and that shipments of vanadium have commenced for sale to customers. Ramp-up is expected to continue in the coming weeks, and the Company continues to expect to reach full production rates of 200,000 to 225,000 pounds of high-purity V2O5 per month by the end of Q1-2019 or sooner.
As previously announced, Energy Fuels recently commenced a campaign to recover vanadium pentoxide (“V2O5“) from existing tailings pond solutions at its 100%-owned White Mesa Mill (the “Mill”). During January 2019, the Company continued to ramp-up vanadium production, including achieving increasingly higher production rates, purities, and the completion of further process refinements and optimization.
The Company is further pleased to announce that it has begun vanadium shipments, with initial quantities being allocated for conversion to ferrovanadium that will be sold into spot metallurgical markets. The Company expects to continue to sell finished vanadium product into the metallurgical industry, as well as other markets that demand a higher purity product, including the aerospace, chemical, and potentially the vanadium battery industry. The Company expects to sell to a diverse group of customers in order to and maximize revenues and profits.
Vanadium markets have strengthened during 2019, following short-term softening observed in late-December 2018. The year-end 2018 mid-point spot price of V2O5 in Europe, as reported by Metal Bulletin, was $15.50 per pound of V2O5, while the current reported price is $17.25 per pound of V2O5—an increase of approximately 11%. The Company believes that the basic market fundamentals that led to the price increases observed in 2018 have not changed, including significant production cuts in China for pollution control and new specifications for rebar in China that mandate increased vanadium content. The Company believes that these basic market fundamentals should support today’s high price levels for the foreseeable future.
