Date: Mar 5, 2019
Uranium demand is forecast to increase strongly in future years assuming nuclear power plants continue to be built. At the current low uranium spot prices uranium miners are not profitable, which is leading to a rapid fall in uranium supply and stockpiles. We are starting to see now the next stage in the cycle – Higher uranium prices to encourage new supply as deficits widen.
Vanadium is primary used in the steel industry as a steel hardener. Added to this is new demand from Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFBs) for industrial scale energy storage industry which is now rapidly growing, most notably in China. This should help ensure a strong demand picture ahead for vanadium.
Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. (CSE: WUC | OTCQX: WSTRF) is a near-term producer that acquired uranium and vanadium mineral assets in western Colorado and eastern Utah, USA from Energy Fuels Inc. The Company’s near-term production strategy is to focus on previously producing mines with low CapEx, existing infrastructure, and permitting.
The Sunday Mine Complex
The Sunday Mine Complex is a complex of 5 interconnected underground mining claims totaling about 3,748 acres (most recently mined in 2009) covering both uranium and vanadium mines with historic production. The Company has reported strong grades presentat the Sunday Mine Complex including V2O5 ~1.49% to 2.16% and U3O8 ~0.25% to 0.36%, with a large surface stockpile of 100,000 tons. The total vanadium historic resource is ~35,000,000 lbs and the total uranium historic resource ~70,000,000 lbs.
The Sunday mine is fully permitted and due to re-open in early 2019. It will be ready for vanadium production in H2 2019 in the form of Direct Shipping Ore, direct to a third party processing plant. A couple of years later the Company plans to build their own processing plant. Given the mine is a re-start, the existing infrastructure is excellent.
