Ur-Energy to reopen Shirley Basin Mine
Demand for uranium cited as reason for reopening of mine, company says project to create 50 local jobs
A different owner had operated Shirley Basin Mine until closing it in 1992.
“Ur-Energy purchased the assets of Pathfinder Mines Corp in 2013, including the Shirley Basin Project, because of the high quality of the remaining mineralization,” said John Cash, CEO and president of Ur-Energy Inc. “The uranium price was too low in 2013 to support production, but the price has increased dramatically over the last two years due to geopolitical instability and a supply gap. The increase in the Uranium price along with signing several long-term sales contracts has led Ur-Energy to the decision to build out and restart production at Shirley Basin.”
“The decision to build out our Shirley Basin Project is a major milestone for our Company as it will nearly double our annual permitted mine production capacity to 2.2 million pounds while diversifying our supply,” Cash said in a press release. “The build-out will also solidify our position as the dominant producer in the Great Divide Basin and Shirley Basin Districts of Wyoming.”
Ur-Energy Inc. plans to mine the uranium through an in situ process that was developed at Shirley Basin in the 1960s.
More than half the world uses the in situ technology to mine uranium, Cash said.
“In situ is a Latin term that means in the place,” he said. “So, we don’t remove the rock. Instead we install water wells into the mineralized body and inject oxygen and carbon dioxide into the uranium to dissolve it and pump it to the surface in a solution.”
The Shirley Basin Project is located on a 1,770- acre site near the junction of CR 2 and Highway 487, about 40 miles south of Casper.
“The quality of the ore is a very good grade and completely drilled out,” Cash said. “We have contracts in place to sell to major nuclear utilities in the U.S. and Europe.”
“Utilities around the world are looking to diversify to buy uranium from safe jurisdictions like the United States,” he said.
“Russia supplies about 20% of U.S. demand for uranium,” as stated in a presentation Cash made to the Carbon County Commissioners. “Kazakhstan provides about 46% of primary global supply. Russian influence and internal strife could impact supply. Russian and Chinese ownership/purchasing of Kazakh uranium is growing quickly. Primary production from Africa is largely owned by China.”
Cash said the process for the generation of nuclear fuel from uranium is as follows:
- Mining to create yellowcake (uranium oxide)
- Conversion from uranium oxide to uranyl hexafluoride. We sell the product to the utility at the conversion facility but prior to conversion
- Enrichment to increase the concentration of the isotope U235
- Fuel fabrication into pellets and loading of fuel assembly
- Delivery of fuel assembly at the power plant
Keith Guille, spokesman for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, said Ur-Energy Inc. is fully permitted to mine uranium at Shirley Basin. The process of taking uranium from the mine and disposing of the waste products has been permitted at the mine for years.
To do in situ mining, the uranium is taken from the aquifer at a level that is not open for drinking water, Guille said. Uranium occurs naturally in the aquifer.
At the point when the company no longer mines uranium at Shirley Basin, it has a “reclamation plan to return the aquifer to its natural state,” but it would not be safe enough to meet drinking water standards, he said.
Cash said the project will create jobs for local workers. It will directly create about 50 jobs and another 15 through its contractors.
The company expects the plant to become operational in early 2026, he said. Construction of the facility will require local construction crews, he said. The company plans to start work on the project early this summer.
Getting the supplies to site will be a challenge, he added.
Utilities initiate the bidding process and the lowest bid is accepted, which produces the lowest cost to the consumer of the electricity, he said in answer to a question posed by The Sun.
The process of disposing of byproduct waste is fully permitted.
“The tailings facility at the Shirley Basin site is one of the few remaining facilities in the United States that is licensed to receive and dispose of byproduct waste material from other in situ uranium mines,” as stated on the company website. “We assumed the operation of the byproduct disposal site and continue to accept deliveries under several contracts.”
The Sun asked Cash to explain what is in the waste.
“The tailings facility at Shirley Basin is licensed to receive byproduct waste as defined under section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act,” he said. “This waste may consist of rock tailings from a conventional mine or wastes from an in situ mine. The waste from an in situ mine typically consists of soils, filters, piping and PPE such as gloves.”
He said the radiologic aspect of the process in relation to the environment is “contained.”
Ur-Energy Inc. has operated its Lost Creek Uranium Facility in Sweetwater for 10 years, he said.
Published April 25, 2024