By Zak Sonntag
Casper Star-Tribune
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CASPER — Texas-based Uranium Energy Corp has agreed to acquire mining titan Rio Tinto’s Wyoming uranium assets for $175 million. 

The acquisition will increase UEC’s capacity by as much as 175 million pounds, almost doubling its current resources from existing satellite projects in Wyoming and Texas, bringing its all around resource holdings to about 275 million pounds annually.

It’s a bullish move and reflects a prevailing sentiment that domestic uranium is on the verge of a major renaissance, as the demand signal for nuclear energy takes off in tandem with federal incentives and a spate of geopolitical shakeups, including a ban on the import of uranium from Russia, hitherto the largest supplier of enriched fuel for U.S. reactors. 

If market conditions continue to improve, the company hopes to move as much as 7 million pounds of uranium concentrate annually by 2030, UEC Executive Vice President Scott Melbye told the Star-Tribune. 

The Rio Tinto acquisition could speed that timeline; it’s a strategic transaction and represents a rare opportunity to acquire mines already in development along with facilities already permitted, including a fully licensed processing plant in Sweetwater County, meaning UEC can flip on the production switch quickly. 

And quickly it may: Global leaders pledged at last year’s climate talks to triple nuclear energy. 

Companies like Microsoft, Google and PacifiCorp have all signed memorandums of understanding to purchase nuclear power from projects in development, including the Natrium reactor being built by TerraPower in Kemmerer and the restarting of older nuclear power stations at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and the Palisades plant in Michigan. 

The acquisition adds to UEC’s building momentum and comes shortly after the resumption of operations at the long-stagnant Christensen Ranch, a storied uranium mine in the Powder River Basin.  The mine was briefly mired in scandal following its controversial sale to the Russian state-owned nuclear company Rosatom — a decision that needed approval from then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 

That scandal was laid to rest when UEC bought out the Russian holdings for around $114 million in 2021 but held off on production until demand picked up this year. 

The company intends to begin shipping uranium from Christensen Ranch before the end of the year, and its newly acquired facility in Sweetwater County may not be far behind.