NewsUranerz ISR Mining License Application Accepted for Detailed Review by Nuclear Regulatory Commission
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Apr 23, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network) --
Uranerz Energy Corporation ("Uranerz" or the "Company") (TSX: URZ)(AMEX: URZ)(FRANKFURT: U9E) is pleased to announce that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ("NRC") has deemed the Company's application to build and operate an in-situ recovery ("ISR") uranium mining facility acceptable to advance to the next stage of the NRC's formal review process. This NRC acceptance marks a significant advancement of the Company's application for a Source Material License, which will now progress to the phase of undergoing a detailed technical and environmental review. A copy of the NRC staff acceptance letter to the Company dated April 14, 2008 will be available electronically in the NRC Public Document Room on their website at https://www.nrc.gov.
In December 2007, the Company submitted its application for a Source Material License to the NRC to build and operate the Nichols Ranch ISR Project, consisting of its Nichols Ranch and Hank properties located in the central Powder River Basin of Wyoming, U.S.A. When licensed and constructed, the Nichols Ranch ISR Project will consist of a main processing facility at the Nichols Ranch property and a satellite facility at the Hank property. The ultimate production level from these two properties is planned to be in the range of 600,000 to 750,000 pounds per year (as U308). Nichols Ranch will host the main processing facility, complete with drying and packaging circuits for finished yellowcake product, and will also service the Company's planned future satellite plants in the Powder River Basin where the Company owns or controls approximately 179 square miles of mineral rights, including its interest in the Arkose property. The Arkose property has an exploration target of approximately 105 miles of uranium mineralized alteration-reduction fronts with the potential to contain, in aggregate, from 41 million to 79 million pounds of U308 at a potential grade ranging from 0.059% to 0.114%(ii), as set out in the Company's recent National Instrument 43-101 technical report dated February 27, 2008 available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
To accommodate future expansion on its other Powder River Basin properties, the Company's Source Material License application provides for a licensed capacity at the Nichols Ranch processing facility of two million pounds per year (as U308). Commencement of operations at the Nichols Ranch ISR Project is dependent on receipt of required regulatory approvals, but is currently projected for late 2010 or 2011.
The Company intends to continue its permitting activities and is currently selecting the next of its Powder River Basin properties that will be the subject of future permit applications.
About Uranerz and the Arkose Mining Venture
Uranerz Energy Corporation is a pure-play uranium company listed on the American Stock Exchange ("AMEX") and the