This Energy Company’s Plans to Improve its Market Position

Back in August, Stockhouse Editorial sat down with Corey Dias – Chief Executive Officer of uranium and vanadium development company Anfield Energy Inc. (AEC) (TSX-V.AEC, OTCQB: ANLDF, Forum) – to talk about Anfield’s unique story, its acquisition of the Charlie Uranium Project in Wyoming, and where the global uranium market is now and what the green energy future might look like.

Globally ranked 6th and 29th, respectively, in the Fraser Institute’s 2019 Investment Attractiveness Index, Wyoming is among the largest uranium in-situ recovery (ISR) producing regions in the world.

Recently listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, AEC is pursuing near-term uranium and vanadium production and is positioning itself to become one of the world’s top-tier energy-related fuel suppliers. In addition to the aforementioned Charlie Uranium Project, the Company also has uranium assets, including mining claims and state leases, in Colorado and Arizona.

Stockhouse Editorial caught up with the CEO once more to get a detailed corporate update on Anfield Energy.

SH: Thank you for joining us again Corey. To start off, can you update our investor audience and your AEC shareholders on any new company developments, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic?

CD: Thanks Stockhouse. The COVID pandemic has allowed us to spend significant time studying and prioritizing our property portfolio to determine our best path forward.

SH: As a follow up question, how has Anfield advanced its plans to improve its market position?

CD: Based on the Company’s desire to reach production in the relative near term, Anfield has identified its most-prospective uranium asset – Charlie – and believes that this will be the project which will have an important impact in the upcoming uranium cycle. To that end, Anfield is pursuing the pre-production plans laid out in its PEA for Charlie.

SH: And it would be remiss of me not to get your take on how uranium exploration and mining could be affected by the recent U.S. election?

CD: We believe that uranium mining will not be significantly impacted by a change in the Administration, especially given that the Democrats have bought into the necessity of nuclear as a part of a green and clean energy future in the U.S.

SH: Do you think this will have any effect on the U.S. Government’s April 2020 plan to create a strategic uranium reserveto “strengthen and restore uranium mining and the viability of the nuclear fuel cycle to assure U.S. National Security?”

CD: While I believe that it will not have an impact on the actual creation of the Uranium Reserve itself, I do feel that there is a risk that the timing of its commencement (and funding) may be delayed as there are clearly other priorities for the Biden Administration to address once in office.

SH: You’ve been quoted as saying, “It has been a challenging year in the uranium sector for mining companies…However, we have moved forward on several fronts.” What have those challenges been and what are you accomplishing to encourage continued investment in AEC?

CD: The uncertainty in the uranium market, partly driven by the operational slowdowns of both Cameco and Kazatomprom, along with the lack of funding for the Uranium Reserve ahead of the US presidential election, have resulted in many companies waiting for further market clarity before advancing their projects. For us, in the interim, we have been prioritizing and ranking the projects within our portfolio to determine which we feel will have an impact in the upcoming uranium cycle, and which ones are likely future-cycle assets. This has allowed us to focus on the most relevant opportunities. In addition, we have opened the door to an expansion of our portfolio to included non-uranium assets which have a similar production profile of our current-cycle assets, as we believe that this will facilitate our ultimate pursuit of near-term cash flow generation.

SH: Your recent preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of the Charlie Project is projected to “provide an attractive near-term opportunity for the company and its shareholders.” Can you explain to our investor audience the reasons why?

CD: Sure. The PEA reflects a very low pre-production capex of US$6.7 million for Charlie. This is as a result of location, i.e., it sits between two recently-mined uranium projects so there is infrastructure in place, and processing access, i.e., Anfield has an agreement in place to use Uranium One’s processing facilities. This combination places Charlie in the top quartile of projects with an accelerated path to production, in my view.

SH: A recent report from industry giant Cameco Corporation (TSE: CCO) detailed how, “Low uranium prices, government-driven trade policies, and, more recently, the outbreak of COVID-19 are having an impact on the security of supply in our industry.” Can you comment on the quote and what are some of the positives that can be gleaned from this moving forward?

CD: Cameco tends to serve as the bellwether to the uranium industry and, as such, plays an important role as to expectations. The fact that Kazatomprom’s operations were deeply affected by COVID means that one of the largest uranium producers in the world could have been forced to disrupt its supply chain, with a knock-on effect throughout the world, including the US. With the shutdown of other uranium mines, either due to low prices or COVID, we do believe that supply is dwindling further, while demand grows stronger. The current supply-demand imbalance is unsustainable, which means that uranium prices are likely to move up as more parties worldwide fight over limited – and dwindling - supply.

SH: As the New Green Energy revolution continues to gain momentum, how has Anfield Energy positioned itself to become a global leader in this massively expanding sector?

CD: Anfield has positioned itself as a potential producer to help meet the demand of the upcoming uranium cycle. We believe that nuclear must be part of any green energy mandate, and are confident that the US will take an ever-increasing leadership role in that regard as it has now signalled its desire to both promote to and share its nuclear technology with the global market.

SH: Thanks again, Corey, for taking the time to speak with us today at Stockhouse. Is there anything further to you would like to add?

Anfield remains a strong advocate for uranium and clean power. Its asset mix reflects an opportunity to benefit from the upcoming uranium cycle. In addition, the Company believes that the pursuit of cash flow generation is a critical part of its mandate, and so sees this pursuit as complementary to its uranium position.

For more information, please visit anfieldenergy.com


FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.