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United States

Juniper Ridge Project

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StagePreliminary Economic Assessment
Commodities
  • Uranium
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Juniper Ridge project in Carbon County, Wyoming, consists of approximately 640 surface acres and 3,240 net mineral acres of unpatented lode mining claims and a State of Wyoming mineral lease and is located within a brownfield site which has experienced extensive exploration, development, and mine production.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
enCore Energy Corp. 100 % Indirect
January 4, 2022 - enCore Energy Corp. and Azarga Uranium Corp. are pleased to announce the closing of the previously announced plan of arrangement whereby enCore has acquired all of the outstanding shares of Azarga Uranium.

Deposit type

  • Sandstone hosted

Summary:

Uranium mineralization in the Browns Park Formation within the Project and surrounding area is described as Wyoming sandstone roll type mineralization (Austin and D’Andrea, 1978).

While local mineralization displays some of the characteristics of known uranium deposits in the Gas Hills and Southern Powder River Basin of Wyoming, the mineralization is not necessarily typical of Wyoming roll-front deposits. The uranium mineralization within the Project is sandstone hosted and was deposited along a geochemical solution front, as is typical of roll-front mineralization and similar to other Wyoming sandstone hosted uranium deposits. The features which distinguish mineralization within the Browns Park Formation harken to its eolian origin and include the absence of carbonaceous trash and lack of stratigraphic controls, i.e., the lack of distinct vertical variations in grain size and the lack of intervening finer grained units (Rackley, 1972).

The source of uranium is described as syngenetic, alteration of the tuffaceous volcanic materials within the Browns Park Formation and/or the immediately overlying North Park Formation liberated uranium which was transported by ground water and concentrated along oxidation/reduction interfaces within the formation (Dribus and Nanna, 1982).

The localization of uranium appears to relate to local variations in permeability and the presence of pyrite and/or hydrogen sulphide. Uranium mineralization, in general, appears to be of the rollfront type mineralization common to the uranium basins in Wyoming, cutting across sedimentary structures (Pincock, Allen, & Holt, 1986).

Uranium mineralization occurs within an eolian stratigraphic unit of the Miocene Browns Park Formation. The host unit consists of tuffaceous, feldspathic sandstone which exhibits small to large scale festoon and planar cross-bed sets ranging up to several feet in thickness. Generally, uranium mineralization is the roll-front type mineralization, common to the uranium basins in Wyoming. Localization of uranium appears to relate to permeability and the presence of pyrite or hydrogen sulphide (Pincock, Allen, & Holt, 1986). The depth of mineralization averages slightly over 100 feet, but ranges from near surface to a maximum of 292.5 feet depending on location within the basin and local topography. Two general areas of mineralization occur within the Project, separated by less than two miles, which are herein referred to as Juniper Ridge East and Juniper Ridge West.

The deposit is relatively flat lying with formation dip less than 5o . The dip of the formation is highest at the margins of the basin and flatter near the center of the basin. The average thickness of mineralization above a 0.02% eU3O8 cutoff grade is slightly in excess of 10 feet.

More than 80% on the known mineralization occurs within the Juniper Ridge East portion of the Project.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
U3O8 M lbs 0.44.4
All production numbers are expressed as yellow cake.

Operational metrics

Metrics
Annual ore mining capacity 400 k tons *
Waste tonnes, LOM 36,572,000 bcy *
Ore tonnes mined, LOM 4,003 k tons *
Tonnes milled, LOM 4,003 k tons *
* According to 2017 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
Total cash costs Uranium (U3O8) USD 39.8 / lb *  
Assumed price Uranium (U3O8) USD 65 / lb *  
* According to 2017 study / presentation.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Total CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
OP OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Processing OpEx $M USD 74.7
Total OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Gross revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 5% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 10% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 5% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 10% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 21, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 21, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jun 9, 2017

Total WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2017

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