Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSEMKT: UEC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company's Burke Hollow in-situ recovery ("ISR") project in South Texas has been issued the Final Mine Area Permit by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ("TCEQ"). Burke Hollow is the third project to be developed as part of the Company's hub-and-spoke strategy that is designed for low-cost ISR mining operations.
Amir Adnani, President & CEO, stated: "We are very pleased with the progress made at Burke Hollow over the past four years. The issuance of the Final Mine Area Permit represents a culmination of successful drill campaigns and permitting activities that have coalesced into a major accomplishment for the UEC team. Our South Texas portfolio of low cost ISR projects remains our cornerstone asset, and the addition of Burke Hollow to our permitted Palangana and Goliad projects gives the Company a strong foundation on which to establish UEC as a leading uranium producer in the years to come."
The Mine Area Permit authorizes over 11,000 acres for mining multiple production sands within two large confirmed production areas discovered to date. TCEQ has earlier issued two final Class 1 disposal well permits for the Burke Hollow project. Concurrently, the Radioactive Material License is in technical review and the Aquifer Exemption request has already been submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"). The receipt of these permits, in addition to the already approved disposal well and mine permits, would allow for production development to commence at Burke Hollow, one of the Company's largest ISR projects.
The Company began exploration drilling at the Burke Hollow project in 2012, and discovered three mineralized trends later the same year. Subsequently, the project has been expanded to its current size of almost 20,000 acres. To date, uranium mineralization has been discovered in two distinct and separate trend areas of the property, resulting in an inferred mineral resource of 5.12 million pounds of uranium ("U3O8") grading 0.09% U3O8*. The mineral resource estimate is based on a total of 246,400 feet of drilling in 526 holes completed since mid-2012. Only approximately 50% of the project acreage has been explored to date. The project is located approximately 45 miles from the Company's Hobson Processing Plant.
During fiscal 2016, a drilling campaign was conducted to extend the first area scheduled for production at Burke Hollow. Thirty-two wide-spaced exploration holes were completed for a total of 17,020 feet. The primary objective of these holes was to bracket the projected mineralized trend extending from the resource area. Detailed delineation of the bracketed trend and further trend extension drilling will occur in the next drilling campaign. Drilling results from these 32 holes have extended the mineralized trend from 1.7 miles to approximately 3.7 miles, with several miles of additional potential open trend remaining.
The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and was reviewed by Clyde L. Yancey, P.G., Vice President-Exploration for the Company, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
About Uranium Energy Corp
Uranium Energy Corp is a U.S.-based uranium mining and exploration company. The Company's fully-licensed Hobson processing facility is central to all of its projects in South Texas, including the Palangana ISR mine, the permitted Goliad ISR project and the development-stage Burke Hollow ISR project. Additionally, the Company controls a pipeline of advanced-stage projects in Arizona, Colorado and Paraguay. The Company's operations are managed by professionals with a recognized profile for excellence in their industry, a profile based on many decades of hands-on experience in the key facets of uranium exploration, development and mining.
Source: Uranium Energy
