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“mining companies–many of them foreign-owned–have taken over $300 billion worth of valuable metals from public lands without paying a nickel in royalties to the American people.” http://democrats-naturalresources.house.gov/subcommittees/energy-and-mineral-resources
BLM Att L Daneros uranium mine site
Site of Daneros Uranium Mine Expansion

Click to access Att_L_-_Biological_Survey_Information.pdf

If this were happening in any other country, do-good NGOs would be having fits that the country was being robbed of its gold, copper, and uranium. But, if it’s Canada, the UK, etc., robbing what was American Indian lands until a little over 100 years ago and then US Public Lands and Mineral Resources, it apparently doesn’t bother hardly anyone. The Haiti mining law was 1/3rd landowner, 1/3rd government, and 1/3rd mining company, which is why so many wanted to get shot of that mining law, pretending it was bad. Much of Haiti’s land is government owned, as is much of the land in the western USA. So, most, or all, of its gold appears to have disappeared under the Duvalier’s, and some later corrupt governments. Haitian leaders apparently kept the government=landowner 2/3rds or used it to pay off debt. The US government owns even more mineral rights out west than land, but they are getting no royalties. And, they are in debt. It’s supposed to be for American citizens only, but somehow because the foreign mining companies have US subsidiaries they are able to count as American citizens!

There are two comment deadline for two different EnergyFuel Mines.
For how to comment on the Daneros Mine Expansion by Monday afternoon:
https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/attempt-by-canadian-miner-to-expand-uranium-mine-on-us-public-land-near-natural-bridges-national-monument-comment-deadline-monday-1st-august/
https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/expanding-energyfuels-uranium-mine-impact-by-41-8-acres-is-unnecessary-degradation-of-us-public-lands-health-environmental-hazard-comment-to-blm-deadline-monday/

Regarding the Canyon Mine, near the Grand Canyon, there is an August 30th Deadline, with hearings at the end of August: “Renewal & Revision to Air Quality Control Permits issued to Energy Fuels Resources Permit #s 62877,62878 and 63895“, public hearings and comments: http://www.azdeq.gov/PN/EnergyFuelsResources

“Mining of gold, silver, copper, and other metals on public lands is still governed by the Mining Law of 1872, an antiquated statute that was designed to encourage the settlement of the American West. Since that law was passed, mining companies–many of them foreign-owned–have taken over $300 billion worth of valuable metals from public lands without paying a nickel in royalties to the American people. Natural Resources Committee Democrats have introduced legislation to modernize hardrock mining in America by requiring companies to pay a royalty on public minerals they mine, strengthening environmental and reclamation standards, protecting special places such as roadless areas and wild and scenic rivers from mining, and devoting resources to cleaning up our long legacy of abandoned mine lands.” http://democrats-naturalresources.house.gov/subcommittees/energy-and-mineral-resources It’s still not enough, however: https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2015/11/06/us-hardrock-mining-and-reclamation-act-of-2015-still-patently-unfair/

Energy Fuel’s largest customer is in South Korea, apparently state-owned KEPCO, which acquired 36% of the uranium. However, if KEPCO is still a major stock-owner did they really pay for this? Or, did they pay some and were given more? Did this go to another Korean utility and KEPCO’s amount isn’t showing? Since KEPCO is building, and apparently to operate, a nuclear power station for the United Arab Emirates, eventually the uranium could end up in that reactor, and even in UAE nuclear weapons. The uranium which is reported as being sold in the US won’t necessarily stay there, either.

As reported (Dec. 31, 2015) to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Energy Fuels “has four major customers to which its sales for the year were as follows: $20.98 million; $16.31 million; $12.53 million; $9.00 million (2014 – $20.66 million; $8.57 million; $16.53 million); (2013 – $26.94 million; $10.41 million; $26.40 million). The Company’s revenues by country of customer for the current year were as follows: $37.85 million – U.S.; $20.98 million – South Korea; Other – $1.87 million (2014 -$25.59 million – U.S.; $20.66 million – South Korea) (2013 – $46.31 million – U.S.; $26.94 million – South Korea).” “FORM 10-K [X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1385849/000106299316008353/form10k.htm Thus, the total sales for 2015 was reported as $58.82 million, of which $20.98 million was to S. Korea – the same amount as their largest customer. KEPCO keeps a member on the board of directors:
“On December 17, 2013, Energy Fuels announced that it had entered into a Strategic Relationship Agreement (“SRA”) with Korea Electric Power Corporation (“KEPCO”). KEPCO is the largest electric utility in South Korea, responsible for 93% of South Korea’s electricity generation and the development of nuclear projects worldwide. The key objectives of the SRA are to establish a long-term and strategic collaborative relationship and to promote the development of each company’s businesses. The SRA addresses a number of areas of interest for both Energy Fuels and KEPCO, including the development of Energy Fuels’ Wyoming projects, KEPCO’s seat on the board of directors of Energy Fuels, visitation and secondment rights, and future qualified bidding by Energy Fuels on uranium concentrate supply contracts for KEPCO and its affiliates.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1385849/000106299314001698/exhibit99-1.htm

If the uranium is made into fuel completely within the US, after milling, uranium conversion is done in Metropolis Illinois by Honeywell; enrichment is in New Mexico by URENCO, owned by the Dutch and UK governments along with German utilities E.ON. and RWE. Nuclear Fuel fabrication within the US is by French State owned Areva; Toshiba owned Westinghouse; GE-Hitachi; and B&W. Areva has exported nuclear fuel rods from the US to Japan, so the uranium could end up anywhere.

D_3516 PREHISTORIC GRANARIES ABOVE NANKOWEAP IN MARBLE CANYON, GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK. MARK LELLOUCH, NPS
D_3516 PREHISTORIC GRANARIES ABOVE NANKOWEAP IN MARBLE CANYON, GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK. MARK LELLOUCH, NPS

Most, and perhaps all, of Energy Fuel’s projects are on US Public Lands or US Public Mineral Rights. Of course, it wasn’t very long ago, at all, that it was American Indian Lands. Energy Fuels is being sued regarding the White Mesa Uranium Mill over health; safey; and environmental issues (e.g. radon emissions). Several groups – Center for Biological Diversity, the Grand Canyon Trust, the Sierra Club and the Havasupai Tribe are challenging the legality of the Canyon Mine permitting process, as discussed further below. If you care about this, please give to them to help them continue with this and other legal challenges.

Names of some of the uranium mines-prospects held by Energy Fuels. They have just bought some in the Texas, too.
Energy Fuels Mining Districts minus Texas
Based on information submitted to the US SEC.gov:
Energy Fuel’s main conventional uranium mine properties include the following:
the White Mesa Mill near Blanding, Utah thru Company’s subsidiary EFR White Mesa LLC; uranium properties in north central Arizona, including the Canyon Project, which is a [not yet] fully-permitted uranium project with all surface facilities in place and shaft-sinking underway; the Wate uranium project in the permitting stage; the Arizona 1 project, “a fully-permitted uranium project on standby“; Pinenut Uranium mine (depleted in reclamation); and the EZ properties, uranium deposits in the exploration and evaluation stage. The north central Arizona properties (“Arizona Strip”) are held by the Company’s subsidiary EFR Arizona Strip LLC, except the Wate Project, held by EF subsidiary Wate Mining Company LLC; a 60% interest in the Roca Honda uranium project near Grants, New Mexico, held by EF subsidiaries Strathmore Resources (US), Ltd., and Roca Honda Resources LLC. EF signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire the other 40% interest in the Roca Honda Project from a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation; the Sheep Mountain Project, near Jeffrey City, Wyoming, including open pit and underground uranium components in “an advanced stage of permitting“, held by subsidiary Energy Fuels Wyoming Inc.; the Henry Mountains complex of uranium projects in south central Utah near Ticaboo, made up of the Tony M property and the Bullfrog property, which are held by subsidiary EFR Henry Mountains LLC.; the La Sal uranium and uranium/vanadium projects; the Whirlwind uranium/vanadium project; the Sage Plain uranium/vanadium project, near the Colorado/Utah border (the “Colorado Plateau”). Exploration properties, are held by subsidiary EFR Colorado Plateau LLC.; the Daneros uranium project in the White Canyon district of southeastern Utah, held by subsidiary EFR White Canyon Corp. Additional uranium properties, which Energy Fuels “is evaluating for sale or abandonment, which are held in various of the Company’s subsidiaries“.

Energy Fuels acquired the Nichols Ranch In Situ Leach (ISL) Uranium project in northeast Wyoming in June 2015 which it got via acquisition of Uranerz Energy Corporation. It includes an ISL uranium processing facility, ISL wellfields, which are licensed and operating, plus proposed ISL locations currently a) “Jane Dough Property”, and b) the “Hank Project”. Via Uranerz, Energy Fuels acquired the Reno Creek property, West North Butte property, and the North Rolling Pin property, as well as the Arkose Mining Venture, a joint venture held 81% by Energy Fuels.

“The Nichols Ranch Plant creates a yellowcake slurry that is transported by truck to the White Mesa Mill, where it is dried and packaged into drums that are shipped to uranium conversion facilities.”

On March 4, 2016 Energy Fuels agreed to acquire Mesteña Uranium LLC, which includes additional In Situ Leach properties located in Brooks and Jim Hogg Counties, Texas.
Info on Nichols Ranch from BLM here: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/bfo/nichols-ranch.html

Energy Fuels owns the White Mesa Mill [originally constructed by northern Swiss nuclear utilities, including today’s Axpo, which may or may not get royalties still.] It is the only operating conventional uranium mill in the United States. The mill also can and has processed “alternate feed materials“, for the recovery of uranium, alone or in combination with other metals. “From 2007 through 2014 … the White Mesa Mill recovered on average over 1 million pounds of U3O8 per year from conventional sources, including its La Sal Project, Daneros Project, and Tony M property in Utah; its Arizona 1 and Pinenut Projects in Arizona; and alternate feed materials. During 2015, the Mill recovered a total of 296,000 lbs. of U3O8, of which 25,000 pounds were recovered from conventional materials and the remainder from processing alternate feed materials (including 72,000 pounds for the account of a third party). Between campaigns, the Mill is maintained on standby status, ready to resume mineral processing activities, as market conditions warrant.”

The Pinenut Uranium Mine is depleted. Around “43,000 tons of mineralized material extracted from the Pinenut Project is currently stockpiled at the White Mesa Mill.” [waste rock or uranium ore?] “The Company is also continuing to receive and stockpile alternate feed materials at the White Mesa Mill for a future mineral processing campaign. At the Company’s permitted Canyon Project [near the Grand Canyon, which lacks an air permit PUBLIC NOTICE | Renewal & Revision to Air Quality Control Permits issued to Energy Fuels Resources Permit #s 62877,62878 and 63895
http://www.azdeq.gov/PN/EnergyFuelsResources ] , “shaft-sinking activities are currently taking place.” [WITHOUT AIR PERMIT!] “The Company expects to complete an underground drilling program at the Canyon Project during 2016…. All of the Company’s other conventional properties and projects are currently in the permitting process or on standby pending improvements in market conditions. No third party conventional properties are active at this time.” Energy Fuels also owns the Sheep Mountain Project a conventional uranium mining project in Wyoming “in an advanced stage of permitting. Due to its distance from the White Mesa Mill, the Sheep Mountain Project is not expected to be a source of feed material for the Mill. The Sheep Mountain Project consists of open pit and underground extraction components… and a planned processing facility to process extracted mineralized material“.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1385849/000106299316008353/form10k.htm (If you need this for other than general information, please return to the original document, as always.)

The South Korean government (directly and indirectly) owns a 51.11% share of KEPCO. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_Electric_Power_Corporation

As reported (Dec. 31, 2015) by Energy Fuels to the US Securities and Exchange Commission:
“ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
[…]
White Mesa Mill

In November 2012, the Company was served with a Plaintiff’s Original Petition and Jury Demand in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, claiming unspecified damages from the disease and injuries resulting from mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos, which the Plaintiff claims was contributed to by being exposed to asbestos products and dust while working at the White Mesa Mill… In January, 2013, the Company filed a Special Appearance challenging jurisdiction and certain other procedural matters relating to this claim. No other activity involving the Company on this matter has occurred since that date.

In January, 2013, the Ute Mountain Ute tribe filed a Petition to Intervene and Request for Agency Action challenging the Corrective Action Plan approved by the State of Utah Department of Environmental Quality (“UDEQ”) relating to nitrate contamination in the shallow aquifer at the White Mesa Mill site. This challenge is currently being evaluated, and may involve the appointment of an administrative law judge to hear the matter… the scope and costs of remediation under a revised or replacement Corrective Action Plan have not yet been determined and could be significant.

In April 2014, the Grand Canyon Trust filed a citizen suit in federal district court for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at the White Mesa Mill. In October 2014, the plaintiffs were granted leave by the court to add further purported violations to their April 2014 suit. The Complaint, as amended, alleges that radon from one of the Mill’s tailings impoundments exceeded the standard; that the mill is in violation of a requirement that only two tailings impoundments may be in operation at any one time; and that certain other violations related to the manner of measuring and reporting radon results from one of the tailings impoundments occurred in 2013. The Complaint asks the court to impose injunctive relief, civil penalties of up to $37,500 per day per violation, costs of litigation including attorneys’ fees, and other relief. The Company believes the issues raised in the Complaint are being addressed through the proper regulatory channels and that we are currently in compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements relating to those matters. The Company intends to defend against all issues raised in the Complaint. The parties are currently briefing motions for summary judgement relating to this litigation.

Canyon Project

In March, 2013, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Grand Canyon Trust, the Sierra Club and the Havasupai Tribe (the “Canyon Plaintiffs”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona (the “District Court”) against the Forest Supervisor for the Kaibab National Forest and the USFS seeking an order (a) declaring that the USFS failed to comply with environmental, mining, public land, and historic preservation laws in relation to our Canyon Project, (b) setting aside any approvals regarding exploration and mining operations at the Canyon Project, and (c) directing operations to cease at the Canyon Project and enjoining the USFS from allowing any further exploration or mining-related activities at the Canyon Project until the USFS fully complies with all applicable laws. In April 2013, the Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, which was denied by the District Court in September, 2013. On April 7, 2015, the District Court issued its final ruling on the merits in favor of the Defendants and the Company and against the Canyon Plaintiffs on all counts. The Canyon Plaintiffs appealed the District Court’s ruling on the merits to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and filed motions for an injunction pending appeal with the District Court. Those motions for an injunction pending appeal were denied by the District Court on May 26, 2015. Thereafter, Plaintiffs filed urgent motions for an injunction pending appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which were denied on June 30, 2015. Briefing on the appeal on the merits is now complete, and the parties are waiting for a hearing to be scheduled. If the Canyon Plaintiffs are successful on their appeal on the merits, the Company may be required to maintain the Canyon Project on standby pending resolution of the matter. Such a required prolonged stoppage of shaft sinking and mining activities could have a significant impact on our future operations.” p. 102 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1385849/000106299316008353/form10k.htm

From the USGS on Nuclear Power and Uranium Mining in Korea and KEPCO exports to UAE and Turkey:
“Nuclear Energy.—in December 2009, the Republic of Korea won a landmark deal to build and operate four nuclear reactors for the united arab emirates (uae), thus beating more-favored u.S. and french rivals to one of the Middle east’s biggest ever energy contracts. The first nuclear plant in the Persian Gulf region was scheduled to start supplying power to the uae grid in 2017. led by state-owned Kepco, the Republic of Korea planned to complete the uae’s four 1,400-megawatt (MW) reactors by 2020. Kepco also expected to export two nuclear power reactors to Turkey, which would be built in the Black Sea region (Bakr and Cho Mee-young, 2009). Uranium.—australian exploration company Stonehenge Metals ltd. acquired Korean company chong Ma Mines inc., which held 56% of the title in the Daejon, the Gwesan, and the Miwon uranium projects and expected to acquire the remaining 44% by July 2011. The company also expected to acquire the option to explore the pyeonghae property. Together, the mine sites contained a known 25,000 t of uranium oxide (U3o8). Stonehenge’s intention was to explore for uranium, but the company’s chong Ma Mines were also thought to have the potential for deposits of molybdenum and vanadium (australia’s Paydirt, 2010; Stonehenge Metals Ltd., 2010, Mining Weekly. com, 2010).

Outlook

With Kepco’s acquisition of contracts to build and operate the uae’s nuclear powerplants and Stonehenge Metals ltd. acquisition of the rights to four uranium projects in the Republic of Korea, the country’s mining and energy industries are entering a new era of production. KoGaS is expected to remain the world’s leading lNG buyer, and Korean companies are expected to be broadly involved in the international businesses. The Government will continue to implement its worldwide energy diplomacy and strategic mineral stockpile program to further secure needed resource supplies. in the near future, the Government is expected to focus on both the domestic and foreign construction markets to cope with the global economic recession. The 30 leading business conglomerates in the Republic of Korea planned to invest $77.6 billion in 2010 to boost the country’s growth, and the Ministry of land, Transportation and Maritime affairs sent a delegation to latin america to solicit construction projects. The central Bank of Korea predicted that the economy would grow by 4.6% in 2010 compared with 0.2% in 2009 (Korea.net, 2009; UPI Asia.com, 2010).” http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2009/myb3-2009-ks.pdf

US government loan to UAE for South Korea KEPCO (and Japan’s Toshiba) to build the UAE a nuclear power station: “Barakah One Company plans to erect four nuclear reactor power-generating units on a coastal strip along the Arabian Gulf approximately 220 kilometers from the city of Abu Dhabi, a site chosen in light of seismic, socio-economic, and environmental factors. The reactors, supplied by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and based on the state-of-the-art APR 1400 design, will come online at one-year intervals effective 2017 and yield an aggregate capacity of 5,600 megawatts gross electricity.

[Toshiba owned] Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based group company of Toshiba Corporation, is the largest exporter involved in the transaction and will provide the reactor coolant pumps, reactor components, controls, engineering services, and training.” http://web.archive.org/web/20150811034547/http://www.exim.gov/news/ex-im-approves-2-billion-financing-for-nuclear-power-plant-uae