CARBON COUNTY – While a number of projects are taking shape west of Green River and Rock Springs, a buildout project was announced Wednesday to the east of Sweetwater County.
Ur-Energy announced plans to expand its Shirley Basin mine Wednesday morning, citing an expectation of uranium demand increasing and an increasing price and sales contract book for the ore. The company believes this is due to more nations looking to nuclear power to increase clean energy offerings.
Ur-Energy also operates the Lost Creek facility near Bairoil in Sweetwater County.
“The decision to build out our Shirley Basin Project is a major milestone for our company as it will nearly double our annual permitted mine production capacity to 2.2 million pounds while diversifying our supply. The build out will also solidify our position as the dominant producer in the Great Divide Basin and Shirley Basin Districts of Wyoming. We look forward to bringing in situ mining technology back to its birthplace in Shirley Basin where it was pioneered beginning in 1963. The Shirley Basin Uranium District has a long, proud history and we are excited to bring the jobs back while responsibly operating,” John Cash, the Ur-Energy’s CEO and chairman of the board, said.
According to the company, a satellite plant will be designed that can produce up to 1 million pounds of triuranium octoxide a year. Triuranium octoxide is a form of yellow cake uranium that is sold and later refined to be used as nuclear fuel.
The company expects the timeline to complete designs and construct the plant and initial wellfield to be about 24 months.
