Energy Fuels (NYSE:UUUU) - Critical Minerals Hub Takes Shape in United States

Mar 3, 2025

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Interview with Mark Chalmers, President and CEO, Energy Fuels

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/energy-fuels-nyseuuuu-fixing-the-us-critical-mineral-shortage-6650

Recording date: 2nd of March, 2025

Energy Fuels is positioning itself as "three companies in one" by developing operations across uranium production, rare earth elements processing, and heavy mineral sands. CEO Mark Chalmers is leading the company's strategy to create a comprehensive critical minerals hub in the United States, addressing domestic supply chain security concerns.

The company maintains its primary identity as a uranium producer, with Chalmers bringing 49 years of industry experience. Despite having production capability, Energy Fuels chose not to sell uranium in Q4 due to spot prices ($65/lb) being below replacement value. The company has secured four long-term contracts with capacity to sell up to 300,000 pounds in 2025, and is ramping up production at sites including the Pinyon Plain mine, described as "the richest uranium project in the history of the United States."

A significant achievement has been the agreement with the Navajo Nation regarding ore transportation, characterized as a "win-win" situation that creates opportunities for future collaboration on cleanup efforts.

On the rare earth front, Energy Fuels has demonstrated production capabilities at its White Mesa Mill, producing on-spec neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide in just one week. The company built its processing plant for $20 million, compared to industry standards that would typically cost "hundreds of millions of dollars."

Energy Fuels is advancing three major projects toward Final Investment Decision (FID): the Toliara heavy mineral sands project in Madagascar (early 2026), the Donald project in Victoria (mid-2025), and Phase 2 expansion at White Mesa Mill (end of 2025). These projects represent significant growth potential but require substantial financing, which the company is actively pursuing.

Despite posting a $48 million loss, with approximately $10 million attributed to transaction costs from the Base Resources acquisition, Chalmers defends the company's spending as necessary to unlock the value of world-class assets that "we believe is worth billions."

The market dynamics appear favorable, with uranium term prices at $82+ versus $65 spot, reflecting utility concerns about future supply. Chalmers expressed skepticism about the industry's ability to meet growing nuclear fuel demand, predicting that price increases would be triggered by production disappointments from projects that fail to deliver.

Energy Fuels is positioning itself as a key player in U.S. critical minerals security, with Chalmers planning to engage the Trump administration about how the company could help address "50% of the United States' critical elements" needs for rare earths with projects that are "world scale" and "low cost."

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/energy-fuels