November 9, 2009
Uranium Equities Ltd has announced that global uranium giant Cameco Corporation has partnered with the company to provide significant funding for the ongoing development of its ground-breaking PhosEnergy process.
Under the agreement, Canada-based Cameco will contribute up to $US16.5 million (or $A18 million) and earn up to 70% of Uranium Equities’ stake in the technology in a staged investment.
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Newly appointed Managing Director of Uranium Equities Bryn Jones said the company is delighted to reveal Cameco as its PhosEnergy funding partner following negotiations that began in March, 2009.
“This is a major boost for the continued development and commercialisation of our potentially lucrative PhosEnergy process,” said Mr Jones.
“Significantly, our partnership with Cameco will enable us to secure a strong market position in the future production of uranium from phosphate streams on a worldwide basis.”
Globally, over 100 million metric tonnes of phosphate rock is processed into phosphoric acid annually. It is estimated that 20 million pounds of recoverable uranium – the equivalent of approximately $US1 billion in potential revenue – is contained in these streams. Currently, this uranium is not being recovered, leaving a large dormant resource waiting to be exploited. The PhosEnergy process has been developed to recover this uranium from existing phosphoric acid facilities as a bolt-on addition to the process.
Uranium Equities has developed the PhosEnergy process at an overseas location with a leading producer of phosphate fertilisers and phosphoric acid in conjunction with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.
Presently agreements have been reached with two phosphate fertiliser producers to carry out laboratory test work to establish the commercial applicability of the PhosEnergy process at their operations. Negotiations with a further two phosphate fertiliser producers for preliminary screening tests are also well advanced.
Following extensive laboratory-scale test work culminating in the successful operation of a pilot plant, the PhosEnergy process will now be fast-tracked in light of Uranium Equities’ agreement with Cameco.
“The primary focus of our PhosEnergy technology is to improve the economics of uranium extraction from phosphoric acid and unlock this vast, untapped uranium resource,” said Mr Jones.
“We’re excited to join forces with Cameco and look forward to drawing on their process engineering, marketing and business development expertise in the uranium industry.”
About Cameco
Cameco is one of the world’s largest uranium producers, accounting for 15% of global production from its mines in Canada and the US, and one of the world’s largest suppliers of conversion services. The company’s uranium products are used to generate electricity in nuclear power plants around the world, providing one of the cleanest sources of energy available today.
About the PhosEnergy process
Uranium Equities Ltd, through US-registered Urtek LLC, has undertaken the development of new technology for the extraction of uranium from phosphoric acid streams produced in the production of phosphate-based fertilisers.
Development of the PhosEnergy process has progressed beyond the pilot plant stage at a major US-based phosphoric acid facility, which has confirmed the effectiveness of the process.
Estimates based on operational results from the pilot plant indicate that the PhosEnergy process is capable of producing uranium at operating costs as low as $US25-30/lb with over 90% uranium recovery.
