Global Uranium Corp., a tiny exploration company with mining operations in Canada, has become the latest entrant to expand to Wyoming to take advantage of a uranium mining boom unseen in the state for decades.
Several uranium exploration and production companies have expanded their operations in Wyoming since the United States began cutting ties with Russia as a supplier for the enriched fuel.
The fuel is needed for the nation’s growing appetite for newly developed nuclear reactors as well as fleet of 94 commercial reactors already producing power for the nation’s electrical grid.
The U.S. officially banned Russian uranium imports in May ending the chokehold that country had on the uranium supply chain. The move was prompted by Russian’s invasion of Ukraine and nervousness over U.S. dependency on Russian uranium as a vital ingredient for powering nuclear plants.
The Vancouver-based Global Uranium said that it is buying 5,040 acres in three historic uranium mining regions of Wyoming.
Global Uranium CEO John Kim described the deal as "a significant milestone” to unlock “tremendous potential” for the acquisitive company looking for targets to buy in North America.
Global Uranium plans to buy the land rights from veteran geologist and mining executive Foster Wilson by mid-August.
Uranium Sweet Spot
Wilson has a long resume with Canadian-based mining companies.
He is a former mining executive with the old Placer Dome Inc., which was acquired by Barrick Gold Corp. in 2006; Echo Bay Mines Ltd., which was bought by Kinross Gold Corp. nearly 20 years ago, and American Bonanza Gold Corp.
Foster, who also is a director of Global Uranium, serves as president of Mesa Exploration Corp. and is on the boards of Canadian-based mining companies Alpha Lithium Corp. and Resolve Ventures Inc.
Under the deals, Global Uranium will get 2.330 acres in Gas Hills, 1,800 acres in the Great Divide Basin and 800 acres in Copper Mountain.
Gas Hills is located in a uranium mining region located about 45 miles east of Lander, Wyoming, which has an estimated 50 million pounds of recoverable uranium.
The Great Divide Basin is located southwest of historic uranium mining town Jeffrey City in the Red Desert and northwest of Wamsutter, Wyoming.
Copper Mountain is located 50 miles northwest of Black Mountain in Fremont County, Wyoming, and within the Owl Creek Mountains on the northern side of the Wind River Basin and about 12 miles northeast of the town of Shoshoni.
Global Uranium will be joining others digging for uranium in the so-called Gas Hills uranium district, including Texas-based enCore Energy Corp. and Ur-Energy Inc.
Other tiny Canadian-based uranium exploration players entering the Copper Mountain area in recent months include Myriad Uranium Corp., which has mining projects in Niger, and Rush Rare Metals Corp.
Rush has agreed to sell a majority position in its 2,000 acres of uranium properties in Copper Mountain to Myriad.
Colorado-based Energy Fuels Inc. is preparing to ramp up its Nichols Ranch uranium mine near Kaycee, Wyoming.
Energy Fuels, which has other uranium mines located throughout the Cowboy State and elsewhere, could produce up to 2 million pounds of uranium per year.
The company also has benefited from an effort led by the federal government to produce uranium for a $75 million strategic reserve in case it needs to be tapped in an emergency.
Energy Fuels has several uranium projects in various stages of development scattered throughout the Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming. If all were in production, the company said it could produce up to 5 million pounds annually, including a Sheep Mountain project in south central Wyoming, about 20 miles south of Jeffrey City.
The Sheep Mountain project has more than 30 million pounds of uranium resources, the company said.
Pat Maio can be reached at pat@cowboystatedaily.com.
