Current Report — Form 8-K
Filing Table of Contents
Document/Exhibit Description Pages Size
1: 8-K Uranium Resources, Inc. 8-K 3 13K
2: EX-2.1 Plan of Acquisition, Reorganization, Arrangement, 63 254K
Liquidation or Succession
3: EX-99.1 Miscellaneous Exhibit 4± 17K
EX-99.1 — Miscellaneous Exhibit
Exhibit 99.1
Uranium Resources, Inc. to Acquire Mill Site and Uranium Properties
holding 20 Million Pounds U3O8 from BHP Billiton
NRC-licensed site could reduce development lead time by four to
five years
Opens the door to re-start conventional uranium mining in New
Mexico
LEWISVILLE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 12, 2007--Uranium
Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) ("URI" or the "Company") announced
today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with BHP
Billiton to acquire 100% of the ownership of Rio Algom Mining LLC
("Rio Algom"). Under the agreement, URI will pay BHP Billiton $110
million in cash and assume certain retirement benefits and reclamation
liabilities of which up to $35 million will be pre-funded at closing.
URI will also pay BHP Billiton $16.5 million contingent upon the
receipt of a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to
construct and operate a conventional uranium mill. The transaction is
expected to close on or before June 1, 2008 and is subject to
customary closing conditions, financing and regulatory approvals.
The purchase includes a strategically important NRC-licensed mill
site with associated water rights in the historic Ambrosia Lake
District of New Mexico. Located 20 miles north of Grants, NM, the site
could cut in half the time needed to build a new mill in the district
versus building a mill on a green field site. In addition, URI will
acquire 14,000 acres of surface fee land and mineral interests in
Ambrosia Lake that contain 20 million pounds of mineralized uranium
materials based upon a report by Behre Dolbear, an international
mineral industry consultant to the Company. The Company will also
acquire a licensed mill site south of Moab, Utah.
"The purchase of Rio Algom provides one of the key assets we need
to achieve our strategic goal to produce 10 million pounds of U3O8 per
year by 2014," commented Dave Clark, URI's President and Chief
Executive Officer. "We believe building a new mill on a NRC licensed
site with associated water rights could allow production to begin
within four to five years."
Mining at Ambrosia Lake began in the 1950s when Kerr-McGee
constructed what was at the time the largest operating mill in the
U.S. At its peak, the mill processed 7,000 tons of ore per day. The
mill was dismantled in 2003.
After the acquisition, URI plans to construct a new
environmentally-sound, state-of-the-art milling facility at the
Ambrosia Lake site to process uranium ore that is mined from around
the region. The planned mill is expected to employ over 200 people
once in operation, and will have the capacity to process up to 8,000
tons of uranium ore per day. When commissioned, the mill will be
capable of processing all of the remaining conventional ore in the
Grants Mineral Belt, which could total 200 to 300 million pounds U3O8,
including up to 70 million pounds of uranium from URI-owned projects.
Over the next several months, URI plans to evaluate various
opportunities for joint venture and/or toll milling arrangements with
several companies who could benefit greatly from a local-operating
mill.
"Every aspect of the new Ambrosia Lake mill will be planned and
designed with the safety and well-being of the environment, the
community and our future employees in mind," said Clark. "Not only
will the mill have a tremendous positive impact on the local and
regional economies, it will also be a significant benefit to other
uranium mining companies who require a licensed conventional mill to
advance their own projects toward production."
The acquisition positions URI at the forefront of New Mexico's
uranium-mining resurgence. Upon completion of the acquisition, URI
will own approximately 112 million pounds of mineralized uranium
materials in New Mexico. And, upon receipt of the license amendment
from the NRC, URI will possess the only two NRC licenses associated
with uranium mining and milling in the state. In total, the
transaction will increase the Company's New Mexico asset base by 22%.
"URI is proud to be paving the way for future uranium mining
projects in New Mexico," added Clark. "We are committed to responsible
development practices in advancing both our ISR and conventional
projects, and we look forward to working together with local and state
government leaders, community members and other key stakeholders in
bringing the economic benefits of uranium mining back to New Mexico."
Advisors
CIBC World Markets Corp. is acting as exclusive financial advisor
for URI. Baker & Hostetler is acting as legal advisor for URI.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
URI is hosting a teleconference and webcast today at 10:00 a.m. ET
to discuss the acquisition. The URI conference call can be accessed by
calling 201-689-8562 and asking for the Uranium Resources, Inc.
conference call approximately 20 minutes prior to the call.
Alternatively, the call will be webcast and can be heard from the
Company's website at http://www.uraniumresources.com. Participants
should go to the website 10 - 15 minutes prior to the scheduled
conference in order to register and download any necessary audio
software.
An investor presentation which includes details regarding the
acquisition will also be available on the website prior to the call.
An archive of the teleconference can be heard by calling
1-201-612-7415 and entering account number 3055 and conference ID
number 258098. The telephonic replay will be available from 1:00 p.m.
ET the day of the teleconference until 11:59 p.m. October 19, 2007.
The archived webcast will be available at
http://www.uraniumresources.com. A transcript will also be posted,
once available.
ABOUT URANIUM RESOURCES, INC.
Uranium Resources, Inc. explores for, develops and mines uranium.
Since its incorporation in 1977, URI has produced over 7 million
pounds of uranium by in-situ recovery (ISR) methods in the state of
Texas, where the Company currently has ISR mining projects. URI also
has 183,000 acres of uranium mineral holdings and approximately 92
million pounds of uranium in New Mexico. The Company acquired these
properties over the past 20 years along with an extensive information
database. URI's strategy is to capitalize on the strong global market
for uranium by fully developing its resource base in Texas and New
Mexico, acquiring new assets and pursuing joint ventures or
partnerships.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and
assumptions and are identified by words such as "expects,"
"estimates," "projects," "anticipates," "believes," "could," and other
similar words. All statements addressing operating performance,
events, or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will
occur in the future, including but not limited to statements relating
to the Company's mineralized uranium materials, timing of receipt of
mining permits, production capacity of mining operations planned for
properties in South Texas and New Mexico, planned dates for
commencement of production at such properties, revenue, cash
generation and profits are forward-looking statements. Because they
are forward-looking, they should be evaluated in light of important
risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, the spot price of uranium, weather
conditions, operating conditions at the Company's mining projects,
government regulation of the mining industry and the nuclear power
industry, the world-wide supply and demand of uranium, availability of
capital, timely receipt of mining and other permits from regulatory
agents and other factors which are more fully described in the
Company's documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or
should any of the Company's underlying assumptions prove incorrect,
actual results may vary materially from those currently anticipated.
In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on the Company's
forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company
disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions
to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press
release.
CONTACT: Investors:
Kei Advisors LLC
Deborah K. Pawlowski / James M. Culligan,
716-843-3908 / 716-843-3874
dpawlowski@keiadvisors.com / jculligan@keiadvisors.com
Or
For Uranium Resources, Inc.
David N. Clark, President and CEO, 361-883-3990
or
Media:
Kristin Simons, 505-888-5877 / 505-363-1496
ksimons@dwturner.com
Dates Referenced Herein
| This ‘8-K’ Filing | | Date | | Other Filings |
|---|
| |  |
| | 6/1/08 | | None on these Dates |
| | 10/19/07 |
| Filed on / For Period End: | | 10/12/07 |
| List all Filings |
↑Top
Filing Submission 0001157523-07-009788 – Alternative Formats (Word / Rich Text, HTML, Plain Text, et al.)
Copyright © 2024 Fran Finnegan & Company LLC – All Rights Reserved.
About — Privacy — Redactions — Help —
Thu., Apr. 25, 6:49:43.1pm ET 