Smith Ranch-Highland
We operate Smith Ranch and Highland as a combined operation. Each has its own processing facility, but the Smith Ranch central plant processes all the uranium. The Highland plant is currently idle.
Together, they form the largest uranium production facility in the United States.
| Location | Wyoming, US |
| Ownership | 100% |
| End product | uranium concentrates |
| ISO certification | ISO 14001 certified |
| Estimated reserves | 6.6 million pounds (proven and probable) average grade U3O8: 0.09% |
| Estimated resources |
23.7 million pounds (measured and indicated) average grade U3O8: 0.06% 6.6 million pounds (inferred) average grade U3O8: 0.05% |
| Mining method | in situ recovery (ISR) |
| Licensed capacity | wellfields: 2 million pounds per year processing plants: 5 million pounds per year including Highland mill |
| Total production 2002 to 2011 | 15 million pounds |
| 2011 production | 1.4 million pounds |
| 2012 forecast production | 1.7 million pounds |
| Estimated decommissioning cost | $168 million (US) |
2011 update
Production
Production this year was 22% lower than 2010 and 13% lower than our plan. The review process to obtain regulatory approvals has lengthened at Smith Ranch-Highland, which has increased the timeline to bring new wellfields into production.
Licensing
The regulators continue to review our licence renewal application. We are allowed to continue with all previously approved activities during the licence renewal process.
Processing
In the fourth quarter, we signed a toll processing agreement with Uranerz Energy Corporation to process up to 800,000 pounds per year at the Smith Ranch-Highland processing plants. The agreement allows us to use excess plant capacity.
Planning for the future
Production
We expect to produce 1.7 million pounds in 2012.
We continue to seek regulatory approvals to proceed with expansions at our various satellite operations; however, we are experiencing some delays in receiving the necessary regulatory approvals. We recognize the regulators have a large volume of permits to process. We are working with them to improve communications and ensure we better understand and meet their needs. We are advancing work on satellite properties where prior approvals are in place.
Exploration
We are continuing our exploration activity with the objective of extending the mine life at Smith Ranch-Highland and satellite properties.
Managing our risks
The operating environment is becoming more complex as public interest and regulatory oversight increase. This may affect our plans to increase production. We also manage the risks listed here.