Crow Butte
Crow Butte was discovered in 1980 and began production in 1991. It is the first uranium mine in Nebraska, and is a significant contributor to the economy of northwest Nebraska.
| Location | Nebraska, US |
| Ownership | 100% |
| End product | Uranium concentrates |
| ISO certification | ISO 14001 certified |
| Estimated reserves | 3.0 million pounds (proven), average grade U3O8: 0.12% |
| Estimated resources |
12.2 million pounds (indicated), average grade U3O8: 0.21% 5.4 million pounds (inferred), average grade U3O8: 0.12% |
| Mining methods | In situ recovery (ISR) |
| Licensed capacity (processing plants and wellfields) |
1 million pounds per year |
| Total production: 2002 to 2012 | 8.3 million pounds |
| 2012 production | 0.8 million pounds |
| 2013 forecast production | 0.7 million pounds |
| Estimated decommissioning cost | $40 million (US) |
2012 Update
Production
Production this year was slightly higher than our forecast and similar to 2011 production.
Licensing
The regulators continued to review our applications to expand and re-license Crow Butte. We are allowed to continue with all previously approved activities during the licence renewal process.
Planning For the Future
Production
In 2013, we expect to produce 0.7 million pounds.
We continue to seek regulatory approvals to proceed with expansions at our various satellite operations in Nebraska. The regulators are constrained by a shortage of resources as they try to work through a large volume of permit and licence amendment requests from resource companies; however, we are beginning to receive some approvals. We continue to communicate with them to ensure we understand and meet their information needs in a timely manner.
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.