06:55:22 EDT Fri 04 Jul 2025
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EnCore Energy Corp (2)
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Close 2025-03-13 C$ 2.03
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EnCore Energy starts up second IX circuit at Alta Mesa

2025-03-13 18:54 ET - News Release

Mr. William Sheriff reports

ENCORE ENERGY EXPANDS URANIUM EXTRACTION CAPACITY AT ALTA MESA; ACCELERATED WELLFIELD DEVELOPMENT UNDERWAY

EnCore Energy Corp. has successfully started up its second ion exchange (IX) circuit at its south Texas Alta Mesa in situ recovery (ISR) uranium central processing plant (CPP). IX circuits collect uranium from process water pumped from recovery wells in the well field. This second IX circuit at Alta Mesa doubles the total flow capacity from 2,500 gallons per minute to 5,000 gallons per minute. Flow rate is an essential factor in expanding the amount of uranium captured.

In conjunction with the expansion of processing capacity, EnCore has installed additional injection and extraction wells in the currently permitted and operational well field 7 (PAA-7). The combination of the second IX circuit and well field expansion utilizes approximately 75 per cent of the current processing capacity. Additional wells will be brought on line systematically in order to reach CPP capacity and increase the capture of uranium.

Executive chairman William M. Sheriff stated: "At any given concentration of dissolved uranium in water, the more solution you pump, the more uranium that can be captured. At the Alta Mesa CPP, we have learned that our extraction process is faster than anticipated, which is expected to be positive for revenue and return on investment. The work on the second IX circuit and additions to the well field have been under way for several months. While we are pleased to see the second IX circuit operating, we look forward to full utilization of this increase in capacity. With additional drill rigs and accelerated effort, we look forward to steady advancement of our uranium capture rates."

Significant highlights:

  • The well field decline curve at Alta Mesa is quite steep, achieving approximately 80-per-cent uranium capture in just over four months. While total capture of uranium is comparable between most Wyoming ISR operations and Alta Mesa, the well field decline curve at other projects tends to be much flatter, taking 12 to 15 months for 80-per-cent recovery due to differences in physical and chemical properties of the host rock and the process water.
  • With this capture rate, EnCore experiences a very quick recovery of uranium; however, this necessitates an aggressive drilling and well completion schedule with an emphasis on logistics, urgency and oversight in the continued development and expansion of the well field.
  • With the addition of the second IX circuit, the Alta Mesa CPP now has a total flow capacity of 5,000 gallons per minute, operating two of its three fully licensed IX Circuits at the Alta Mesa CPP.
  • Work is under way for systematic and more aggressive expansion of well field 7 with 22 drill rigs now operating on the company's projects; 17 drill rigs are currently working on increasing uranium extraction at Alta Mesa. The drilling program has been expanding since year-end and the company is actively engaged in further increasing this number of drill rigs in the coming weeks and months.
  • During the past six months, an additional 43 injection wells and 36 recovery wells have been added to well field 7, feeding the second IX circuit at the Alta Mesa CPP with a total flow rate of 1,450 gallons per minute. Continuing development of the well field to supply additional uranium-bearing water to the second IX circuit is continuing toward total circuit flow capacity with the addition of 13 injection wells and 13 recovery wells anticipated over the next six weeks.
  • Work is under way to return well field 6 (PAA-6) to operation within the next six months. Well field 6 was in operation when Alta Mesa shut down in 2012/2013 with 370,000 pounds of a measured uranium (triuranium octoxide) resource remaining.
  • There is currently one drill rig operating at the Upper Spring Creek project, where drilling will be completed in the next few days. The drill rig will be redeployed to well field 7, bringing the total there to 18, after a short program at the Rosita extension, where a series of close-spaced fences will delineate a portion of the well field that has not been exploited to date. Depending on the outcome, drilling of additional wells may be expected to come on line within the next three to four months at the Rosita CPP.
  • Construction and installation of the well field at the Upper Spring Creek project will commence once the final permits have been received; this is expected before year-end.
  • A third IX circuit is on site and recommissioning is planned for 2026. Once the third IX Circuit is on line, it will bring processing capacity to 7,500 gallons per minute, which will bring the Alta Mesa CPP to 100 per cent of its IX capacity.
  • An IX circuit is similar to a water softener treatment, which selectively removes hardness ions from water. Each IX circuit at the Alta Mesa CPP contains four upflow columns and two downflow columns that contain the IX resin used to capture uranium from the produced water before it is recycled back into the well field, thereby minimizing the amount of water consumed in the ISR process.

About the Alta Mesa uranium CPP and well field

The Alta Mesa project hosts a fully licensed and constructed ISR central processing plant and operational well field located on more than 200,000 acres of private land and mineral rights in and regulated by the State of Texas. Total operating capacity at the Alta Mesa CPP is 1.5 million pounds U3O8 (uranium) per year, with additional drying capacity of 500,000 pounds. The Alta Mesa project operates under a 70-per-cent/30-per-cent joint venture with Boss Energy Ltd. that is managed by the company.

The Alta Mesa CPP historically produced nearly five million pounds of uranium between 2005 and 2013, when production was curtailed as a result of low prices. The Alta Mesa project utilizes well-known ISR technology to extract uranium in a non-invasive process using natural groundwater and oxygen. Currently, oxygenated water is being circulated in the well field through injection or extraction wells plumbed directly into the primary pipelines feeding the Alta Mesa CPP. Expansion of the well field will continue with production to steadily increase from the well field as expansion continues through 2025 and beyond.

Dr. John M. Seeley, PhD, PG, CPG, EnCore's manager of geology and exploration, and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 and Regulation S-K Subpart 1300 of the Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure in this news release on behalf of the company.

About EnCore Energy Corp.

EnCore Energy, America's Clean Energy Company, is committed to providing clean, reliable and affordable fuel for nuclear energy as the only U.S. uranium company with multiple central processing plants in operation. The EnCore team is led by industry experts with extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of in situ recovery uranium operations and the nuclear fuel cycle. EnCore solely utilizes ISR for uranium extraction, a well-known and proven technology co-developed by the leaders at EnCore Energy.

Following upon EnCore's demonstrated success in south Texas, future projects in EnCore's planned project pipeline include the Dewey-Burdock project in South Dakota and the Gas Hills project in Wyoming. The company holds other assets including non-core assets and proprietary databases. EnCore is committed to working with local communities and indigenous governments to create positive impact from corporate developments.

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