Westwater Resources Announces the Completion of a New Technical Report on the Ambrosia Lake Uranium Project, McKinley County, New Mexico USA
The Ambrosia Lake Uranium Project, which covers an area of approximately 24,555 acres (9,941 hectares) of Company-owned deeded mineral rights, is situated approximately 70 miles (112 kilometers) west of Albuquerque and 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of the town of Grants. The project area covers a significant part of the now-inactive Ambrosia Lake mining district, which has historically been the largest single source of uranium production in the United States.
Chris Jones, Westwater Resources’ President and Chief Executive Officer said “This study, and the resulting report, has firmed up our uranium resource base in the important Grants Mineral Belt. Importantly, much of the information came from our extensive database of uranium-related information through the hard work and expertise of our staff.”
The Technical Report, which follows the style and format of a Canadian National Instrument 43-101 report, is based upon an internal review, evaluation, compilation and assessment of published information and extensive detailed drill hole data, maps and other reports that are part of the Company’s extensive data set for the Ambrosia Lake district. The Ambrosia Lake Uranium Project is located within the Grants Mineral Belt, which is one of the largest concentrations of sandstone-hosted uranium deposits in the world. The data that is held within Westwater’s files documents the exploration, definition and operational results of numerous mining companies that operated projects and uranium mines on the Company’s properties, including Homestake Mining Company, Kerr McGee Nuclear, Pathfinder Mines, Ranchers Exploration and Development, Teton Exploration, and United Nuclear Corporation. WWR’s database is one of the most extensive collections of information on the Ambrosia Lake uranium deposits.
The Ambrosia Lake Uranium Project Technical Report concludes that the project is of merit and is worthy of additional work to advance it to the next stage of technical evaluation. Three distinct uranium deposit targets, Mesa Redonda, Section 23 and Section 27, have been identified within the Company’s properties. These mineralized zones were estimated by the historical operators and qualified industry consulting geologists to contain approximately 6.81 million pounds of U3O8. These historical estimates of in-place mineralization, which are not compliant with either the CIM or JORC codes for mineral resources and do not constitute proven or probable reserves under the SEC’s Industry Guide 7, are considered to be representative of the magnitude and intensity of the mineralized zones at these three target areas. The report also sets forth a series of recommendations for work programs for each target area, in order to verify the historical information relating to the estimates of mineralization and to test for possible expansions of these targets.
The Ambrosia Lake Uranium Project Technical Report is a continuation of Westwater’s on-going efforts to evaluate the mineral resource potential of approximately 188,700 acres (72,843 hectares) of mineral rights that the Company holds within the prolific Grants Mineral Belt of west-central New Mexico. The Ambrosia Lake Uranium Project Technical Report is the third in a series of formal technical assessments and follows the Technical Reports on Mineral Resources for the Cebolleta and Juan Tafoya projects that were made available in 2014.
About Westwater Resources
Westwater Resources (the “Company” or “WWR”), formerly known as Uranium Resources, Inc., is focused upon the development of energy-related minerals and materials. The Company holds significant land positions within three prospective lithium brine-bearing basins in Nevada and Utah, in preparation for exploration and potential development of lithium resources that may be discovered on the properties. Additionally, WWR remains focused on the advancement of its Temrezli in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium project located in central Turkey, when uranium prices permit economic development of the project. The Company controls extensive exploration properties in Turkey under eight exploration and operating licenses, covering approximately 38,000 acres (over 16,000 hectares) containing numerous exploration targets, including the potential satellite Sefaatli Project, which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of the Temrezli Project. In south Texas the Company has two licensed and currently idled uranium processing facilities and approximately 11,000 acres (4,400 hectares) of prospective ISR uranium projects. WWR holds approximately 188,700 acres (76,394 hectares) of mineral rights in the prolific Grants Mineral Belt of west-central New Mexico, which is one of the largest concentrations of sandstone-hosted uranium deposits in the world. The Company, which was incorporated in 1977, owns an extensive technical information data set of historic drill hole geophysical logs, assay certificates, maps and technical reports for the Grants Mineral belt and numerous other uranium properties throughout the western United States.
On December 13, 2017 WWR announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Alabama Graphite Corp. (AGC) (TSX-V:CSPG) (OTCQB:CSPGF) pursuant to an arrangement agreement and plan of arrangement. The primary asset of AGC is the Coosa Graphite Project, located on 41,900 acres (16,956 hectares) in east-central Alabama. Finalization of the acquisition is subject to shareholder votes, as well as customary regulatory agency and court approvals. Closing of the acquisition is targeted for April 20, 2018.
Cautionary Statement
This news 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 events or developments that WWR expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to statements relating to developments at the Company’s projects, including the potential for future exploration, development or production at the Ambrosia Lake Uranium Project, 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, (a) the Company’s ability to close the transaction with AGC and successfully integrate AGC’s business into its own; (b) the Company’s ability to raise additional capital in the future; (c) the spot price and long-term contract prices of graphite, uranium and lithium; (d) risks associated with our foreign and domestic operations; (e) operating conditions at the Company’s projects; (f) government and tribal regulation of the graphite industry, uranium industry, lithium industry and the power industry; (g) world-wide graphite, uranium and lithium supply and demand, including the supply and demand for lithium-based batteries; (h) maintaining sufficient financial assurance in the form of sufficiently collateralized surety instruments; (i) unanticipated geological, processing, regulatory and legal or other problems the Company may encounter in the jurisdictions where the Company operates or intends to operate, including Alabama, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and the Republic of Turkey; (j) the ability of the Company to enter into and successfully close acquisitions or other material transactions; (k) the results of the Company’s lithium brine exploration activities at the Columbus Basin, Railroad Valley and Sal Rica projects, and the possibility that future exploration results may be materially less promising that initial exploration results; (l) any graphite, lithium or uranium discoveries not being in high enough concentrations to make it economic to extract the metals or materials; and (m) other factors which are more fully described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings 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 news release.
Cautionary Note Regarding References to Resources
Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, and investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a mineral resource will ever be converted into reserves. In SEC Industry Guide 7, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made, and a "final" or "bankable" feasibility study is required to report reserves, the three-year historical price (or in certain circumstances, a contract price) is used in any reserve or cash flow analysis of designated reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority. This press release contains historical estimates of in-place mineralization that do not constitute reserves under SEC Industry Guide 7. Estimates of non-reserve mineralization are subject to further exploration and development, are subject to many risks and highly speculative, and may not be converted to future reserves of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of such non-reserve mineralization exists or is economically or legally extractable. Mineralized material that is not reserves does not have any demonstrated economic viability.
Contact Information:
Westwater Resources Inc.
Christopher M. Jones, President and CEO
(303) 531-0480
Email: Info@WestwaterResources.net
Website: www.WestwaterResources.net
Jeffrey L. Vigil, VP Finance and CFO
(303) 531-0481