TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – US-based Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) said on Tuesday it had inked its first sales contract for the nuclear fuel to an unnamed buyer.

Under the deal, UEC will supply 300 000 lb of uranium over three years starting August, at prices to be determined by “market price indicators” on delivery.

“The company’s first-ever sales contract is a significant achievement and further validates our status as North America’s newest emerging uranium producer,” CEO Amir Adnani said in a statement.

“Moving forward, we anticipate that our uncommitted production will be sold through a combination of spot market sales and long-term contracts towards establishing a balanced portfolio of sales points and prices for our uranium production.”

UEC started production at its Hobson mill in Texas late last year, and said this month it had produced 70 000 lb so far.

The company produces uranium in Texas using in-situ leaching methods, whereby it pumps a mixture of air and water into the orebodies below the earth's surface, and then extracts the water that the uranium dissolves into.

It then trucks this from satellite orebodies around Texas to its central Hobson processing plant.

Production is set to climb to one-million tons yearly by the end of 2011.
 

To subscribe to Mining Weekly's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.