Wayne Heili, vice president of mining & engineering, noted, “Ur-Energy’s professional staff is executing a well coordinated effort to permit, build and start production from our advanced stage development project at Lost Creek. Our team is pursuing all available pathways that support our aggressive construction and development plans for the project. Further, our focused effort to obtain all the required licenses and permits is clearly yielding results.”
NRC staff has informed the Company that there are currently no outstanding requests for additional information and that NRC staff is presently drafting the Safety and Environmental Report. The NRC has also confirmed that it is on schedule with the development of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Lost Creek Project. Issuance of the license remains on track for June 2010.
The permitting process with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) is also nearing completion with the submittal of significant responses to WDEQ comments during October. Lost Creek ISR intends to respond to a few remaining questions as well as submit the data package for the first mine unit in the coming weeks. Issuance of the WDEQ Permit to Mine is expected well in advance of receiving the NRC license.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has determined that its project review and approval will be independent of the environmental review process carried out by the NRC. In response to this decision, Lost Creek ISR submitted a Plan of Operations to BLM in October 2009. BLM has appointed a coordinator for the review process and the review is scheduled to begin immediately.
Several other permit applications, including the Sweetwater County Development Plan, Air Quality application, and Class I UIC Disposal Well application are under review by the respective agencies with approvals expected before the end of 2009.
Bill Boberg, president & chief executive officer, stated, “We started this permitting process four years ago knowing that it would be a demanding process. The regulatory agencies have taken a significantly more rigorous approach than in the past and our highly professional staff has been task-driven to assure that we fully satisfy the requirements of the agencies. We are very pleased where we are at this stage in the process now that we can see that the finish line for Ur-Energy is more clearly defined than it has been for some time.”
