The Russian Conflict is an Opportunity for US Uranium
Corey Dias, CEO and founder of Anfield Uranium sat down with the Grizzle team to discuss the significant opportunity the Russia conflict has created for US based uranium suppliers.
The US is the largest consumer of uranium globally and is the most incentivized to wean itself off Russian imports of uranium due to geopolitical concerns.
Russia and neighbor Kazakstan have historically been the 800 pound gorillas in the business of supplying the world’s uranium.
However the winds are shifting.
China’s ambitious nuclear construction goals are syphoning off more and more supply from Russia and Kazakstan that would typically flow to Europe and the US.
US production is well positioned to fill at least part of that gap.
Interestingly, Corey Dias does not believe the risk of sanctions on Russian uranium is priced into the market at all.
Russia is just too dominant in Uranium for the world to keep nuclear plants running without its supply.
Oil and Gas can be cut off, but uranium is a no go according to Dias.
Anfield’s Unique Hub and Spoke Business Model
Anfield is wholly unique in the uranium space due to its hub and spoke business model.
The hub is the Shootaring mill, one of only three licensed, permitted and constructed uranium processing mills in America.
The spokes are the company’s five nearby mining projects, highlighted by the West Slope project in Colorado and the Velvet Wood project in Utah.
The Hub and Spoke Model
Source Angield Energy
These five properties are estimated to hold 30 million pounds of uranium and 100 million pounds of vanadium.
The five properties will serve as the supply source for the Shootaring mill once it begins commercial operations.
The final step remaining for Anfield before they move ahead with the physical refurbishment of Shootaring is the PEA, Preliminary Economic Assessment, to lock down the total capital cost and expected economics of restarting the Shootaring mill.
The PEA is expected to be completed by the middle of 2023 and will serve as a significant catalyst for the company and potentially the stock.
Source: Anfield Energy
The Shootaring mill startup will be the largest long term catalyst for the company and is expected to start up in 2024.
Anfield recently engaged Precision Systems Engineering, a company that specializes in uranium mill refurbishments to put together a reactivation plan and to make sure the startup process goes as seamlessly as possible in 2023 and 2024.
Precision Systems will identify which parts need to be replaced and will handle all the buying of parts and repair logistics that go into the mill restart.
Most importantly, Anfield has all the important permits needed to advance the mill restart, which should help the company avoid many of the most costly delays, which are usually regulatory in nature.
Anfield’s Upcoming Catalysts
Source: Anfield Uranium
Vanadium Resource Provides Optionality
Unlike most uranium producers, Anfield also has significant vanadium resources in addition to uranium.
Vanadium is a metal with great potential to decrease global emissions through greener buildings and energy efficient battery storage.
Anfield is well prepared for future spikes in vanadium demand and prices with plans to design a vanadium processing circuit into their Shootaring processing facility.
We at Grizzle are very bullish on global demand for vanadium and believe Anfield’s resource optionality could pay dividends over the next 8-10 years.
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