The US company Energy Fuels has started production at three of its permitted and developed uranium mines in the US States of Arizona and Utah. Production at the Pinyon Plain, La Sal and Pandora uranium mines is expected to reach full capacity by mid- to late-2024, by which time the group expects to be producing uranium at a run-rate of 1.1 to 1.4 million pounds per year (499 to 635 t/year). The uranium will be stockpiled at the company's White Mesa mill in Utah for processing in 2025 subject to market conditions.
In addition, Energy Fuels has also announced that it expects to begin production at two additional uranium mines in Colorado (Whirlwind) and Wyoming (Nichols Ranch) during the course of 2024, which would boost production to over 2 million pounds per year (907 t/year). Moreover, the company plans to advance permitting and development on the Roca Honda (New Mexico), Sheep Mountain (Wyoming) and Bullfrog (Utah) projects, which it says could expand its uranium production to up to 5 million pounds per year (2,268 t/year) in the coming years. Energy Fuels has cited strong market conditions to explain the ramp up of its uranium mining plans.
The United States only produced 4 tons of uranium in 2022. The country’s production has declined sharply since 2014, when uranium production reached 1,881 tons.