Uranerz Energy Corporation is pleased to report on the ongoing wellfield expansion activities at the Nichols Ranch ISR Uranium Project located in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, U.S.A. The Company has expanded the wellfield at header house #4 and is adding a fifth header house with associated wells as it continues development of its first Production Area at Nichols Ranch.
The Company utilizes the in-situ recovery ("ISR") method of mining where a series of injection and recovery wells circulate groundwater fortified with oxygen, sodium bicarbonate and carbon dioxide through the sandstone-hosted uranium deposit to dissolve the uranium underground ("in-situ"). The groundwater with the dissolved uranium is then pumped to the surface where the uranium is extracted and processed into the form of uranium oxide ("U3O8"). Each well is connected to a header house via buried pipelines and each header house is in turn connected to the processing facility by means of larger buried pipelines called trunk lines. Each header house is connected to some 60 to 90 wells with a little over half of the wells being injection wells and the rest being recovery wells.
Nichols Ranch commenced mining operations in April 2014 and finished the year with four header houses and associated injection and recovery wells in operation. After recent wellfield delineation drilling, the header house #4 area was expanded by the addition of nineteen injection and recovery wells, which have recently been placed into service.
Construction of a fifth header house is planned to start next week. Wellfield delineation drilling for that header house area has been completed, the wellfield pattern development is ready, and well installation has commenced. The addition of this header house is planned to bring another ninety production wells online in the second quarter of 2015. A sixth header house with associated production wells is also expected to be installed during the second half of 2015.
Glenn Catchpole, Uranerz Chief Executive Officer stated, "Uranerz is keen to expand the wellfields at Nichols Ranch, which can increase near-term production and set the Company up for future scalability."
Bruce Larson, PG, CPG, Vice President, Exploration at Uranerz Energy Corporation is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.