KEY POINTS
- Uranium Energy acquires Rio Tinto’s Wyoming uranium assets for $175 million.
- The deal includes the Sweetwater plant and key mining projects, adding 175 million pounds of uranium resources.
- This acquisition strengthens Uranium Energy’s position as a leading uranium developer in the US.
Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) has agreed to purchase Rio Tinto’s uranium assets in Wyoming, USA, in a $175 million cash deal. The acquisition includes the fully-licensed Sweetwater plant and a portfolio of uranium mining projects.
This deal is expected to significantly bolster UEC’s production capabilities and synergize with its other Wyoming-based projects in the Great Divide Basin.
Expanding production capabilities
The transaction, set to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, will add an estimated 175 million pounds of historic uranium resources to Uranium Energy’s portfolio.
According to CEO Amir Adnani, “These assets will unlock tremendous value by establishing our third hub-and-spoke production platform and cement [Uranium Energy] as the leading uranium developer in Wyoming and the US.”
According to Mining.com, the Sweetwater plant, a key asset in the deal, is a 3,000-tonne-per-day processing facility with a licensed capacity of 4.1 million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U3O8), a critical uranium compound.
The acquisition also includes the Red Desert uranium project, a development-stage project covering approximately 20,005 acres, and the Green Mountain project, located 35 kilometers north of the Sweetwater plant.
Positioning for increasing demand
Uranium Energy’s acquisition comes at a time of rising global demand for uranium, driven by geopolitical tensions, the growing need for reliable clean energy, and the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence technologies, which increase energy consumption.
However, the company aims to capitalize on this trend by strengthening its uranium production capabilities in Wyoming.
The company’s stock responded positively to the announcement, rising 2.7% to $5.69 during pre-market trading, which boosted its market capitalization to $2.26 billion.
