Shares of Vancouver-based Anfield Energy (TSX-V:AEC) (OTCQB:ANLDF) are printing a new 52-week high on Monday following news that the company has struck a deal to acquire the Charlie In-Situ Recovery Uranium Project from Cotter Corp. Charlie spans 720 acres in the Pumpkin Buttes Uranium District in Johnson Country, Wyoming and is located right next to two producing mines of Uranium One, the Toronto-based outfit bought by a unit of Russian state-owned uranium monopoly Rosatom in 2013 for $1.3 billion.
According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Committee, there are only about 12 uranium in-situ recovery (ISR) facilities in the United States, with all but one within Wyoming or nearby its eastern border. ISR facilities use a solution called lixiviant, injecting it through bore holes into an orebody to dissolve the uranium where it is then collected in recovery wells for additional processing.
The Charlie Project has been in development for nearly four decades. The acquisition provides Anfield with access to the prior exploration, which management thinks should help expedite preparing technical reports on the project. Nearly 400,000 feet of drilling has been performed at the project over the years through more than 900 holes. Historical estimates figured a range of 3.1 – 4.6 million pounds of uranium oxide in reserves, but the data is not compliant with current standards, so it will need to be validated.
The project is part of a broader plan by Anfield to develop a mine and mill production complex in Wyoming. In 2016, Anfield acquired 24 Wyoming uranium projects from Uranium One. Additionally, Anfield has a resin processing agreement with Uranium One to produce up to half a million pounds of uranium annually at Uranium One’s nearby processing facility.
Anfield is paying for the project in stock, agreeing to give Cotter an all-share payment equal to 10 percent of its 22.5 million issued and outstanding shares, in addition to allowing Cotter to retain ownership of 20 percent in all yellowcake (milled uranium oxide, U3O8) production at Charlie.
Shares of AEC are ahead 9.3%, or 4 cents, at 47 cents as the day winds towards a close following setting a new multi-year high at 54 cents earlier in the day. That was the highest for the stock since August 2014.
