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Ur-Energy starts uranium mining at Shirley Basin project in Wyoming

Staff Writer | April 29, 2026 |


Shirley Basin uranium project. Image: Ur-Energy.

Ur-Energy (NYSE-A: URG) (TSX:URE) has started operations at its Shirley Basin project in Wyoming, marking the first uranium mining activity at the site since 1992.

Uranium-bearing solution is now being captured from Mine Unit 1 at Shirley Basin after the successful completion of significant construction, wellfield installation and permitting, the company said in a press release on April 23.

The project, situated 250 km north of state capital Cheyenne, is located within the Shirley Basin district, widely recognized as the birthplace of in-situ recovery (ISR) mining. It now returns to active operations amid a nuclear energy renaissance.

“Launching initial operations marks a pivotal achievement in Ur-Energy’s growth strategy and plan to expand US uranium production capacity,” Ur-Energy CEO Matt Gili stated.

The Shirley Basin project enhances Ur-Energy’s operational flexibility through its integration with existing infrastructure, with licensed annual wellfield and toll processing capacity of up to 2 million lb. of U₃O₈ equivalent.

The company said it expects to transport uranium loaded resin to its Lost Creek facility for processing this summer, subject to an additional regulatory inspection and approval.

Uranium concentrations in recovered solutions are expected to increase over time as the company further conditions the wellfield, and all production circuits are brought online, it added.

The site currently has measured and indicated mineral resources of approximately 9.1 million lb. of U₃O₈ at an average grade of 0.22% U₃O₈ equivalent. Mining would occur across three shallow units, with an anticipated life of nine years.

Historic ISR district

Shirley Basin represents Ur-Energy’s second ISR project to go from development to initial operations, and a significant expansion of the company’s US uranium production capacity.

The Shirley Basin uranium mine was operated by Pathfinder Mines from the 1960s until 1992, when the mine closed due to low uranium prices. Ur-Energy acquired Pathfinder in 2013 and worked to rebuild the conventional project into an ISR mine and acquire the needed permits.

“Two years ago, we committed to building out this project. Today, we have successfully brought a historically significant uranium district back to life, demonstrating disciplined execution of our strategy,” Gili said.

“It is particularly meaningful as it supports the growing need for secure, domestic uranium supply and underscores our ability to move permitted projects toward production while strengthening our role in the US nuclear fuel cycle,” he added.

Kairos breaks ground for Hermes 2 reactor

Monday, 20 April 2026

The Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, will be the company's first commercial-scale reactor and is the first power-producing Gen IV reactor to receive a construction permit from the US regulator.

Hermes 2 is Kairos Power's first deployment under its 2024 agreement with Google to develop an advanced reactor fleet. It will supply up to 50 MW of electricity to the Tennessee Valley Authority grid, helping to decarbonise Google data centres in Tennessee and Alabama.

The company is already building the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor - Hermes 1 - in Oak Ridge, a scaled demonstration of Kairos's KP-FHR fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor technology. The first non-light-water reactor to be approved for construction by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Hermes 1 will not produce electricity, but Kairos's iterative approach to development will see lessons learned from the project feeding into Hermes 2.

The Hermes series will be the first KP-FHRs ever built, the company said, incorporating proven nuclear technologies that originated in Oak Ridge including TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) coated particle fuel and Flibe molten fluoride salt coolant. Hermes 2 - which is being built on the footprint of the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant - is the immediate precursor to full-scale commercial plants, and will further advance technology, licensing, supply chain, and construction certainty for the company's future deployments, it said.


The Hermes demonstration campus in Tennessee (Image: Kairos Power)

Kairos Power will fabricate equipment modules for the Hermes 2 reactor at its Manufacturing Development Campus in Albuquerque, New Meixico, and ship them to Oak Ridge for assembly. The Barnard Construction Company, Inc is the general contractor for both Hermes reactor projects.

The Hermes 2 civil structure will leverage modular construction methods, incorporating precast concrete and a seismically isolated foundation, and the construction methods piloted with the Hermes series are expected to shrink project timelines, lower nuclear construction costs, and enable a standardised, repeatable design, the company said.

"For nuclear projects to be successful, we need more than just the right technology. We need to understand every aspect of project delivery. Hermes 2 is where that all comes together," said Kairos Power CEO and co-founder Mike Laufer.

Amanda Peterson Corio, Global Head of Data Center Energy, Google, said the Hermes 2 grounbreaking was a "major leap forward" in the company's efforts to accelerate the commercialisation of affordable, carbon-free energy,. "By pioneering a standardised, repeatable design, Kairos Power is addressing the historical challenges of nuclear construction costs. This shift toward a more efficient, factory-based manufacturing approach is a proven path toward lower-cost, cleaner power for our operations and the communities we serve."

Production begins at US uranium project

Thursday, 9 April 2026

Uranium Energy Corp's Burke Hollow in Texas is the first new in-situ recovery operation to start up in the USA in over a decade.


Burke Hollow (Image: CNW Group/Uranium Energy Corp)

In-situ recovery - or ISR - is a method of mining uranium by dissolving and recovering it via wells. It is also known as in-situ leaching. Ground water fortified with a complexing agent, and often with an oxidant (such as gaseous oxygen), is introduced into the orebody to dissolve the uranium from the sandstone host. The uranium-bearing before being recovered and processed into yellowcake.

Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) has two ISR hub and spoke platforms in South Texas and Wyoming, with a central processing plant as the "hub" with several ISR uranium projects providing "spokes". Production from Burke Hollow will be processed at the company's Hobson Central Processing Plant, which is licensed to produce up to 4 million pounds of uranium per year.

"The startup of Burke Hollow is a significant achievement for UEC, advancing the project from a grassroots discovery in 2012 to production in 2026," UEC President and CEO Amir Adnani said. "With two ISR operations now producing, and our Ludeman ISR project planned for startup in 2027, we are building a scalable, multi-faceted platform supported by the largest uranium resource base in the United States."

According to UEC, Burke Hollow is the largest ISR uranium discovery in the USA in the past decade, with significant long-term development potential: only about half of the property, which covers some 20,000 acres (over 8,000 hectares) has been explored to date. The estimated mineral resource for the project is currently 6,155,000 pounds U3O8 (2,368 tU) in the measured and indicated category, plus 4,883,000 pounds U3O8 of inferred resources.

Production was able to start following the receipt of final approvals from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Craig Wall, UEC's Vice President, Environmental, Health & Safety, Texas said the commission's approval, coming after more than a decade of exploration, permitting and development, "reflects the strength of our technical and operational execution. We appreciate the collaboration and professionalism of the TCEQ throughout the process and look forward to continuing to work with them as the project advances."

UEC's South Texas team will now focus on ramping operations and constructing additional wellfields across the project.

In addition to the largest uranium resource base in the USA, with 12 million pounds per year of uranium production capacity across its Wyoming and South Texas hub-and-spoke ISR operations, UEC also controls extensive land and resource portfolios in Canada's Athabasca Basin, including the Roughrider Project in Saskatchewan. The company is also pursuing domestic refining and conversion capabilities in the USA through its United States Uranium Refining & Conversion Corp subsidiary.

New US company plans uranium conversion facility

Monday, 30 March 2026

Newly-launched FluxPoint Energy says it is developing what it expects will be the first new uranium conversion facility in the USA in 70 years.


Headquartered in Houston, Texas and McLean, Virginia, FluxPoint Energy was officially launched last week at the CERAWeek international energy event in Houston, Texas. The company said its mission is to "establish a fully American, vertically integrated nuclear fuel capability - supporting energy independence, enabling advanced reactor deployment, and strengthening national security".

The planned facility will convert uranium oxide (U3O8) into uranium hexafluoride (UF6). Uranium must be converted from U3O8 - the "yellowcake" that is shipped from uranium mines and mills - to gaseous UF6 before it can be enriched in fissile uranium-235 for use in nuclear fuel. FluxPoint Energy is targeting first production in 2030–2031.

The company said that development of the facility "is well under way". The company has already secured a project site and due diligence work is in progress. A comprehensive market study and a technical feasibility study have been completed, while Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies have been initiated.

The company said it is actively engaging with federal and state stakeholders on regulatory pathways and reporting strong early interest from prospective customers and investors.

"Policymakers, utilities, and developers increasingly point to fuel availability as a limiting factor for America's nuclear reactors - both present and future," said Mike Chilton, Founder and CEO of FluxPoint Energy. "Uranium conversion has become an unacceptable chokepoint in a global supply chain still dominated by foreign providers.

"America cannot lead in nuclear energy while relying on foreign-controlled fuel processing. FluxPoint was created to restore a critical piece of our nation's energy infrastructure - ensuring that US reactors have access to a secure, domestic fuel supply. This is about energy security, economic strength, and global leadership ... As global demand for reliable, carbon-free energy accelerates, FluxPoint Energy is positioning itself at the centre of a renewed American nuclear supply chain. We are helping unlock nuclear power's full potential as a cornerstone of the nation's energy future."

The initiative responds to federal policy under recent executive orders from the White House calling for a fourfold increase of US nuclear generating capacity by 2050 and reducing reliance on overseas suppliers. Onshoring the nuclear fuel cycle is seen as a priority for national security.

Honeywell's Metropolis Works plant, built in the 1950s in southern Illinois, is currently the only uranium conversion facility in the USA. It was temporarily shut down from 2017 to 2023 due to poor market conditions, but was restarted in July 2023. Solstice Advanced Materials - which was spun off from Honeywell in October last year - has invested in de-bottlenecking projects at Metropolis Works following its 2023 restart with the aim of raising production.

In September 2025, Texas-headquartered Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) launched a new subsidiary - called United States Uranium Refining & Conversion Corp (UR&C) - to pursue the feasibility of developing a new US uranium refining and conversion facility. The proposed facility - which UEC says will be the largest conversion facility in the USA and "amongst the most modern in the Western world" - is envisaged as having a designed capacity to produce some 10,000 tU per year as UF6, representing a "substantial share" of the USA's 18,000 tU per year demand.

Uranium Energy expands production capacity, advances refinery licensing

Staff Writer | March 24, 2026


Irigaray central processing plant in Wyoming. Credit; Uranium Energy Corp.
Uranium Energy (NYSE-A: UEC) says it has secured Wyoming state approval for additional header houses at its Christensen Ranch in-situ recovery (ISR) operation as part of a planned expansion.

On Tuesday, the Texas-based uranium producer announced that it has begun operating three additional header houses at wellfield 11. One more head house remains subject to regulatory approval, and three more are under construction in wellfield 12 and 10-extension, it added.

“With this approval, we have started uranium extraction at the new header houses enabling the planned increase in production volume at our Christensen Ranch operations,” Brent Berg, SVP of US operations, said in a press release.

The Christensen Ranch operation began in August 2024 and is currently undergoing a major expansion with three new wellfields to increase production, targeting up to 4 million lb. of annual capacity.

The recovered uranium is processed at the Irigaray plant, which is built to serve as the central hub for the 11 projects that UEC holds in the Powder River Basin area. In February 2025, the plant produced its first drummed uranium concentrate, and is now being upgraded for increased throughput.

Conversion facility licensing

UEC also said it has moved a step closer to building a uranium refining and conversion facility, having received a docket number from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to move forward with the application for a licence.

The facility, the location of which has yet to be determined, represents a key step in the development of a vertically integrated US-based uranium supply chain that connects UEC’s mining operations with advanced conversion technology.

According to the company, its facility would be the largest of its kind in the country, with the capacity to produce 10,000 metric tonnes of uranium hexafluoride annually, equal to over half of the US demand.

The formal licence application for the plant is expected to be submitted once engineering and design activities, currently underway with Fluor, are complete and a site has been selected, it said on Tuesday.

Shares of UEC shot up more than 3% to trade above $13 apiece in New York, giving the company a market capitalization of $6.3 billion.

Myriad Uranium doubles size of Wyoming project

Staff Writer | March 11, 2026

Myriad Uranium says it has effectively doubled the size of its flagship project in Wyoming after geophysical survey results indicated potential in other parts of the property that it has yet staked.

The project, known as Copper Mountain, has now been expanded from 9,439 acres to 18,351 acres to cover all key areas and targets across the district, Myriad said in a press release on Tuesday.

The company staked these additional claims after recent geophysical surveys at Copper Mountain led to the identification of uranium anomalies in previously untested grounds, mostly towards the eastern parts of the property.

To determine which areas to acquire, Myriad said it integrated the new geophysical data with its existing geological dataset, including insights derived from studies completed by Bendix Field Engineering for the US Department of Energy in 1982.

The Bendix study estimated uranium endowments at Copper Mountain of approximately 655 million lb. in uranium oxide equivalent (eU₃O₈) to a depth of 600 feet within a broader “assessment area,” and 245 million lb. eU₃O₈ at the same depth within a more focused “control area.”

Before the expanded staking, most of Myriad’s claims clustered to the west, which is where this historic uranium resource lies. Following the update, the company now controls approximately 62% of the assessment area and 80% of the control area.
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“Confidence is increasing that we now have one of the largest uranium projects in the United States,” he added.

Oak Ridge at heart of US enrichment supply chain developments

26 January 2026

BWX Technologies and Centrus Energy have marked major milestones as they build up their centrifuge manufacturing capacity in Tennessee, with BWXT opening a new facility and Centrus announcing major expansion plans, while laser enrichment technology LIS Technologies is also investing in Oak Ridge.


(image: Centrus)

Centrus's plans for a major expansion of its facility at Oak Ridge to a "high-rate manufacturing plant" were announced by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter and Centrus Energy President and CEO Amir Vexler. The expansion will see the creation of nearly 430 new jobs as Centrus invests more than USD560 million over "several years" to support both the growth in workforce and investment in the production of thousands of advanced centrifuges.

The company announced in December that it had started manufacturing centrifuges at Oak Ridge - relying on a domestic manufacturing supply chain - to support its commercial low-enriched uranium enrichment activities at Piketon, Ohio, where it plans a major expansion of its uranium enrichment plant to help the company meet America’s commercial and national security requirements.

The company was recently awarded funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to expand its uranium enrichment plant in Ohio with centrifuges produced in Tennessee. It has also utilised funding from Tennessee’s USD70 million Nuclear Energy Fund, which is administered through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

"These advanced centrifuges are essential to meeting America's energy security and national security requirements," Vexler said. "We are honoured to be a part of the vibrant ecosystem of nuclear energy leaders in East Tennessee and grateful for the strong support of federal, state and local leaders here."
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Orano may seek investors for $5 billion nuclear fuel plant in US

Bloomberg News | January 9, 2026

French nuclear fuel producer Orano SA said it may seek minority investors to help finance a $5 billion uranium enrichment plant that’s planned in Tennessee.


Orano was awarded $900 million this week by the US government to build the facility, but it’s still studying options for the rest of the funding required, the company said Tuesday. That may include equity and debt, as well as potential minority partners.

The Trump administration awarded funds to three nuclear fuel makers as part of an effort to restart domestic production and wean the US off Russian supplies. The move comes amid surging power demand from data centers and mounting pressure on politicians to tame rising energy bills.

State-controlled Orano, which already supplies enriched uranium to US utilities from a plant in France, aims to reach a final investment decision on its US project next year, pending regulatory approvals. Production in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, would start in 2031.

US awards $2.7 billion worth of orders to boost uranium enrichment

Reuters | January 5, 2026

The US Energy Department announced on Monday it was awarding orders totaling $2.7 billion to three companies to boost domestic uranium enrichment over the next 10 years in a broader effort to reduce US dependence on Russian supply.


American Centrifuge Operating, General Matter and Orano Federal Services secured the orders, the department said in a statement.

The contracts would require the companies to meet specific milestones to provide enrichment services for low-enriched uranium and high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, for existing nuclear power plants and new, smaller modular reactors.

“Today’s awards show that this Administration is committed to restoring a secure domestic nuclear fuel supply chain capable of producing the nuclear fuels needed to power the reactors of today and the advanced reactors of tomorrow,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said.


Russia is currently the only country that makes HALEU – uranium enriched to between 5% and 20%, which is said to make new high-tech reactors more efficient – in commercial volumes. Funds to make the fuel domestically in the United States were included in a law to ban uranium shipments from Russia fully by 2028.

The DOE awarded American Centrifuge Operating, a subsidiary of Centrus Energy, and General Matter, backed by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, with $900 million each to develop domestic HALEU enrichment capacity. It awarded Orano Federal Services with $900 million to expand domestic low-enrichment uranium production.

The Energy Department separately awarded an additional $28 million to Global Laser Enrichment, part-owned by Canadian uranium company Cameco, to further its work to build next-generation uranium enrichment technology for the nuclear fuel cycle.

Global Laser Enrichment had sought a $900 million award.

HALEU’s critics say it is a weapons risk if it gets into the wrong hands and recommend limiting enrichment to between 10% and 12% for safety. Uranium fuel used in today’s reactors is enriched to about 5%.

Duke Energy submits early site permit application for nuclear project

Friday, 2 January 2026

Duke Energy has submitted a technology-neutral application to the US nuclear regulator for an early site permit for potential small modular reactors at a site near the Belews Creek Steam Station in North Carolina.


The proposed site at Belews Creek (Image: Duke Energy)

An early site permit - or ESP - is an optional process to confirm a site's suitability for new nuclear generation: possession of such a permit reduces the risk of delays during licensing and construction. The early site permit is technology neutral - a technology can be selected later in the development process - but Duke said its application includes six potential reactor technologies, including four small modular reactor (SMR) designs and two non-light-water designs. Large light-water reactors are not included in the permit application.

"We're taking a strategic approach to new nuclear development that allows us to advance licensing activities while reducing risks and allowing technologies to mature," said Duke Energy's Chief Nuclear Officer Kelvin Henderson.

An early site permit will provide "future optionality" for Duke's customers and the communities it serves, the company said, adding that - if additional evaluation confirms small modular reactor technology at the Belews Creek site offers the best value for customers - it plans to add 600 megawatts of advanced nuclear to the system by 2037, with the first reactor coming on line in 2036. An early site permit is valid for 10 to 20 years, and can be renewed for an additional 10 to 20 years, but would not allow the construction of a plant to begin - that would require a construction permit, or a combined construction and operation licence.

Submission of the application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) marks the culmination of two years of work, Duke Energy said.

The NRC notified Duke in a letter dated 18 December that it had completed a pre-application readiness assessment of the draft site safety analysis report, environmental report and other supporting documents for the application.

In October, Duke Energy filed a resource plan with utility regulators proposing the evaluation of large light-water reactor technology, as well as small SMRs, to help meet growing electricity demand across North Carolina and South Carolina. The plan identifies the William States Lee III Nuclear Station site in Cherokee County, South Carolina, and the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant site in Wake County, North Carolina, as those best suited for new large reactors.

The existing Belews Creek Steam Station is a two-unit plant on the shores of Belew Lake, in Stokes County, with a total capacity of 2200 MWe. It was built as a coal-fired plant, entering commercial operation in 1974, but is now co-fired on coal and natural gas (co-firing means the units can use either coal or natural gas, or a combination of these fuels). The current units are scheduled to retire in the late 2030s. Repurposing the site offers a cost-saving opportunity for customers, and enables Duke Energy to reinvest in the local community, the company has said.

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Two SMR projects selected for US federal funding

Wednesday, 3 December 2025

The US Department of Energy has selected Tennessee Valley Authority and Holtec to each receive USD400 million in federal cost-shared funding to support early deployments of advanced light-water small modular reactors in the USA.

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Anfield seeks approval to restart Colorado uranium-vanadium mine

Reuters | November 19, 2025


JD-8 is part of the company’s West Slope project in southwestern Colorado. Credit: Anfield Energy

Anfield Energy said on Wednesday it has applied for state approval to restart its past-producing JD-8 uranium and vanadium mine in Colorado, positioning the company to restart production in the second half of 2026.
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Constellation secures USD1 billion loan for reactor restart

Wednesday, 19 November 2025

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced that the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office has closed a USD1 billion loan to Constellation Energy Generation to help finance the restart of Three Mile Island unit 1, now known as the Crane Clean Energy Centre.
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Eagle Energy Metals reports positive metallurgical results for Aurora uranium project

Staff Writer | November 12, 2025

Eagle Energy Metals reported on Wednesday new metallurgical optimization results from its flagship Aurora uranium project in southeast Oregon.


The company acquired the Aurora uranium project in 2024, which it says is the largest mineable uranium deposit in the US. Its land package spans the Oregon-Nevada border, with the mine on the Oregon side and the plant on the Nevada side.


The results showed recoveries in the high-80% range and an approximate 60% reduction in acid use, signaling major gains in processing efficiency and cost reduction, the company said in a press release.

According to Eagle, the tests demonstrated no requirement for separate processing of clay and middlings, simplifying the flowsheet while reducing capital and operating costs. Also, the leach duration was reduced to around 12 hours from 24 hours previously, with no requirement for ferric sulphate, further reducing reagent costs.

Eagle’s flagship project includes the Aurora deposit, with 32.75 million lb. indicated and nearly 5 million lb. inferred of near-surface uranium resource, and the adjacent Cordex deposit, which it says offers significant potential to expand the project’s overall resource inventory, based on over 500 completed drill holes.

Uranium is a crucial source of reliable baseload power as nuclear energy, and the US requires an estimated 32 million lb. of uranium annually for its current nuclear reactors. Energy Fuels’ White Mesa in Utah is the only producing mill in the US.

In 2024, the US purchased 50 million lb. of uranium, but only produced 677,000 lb., according to the Energy Information Administration.

“Reducing acid use and cutting processing times can make a meaningful difference in the economics of a uranium project,” Eagle Energy Metals CEO Mark Mukhija said in the news release.

“These results show that Aurora’s uranium may be recovered more efficiently and at lower cost than anticipated, without sacrificing performance,” Mukhija continued. “For Eagle, that would be a clear validation of the project’s quality and a key step toward building a reliable US uranium supply chain that can support the nation’s clean energy goals.”

Eagle expects the project to serve as its flagship asset following the completion of its proposed business combination with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. Upon closing, Eagle plans to list on Nasdaq under the ticker NUCL.

By pairing a large, geologically low-risk uranium resource with its SMR technology, Eagle said it aims to help strengthen the US uranium supply and help rebuild a secure domestic nuclear supply chain.

Anfield breaks ground at Utah uranium mine

Thursday, 13 November 2025

Weeks after receiving its final construction permit from the State of Utah, Anfield Energy has broken ground at the Velvet-Wood Uranium-Vanadium Mine - first production could be as soon as 2026.

The symbolic first dig marked the official launch of construction activities including mine reopening, dewatering, and development, following expedited federal and state approvals. The mine, in southeastern Utah, was approved for fast-tracked development earlier this year, and the company said the milestone underscores the alignment between policy advancements and on-the-ground progress in revitalising the US domestic uranium supply chain.

The ground-breaking ceremony on 6 November took place as the US Geological Survey (USGS) published its newest list of critical minerals which, for the first time since 2018, now contains uranium - and the timing "could not be more auspicious", Anfield said, adding that it "sets the stage for potential first production in 2026".

"This is a transformative moment for both American energy security and Anfield," said said CEO Corey Dias. "With uranium now officially classified as a critical mineral, our advanced-stage projects located in both Utah and Colorado potentially stand to benefit from expedited permitting, targeted federal investments, and enhanced market access. We've now broken ground at our Velvet-Wood mine, and this policy shift will supercharge our path to near-term production, delivering clean, reliable nuclear fuel to the grid while reducing reliance on overseas suppliers."

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