Highest Grade Drill Results At Alta Mesa Uranium Project

Highest Grade Drill Results At Alta Mesa Uranium Project

DALLAS, TX – enCore Energy Corp. announced highest grade drill results to date since drilling activities restarted from the Alta Mesa Project in South Texas. These results significantly exceed the cutoff grade thickness requirements for In-Situ Recovery (ISR) of uranium. The Company also reports that work to advance the Alta Mesa Uranium Central Processing Plant and Wellfield (Alta Mesa) towards production is advancing on schedule.  

Drilling from Alta Mesa’s Production Area Authorization (PAA) provides results that range up to a grade thickness of 8.4 with a maximum thickness of 13.5 feet. The cutoff grade thickness for ISR in South Texas is generally accepted to be 0.3 with grade thickness being the relevant factor in determining reasonable prospects for economic extraction. The Alta Mesa ISR Uranium Central Processing Plant (“CPP”) upgrades and refurbishments are advancing on schedule for the planned early 2024 resumption of uranium production.

Initial production from Alta Mesa’s PAA-7 wellfield will have a total of 59 production wells with 36 extraction wells and 23 injection wells that form the startup production patterns.  57 of these are completed with the last two wells scheduled for completion. The wells are being prepared for connection to the pipeline to the CPP. Production from the wellfield at Alta Mesa will be increasing as additional production patterns are completed following the initial 59 wells and duplicate the process used for the initial Alta Mesa startup in 2005. Drilling and well installation for the follow-on production patterns is already well underway and will continue as CPP capacity is reached. Uranium production from the Rosita Uranium CPP, which commenced in November 2023 and has completed its first shipment of uranium, continues to maintain expected production levels.

Paul Goranson, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are extremely pleased with the drilling results from Alta Mesa. Cutoff grade thickness for ISR operations in Texas are generally 0.3 GT for economic extraction. With drilling returning a significant number of GTs in production delineation holes in excess of 3.0 with a high of 8.4, we are becoming increasingly optimistic that our contained uranium will exceed estimates contained in the 2023 technical report that cited GTs averaging 0.59 to 0.68 for each of the specific ore horizons. Indeed, we are confirming higher grade portions of the mineralized zone than initially estimated from broader spaced drilling as proposed in the 2023 technical report. Having directed the initial development and operation of Alta Mesa for a private company in 2005, I have observed that this project has historically consistently exceeded expectations. We look forward to returning Alta Mesa to production.”