enCore Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:EU|TSXV:EU) (the “Company” or “enCore”), a United States uranium producer, announced today on-going positive results from its Alta Mesa In-Situ Recovery Central Processing Plant (“CPP”) and Wellfield drill program.
Drilling, designed to expand the producing wellfield capacity, continues to significantly exceed the cutoff grade thickness requirements for In-Situ Recovery (“ISR”) of uranium.
The Company also reports that production from its first wellfield continues to progress with increases to the number of Alta Mesa production and injection wells on schedule for 2024 and continuing into 2025.
Significant operational highlights include:
- Drilling results, to mid-September 2024, at Alta Mesa Wellfield 7 (also known as Production Area Authorization 7 or PAA-7), include intercepts with Grade Thickness (“GT”) up to 3.615. Maximum total thickness encountered is 17.5 feet. The cutoff GT for ISR in South Texas is generally accepted to be 0.3 with GT being the relevant factor in determining reasonable prospects for economic extraction. GT is defined as grade multiplied by intercept thickness;
- The Alta Mesa CPP is processing, on average, 1,700 gallons per minute of pregnant solution from initial patterns in Wellfield 7. Additional injection and production wells are currently being installed to increase the processing and production rate. The Alta Mesa CPP continues to dry, package and ship uranium yellowcake (U3O8);
- Production from Alta Mesa Wellfield 7 is expected to increase as additional production patterns are completed and plumbed into the Alta Mesa CPP. Drilling and wellfield installation for the additional production patterns is well underway and will continue as the Alta Mesa CPP capacity is reached and maintained.
Wellfield delineation drilling commenced in the spring of 2023 at Alta Mesa Wellfield 7 along a previously defined ore body consisting of stacked roll fronts.
The NI 43-101 Technical Report dated January 19, 2023, and titled “Technical Report Summary for the Alta Mesa Uranium Project, Brooks and Jim Hogg Counties, Texas, USA” (“Technical Report”) stated that Wellfield 7 contains 1.292 million pounds U3O8 indicated resources and 0.175 million pounds U3O8 inferred resources with an average grade thickness ranging from 0.59 to 0.68 GT using a 0.3 GT cutoff.
As has been observed from historic drilling at the Alta Mesa Project, the density of drilling necessary to install an ISR wellfield provides the opportunity to identify higher grade portions of the ore body than initially estimated with the broader spaced drilling programs used to support the Technical Report.
The Alta Mesa Drilling Table below continues to support that observation. As drilling continues during additional wellfield development in Wellfield 7, we expect that we will continue to observe results that could lead to an average GT significantly higher than the average GT reported in the Technical Report.
To view the Alta Mesa CPP and Wellfield maps please visit: bit.ly/3fV9fTg.
Alta Mesa Wellfield Drilling Update
The Alta Mesa Wellfield drilling operations , commenced in March 2023, are advancing rapidly with 80 holes drilled since the previous update (March 18, 2024). In total, 749 drill holes have been completed through mid-September 2024. At present there are seven (7) drill rigs in full operation at Alta Mesa, with plans to double that number over the next twelve (12) months.
| Drill Hole | Goliad Sandstone Horizon | Depth (ft) | Grade % U3O8 | Thickness (feet) | Grade Thickness (GT) | Total Hole GT |
| 164-117 | LCU2 | 491.0 | 0.162 | 5.0 | 0.81 | |
| 161-119 | LCU2 | 494.0 | 0.092 | 9.0 | 0.828 | |
| 183-97 | LCU2 | 511.0 | 0.051 | 6.5 | 0.329 | |
| 174-96 | LCU2 | 508.5 | 0.129 | 6.0 | 0.776 | |
| 170-100 | LCU2 | 508.0 | 0.145 | 3.0 | 0.435 | |
| LCL1 | 515.0 | 0.069 | 3.5 | 0.242 | 0.677 | |
| 181-93 | LCL1 | 517.0 | 0.424 | 7.5 | 3.179 | |
| 180-89 | LCU1 | 497.5 | 0.211 | 7.5 | 1.580 | |
| 163-118 | LCU2 | 494.5 | 0.125 | 6.0 | 0.752 | |
| 172-97 | LCL1 | 507.5 | 0.185 | 2.0 | 0.370 | |
| 161-118 | LCU1 | 485.5 | 0.111 | 2.5 | 0.277 | |
| LCL1 | 503.0 | 0.055 | 5.5 | 0.301 | 0.578 | |
| 172-96 | LCU2 | 507.5 | 0.157 | 8.0 | 1.260 | |
| 171-100 | LCU1 | 489.5 | 0.106 | 6.0 | 0.633 | |
| 172-97 | LCL1 | 507.5 | 0.185 | 2.0 | 0.370 | |
| 162-117 | LCU2 | 495.5 | 0.179 | 5.0 | 0.895 | |
| 161-1182 | LCU1 | 489.0 | 0.138 | 5.5 | 0.758 | |
| LCU2 | 495.0 | 0.238 | 12.0 | 2.857 | 3.615 | |
| 171-95 | LCU2 | 502.5 | 0.137 | 5.5 | 0.756 | |
| 181-92 | LCU1 | 495.0 | 0.362 | 5.0 | 1.811 | |
| 181-90 | LCU2 | 501.0 | 0.141 | 3.5 | 0.493 | |
| 177-88 | LCU2 | 503.0 | 0.203 | 4.5 | 0.912 | |
| 183-96 | LCL1 | 522.0 | 0.108 | 6.0 | 0.647 | |
| LCL2 | 529.0 | 0.291 | 9.0 | 2.617 | 3.264 | |
| 172-98 | LCU2 | 500.0 | 0.236 | 4.0 | 0.946 | |
| 181-91 | LCL1 | 518.0 | 0.306 | 6.5 | 1.988 | |
| 191-89 | LCU2 | 510 | 0.201 | 3.5 | 0.705 | |
| 173-96 | LCL1 | 516.5 | 0.130 | 3.5 | 0.454 | |
| 171-96 | LCU1 | 488.5 | 0.228 | 6.5 | 1.485 | |
| 176-90 | LCU2 | 508.5 | 0.134 | 3.5 | 0.468 | |
| 193-112 | LCL2 | 534.0 | 0.235 | 7.0 | 1.644 | |
| 181-89 | MCM1 | 427.0 | 0.125 | 3.5 | 0.439 | |
| 163-118 | LCU1 | 493.5 | 0.092 | 3.0 | 0.275 | |
| LCU2 | 499.0 | 0.472 | 4.5 | 2.125 | 2.400 |
Alta Mesa In-Situ Recovery (“ISR”) Uranium Central Processing Plant (“CPP”) & Wellfield
The Alta Mesa CPP and Wellfield hosts a fully licensed and constructed ISR uranium plant, located on 200,000+ acres of private land in the state of Texas. Alta Mesa is enCore’s second producing location and operates under a 70/30 joint venture between enCore Energy Corp. and Boss Energy Limited (ASX:BOE; OTCQX:BQSSF) with enCore Energy as the managing operator.
Total operating capacity at the Alta Mesa CPP is 1.5 million lbs. U3O8 (uranium) per year with an additional drying and packaging capacity of more than 0.5 million lbs. U3O8. The Alta Mesa CPP historically produced nearly 5 million lbs. U3O8 between 2005 and 2013, when full production was curtailed as a result of low uranium prices.
Alta Mesa CPP and Wellfield highlights:
- Alta Mesa CPP’s operations are located on 200,000 acres of private land, with 100% of minerals privately owned, and in a supportive jurisdiction with primary regulatory authority residing with the State of Texas.
- The Alta Mesa CPP utilizes well-known ISR technology to extract uranium in a non-invasive process using natural groundwater and oxygen, coupled with a proven ion exchange process, to recover the uranium.
John M. Seeley, Ph.D., P.G., C.P.G., enCore’s Manager of Geology and Exploration, and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure in this news release on behalf of the Company.
About enCore Energy Corp.
enCore Energy Corp., America’s Clean Energy Company™, is committed to providing clean, reliable, and affordable fuel for nuclear energy as the only United States uranium producer with multiple production facilities in operation. The enCore team is led by industry experts with extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of In-Situ Recovery (“ISR”) uranium operations and the nuclear fuel cycle. enCore solely utilizes ISR for uranium extraction, a well-known and proven technology co-developed by the leaders at enCore Energy.
Following upon enCore’s demonstrated production success in South Texas, future projects in the production pipeline include the Dewey-Burdock project in South Dakota and the Gas Hills project in Wyoming.
