Energy Fuels Inc Q3 FY2022 Earnings Call

Good afternoon. My name is Colin, and I'll be your conference operator today. I would like to welcome everyone to the Energy Fuels Q3 2022 Conference Call. Mr. Mark Chalmers, you may begin your conference.

Thank you for the introduction, and good afternoon to everyone joining today. It's morning for me in Adelaide, South Australia. We appreciate your attendance at the Q3 2022 conference call. We’re excited to discuss our achievements, particularly regarding uranium and rare earth. I'm pleased to share that we have a new presentation format that we believe conveys our story in a clearer and more engaging way. Although our news flow during Q3 has been somewhat quiet, we continue to make significant progress in executing our business plan. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine remains a primary factor affecting the uranium markets, making it evident that Russia needs to be removed from the Western nuclear fuel supply chain. This situation is creating pressure on uranium conversion and enrichment, which we believe will impact the natural uranium markets. The U.S. government is exploring options, but many utilities are starting to transition away from Russian supplies. Consequently, Energy Fuels has secured uranium supply contracts and is looking at additional agreements to support pricing. We have sizable uranium inventories that will be utilized for these contracts in the initial years. Additionally, we are investing in our mines and hiring personnel to resume large-scale uranium production by next year. On the rare earth front, I’m excited to announce that we’re installing a light separation commercial-scale facility at the White Mesa Mill. If we execute our plans as intended, we’ll be the first company in the U.S. to commercially separate rare earth elements at scale. We anticipate closing the Bahia project by the end of this year or early next year, with delays primarily due to the Brazilian government's approval process for final transfers. As many of you may know, we have successfully sold over 600,000 pounds of vanadium at healthy margins and have made excellent progress in the medical isotope sector. There's a lot happening, to say the least. Regarding administrative matters, replays of this presentation will be available for two weeks on our website starting today or tomorrow. You have control of your own slides on your device, and I’ll do my best to let you know when to advance. At the end of the presentation, we will open the floor for questions. I’m joined today by David Frydenlund, our Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer; Tom Brock, our CFO; and Curtis Moore, our VP of Marketing and Corporate Development, who will assist with questions. Let’s get started. The first slide shows a picture of the White Mesa Mill, our flagship asset, which has positioned itself as a leading producer of critical materials for the energy transition. Our mission is straightforward: to responsibly produce the critical materials necessary for this energy transition. This is an exciting field, and Energy Fuels has no direct peers since no other company does what we do. Today, I’m highlighting several elements from the periodic table that Energy Fuels currently produces or has the capability to produce, underscoring our focus on becoming a critical mineral hub. We are covering significant ground with specialty elements used in nuclear power, vanadium flow batteries, renewable energy sources, and permanent magnets, among others. These are all high-value product lines. Uranium is essential for zero-carbon baseload energy; rare earth elements are crucial for clean energy technologies, particularly in magnets for wind and electric vehicles; vanadium is used for steel and as an electrolyte in grid-scale batteries; and medical isotopes are vital for emerging cancer therapies. Recycling has also been integral to our operations for decades. Our goal for Q3 is to be first-to-market in several areas, focusing on uranium and rare earths. We are preparing one or more facilities for operation as soon as 2023. We have recently hired about 20 people to support this effort and have significant uranium inventories to fulfill our contracts. Currently, we possess around 760,000 pounds of uranium and are actively producing or packaging additional amounts, totaling about 130,000 to 140,000 pounds, in addition to nearly 200,000 pounds of other stockpiles. Our uranium production guidance has seen a slight increase with this latest run of alternate feeds, and we are pending results from our bids for the uranium reserve with the Department of Energy. We are also set to receive additional monazite from Chemours, totaling approximately 640 metric tons for processing later this year or early in 2023. I mentioned the Bahia project in Brazil and noted that we are preparing to begin drilling, which is significant news that has been detailed in our recent releases. In about 12 to 18 months, we expect to produce between 2,500 to 5,000 metric tons of REO, including 500 to 1,000 metric tons of NdPr. To put this into perspective, 500 metric tons of NdPr could power approximately 0.5 million electric vehicles, and 1,000 metric tons could support up to 1 million. We refer to this initial production phase as Phase 1, while a larger facility with enhanced capabilities is planned for the following few years. Our balance sheet remains robust, with $122 million in working capital at the end of the quarter, which includes $77 million in cash and nearly $12 million in marketable securities. Our product inventory is valued at approximately $27 million, with current market values potentially higher. Additionally, we have investments in Consolidated Uranium and Virginia Energy totaling around $20 million and no debt, placing us in a strong position for growth in both uranium and rare earths. We reported a net loss of $9.3 million for the quarter, which is primarily related to the increased costs of development, permitting, land holdings, and other expenses necessary to accelerate our operations. In terms of hidden assets, when factoring in uranium and vanadium inventories at current prices and our investments, our balance sheet exceeds $150 million. For our 2022 guidance, we have slightly increased our uranium production target to between 130,000 and 140,000 pounds, with finished goods inventory expected between 760,000 and 900,000 pounds by year-end. We produced about 205 tons of mixed rare earth carbonate, translating to about 95 tons of REO, although we face some delays in receiving monazite from Chemours. We expect to process the additional 640 tons later this year and early next year, with potential revenue upside from uranium sales to the DOE as previously mentioned. Our new uranium sales contracts are set to begin in 2023, and we've already received notifications from utilities indicating their interest in increasing their purchase quantities. We anticipate selling separated NdPr by 2024. Our products and practices align perfectly with ESG principles. Uranium contributes to zero-carbon baseload energy, rare earths support clean energy technologies, vanadium is valuable for steel and grid-scale batteries, medical isotopes are crucial for new cancer treatments, and recycling helps prevent waste. We’re excited about the progress made with the San Juan Clean Energy Foundation, which now has an advisory board, and we're supporting Native American STEM education initiatives. Our sustainability report remains a vital aspect of our focus on ESG. Our core business continues to be uranium. After 46 years in the industry, we remain committed to uranium production. The White Mesa Mill serves as our hub for producing uranium, vanadium, and rare earths while also having the potential to produce medical isotopes. The Pinyon Plain Mine and the Alta Mesa ISR mine in Texas are on standby, and we're preparing several assets for potential production resumption when the time is right. Our uranium contracts beginning in 2023 will provide a stable foundation, with base quantities expected around 3 million pounds, potentially increasing to 4.2 million pounds over approximately 8 years. We are eager to bring one or two mines back into production, ideally in 2023, while we await more information from the U.S. government on the uranium reserve, which has experienced delays. Our current position as a uranium producer places us in the middle of the pack, and while we continue to operate as a uranium producer, we maintain zero debt and have produced our own uranium stocks, aside from a small recent purchase. It's important to note that no other company in our space operates in rare earths, vanadium, or medical isotopes, which sets us apart. The growth drivers for rare earths are crucial for our company, as we fill a significant gap in the U.S. rare earth supply chain by focusing on high-value rare earth-bearing minerals like monazite. The White Mesa Mill is currently the only facility in North America capable of processing monazite, allowing us to recover uranium while producing advanced rare earth products. As we've progressed significantly since April 2022, we're on track to commercially produce carbonate and have successfully piloted the separation of NdPr at a 99.8% purity. Our agreements for the Bahia project could ensure a long-term supply of monazite for the mill, and we have plans for a commercial-scale light separation facility at the mill next year and beyond. In the next 12 to 18 months, we're also focused on expanding our operations with a larger facility planned for 2026 to 2027. Few others can match our progress and timeline over the past few years. Our advancement towards full integration continues with our procurement of natural monazite, and we’re progressing with essential steps toward metal making and alloying. We maintain an advantage due to our capabilities in handling radionuclides and monetizing them efficiently. As a result, we are strategically positioned to seize opportunities in both the rare earth and uranium sectors. I appreciate your attention, and I'm now open to any questions you might have about the company's current status. Thank you.

In the release, you talked about hiring a bunch of new employees to perform work needed for recommencing production. Maybe just expand on what type of work they're conducting. And assuming you make a restart decision, what kind of timeline are you looking at? Or is that asset-specific?

Many of our assets have been inactive for several years and need maintenance and improvements. When we say we are ready to start, we intend to be fully prepared. Currently, our uranium production is active, and we are producing and packaging at the mill, with additional inventories available for processing. We can increase production at the mill right now. At various sites, we are making significant progress. By being fully prepared, I mean having all facilities operational, maintenance completed, and equipment restored. Our mechanics in Cortez are working on these tasks. We have existing inventories ready to fulfill contracts starting in 2023, and we can begin physical production whenever we choose. It’s really about organizing everything so we can accelerate once we decide to move forward.

Okay. And then let's say you do that and you get it ready and the uranium price hits the price that you're looking for, again, is it asset-specific? Or how long kind of would it take to get back into production on, say, one of your conventional assets?

Around 12 months or less.

There are no further questions at this time. I'll turn it back to Mark for closing remarks.

Thank you for your interest in Energy Fuels. We’re a unique company that offers a range of elements beyond just uranium or rare earths. If you’re interested in the energy transition and the elements we are currently recovering or plan to recover, Energy Fuels presents an exceptional investment opportunity. We anticipate providing more updates in the coming months, potentially with a higher volume of news than we had in the last quarter. This does not reflect any lack of effort on our part; we are committed and our team is working diligently. I'm proud of our great people and the momentum we have. Thank you again, and have a good day.

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call at this time. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.