Uranium Energy has said that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has granted a Radioactive Materials License (RML) for the company's Palangana ISR Uranium Project located in Duval County, Texas.
Prior to Palangana, the last RML granted by TCEQ was in 2002 to Mestena Uranium for their operation in Brooks County, Texas. The Palangana project has now obtained all the permits needed to proceed with development and has fully and successfully completed the state permitting process at all levels.
Amir Adnani, president and CEO of Uranium Energy, said: “The completion of the permitting for Palangana underscores the value-creation opportunities the company is developing in South Texas. With the fully licensed Hobson processing facility now in hand, and with the decades of ISR development and operations experience behind the technical team here, management is confident of the transition to operating status.”
Harry Anthony, chief operating officer of Uranium Energy, said: “We appreciate the professionalism and speed with which the TCEQ is acting. With Palangana now fully permitted, Company geologists and engineers are accelerating the pace and scope of their development efforts.”
The company completed the acquisition of the Palangana project through its acquisition of the South Texas Mining Venture on December 18, 2009. Presently, the company’s technical team is studying the substantial historical information about the project before initiating a 215-hole drilling program with several rigs onsite.
Concurrently, the company has also engaged SRK Consulting for technical assistance to develop a current NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Palangana project, which is expected to be completed by mid February 2010.
The Palangana project is a prior-producing in-situ recovery (ISR) project located in the South Texas uranium belt. The 2,500-hectare (6,200-acre) property is located approximately 100 miles south of the Hobson processing facility. Over 4,000 holes were drilled at the project by Union Carbide (UCC), Chevron and Everest Exploration.
UCC produced uranium at the project in the mid to late 1970’s with ISR technology. Harry Anthony, the company’s chief operating officer, was a member of UCC’s ISR mining team and oversaw the development and production of this project.