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Uranium Energy (UEC) Receives Prelim. Economic Assessment for Anderson Project

September 16, 2014 6:36 AM EDT

Uranium Energy (AMEX: UEC) announced that the Company has received the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA"), prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"), for the Anderson Project (the "Project"). As of the effective date of the PEA, the Project covers 9,852 acres (15.4 square miles) and is comprised of 459 contiguous, unpatented lode mining and placer claims and two Arizona State land sections. It is located in western Yavapai County approximately 75 miles northwest of Phoenix.

The PEA completed for the Project has been authored by Douglas L. Beahm, P.E., P.G. Principal Engineer, of BRS Inc., Terence P. (Terry) McNulty, P.E., PhD. Sc., of T. P. McNulty and Associates Inc., Bruce Davis, FAusIMM, of BD Resource Consulting Inc. and Robert Sim, P.G., of SIM Geological Inc. The purpose of the PEA is to provide an independent analysis of the potential economic viability of the mineral resources* of the Project.

President and CEO Amir Adnani stated, "In addition to our low-cost ISR business in Texas, the Anderson Project is another example of the deep portfolio of projects that will add significant shareholder value at higher uranium prices. Since acquiring the Anderson Project in September 2011, we have defined a major NI 43-101 mineral resource and have now completed a PEA which represents a significant milestone toward commercial development. We look forward to ongoing advancements at Anderson, and are confident that additional studies, including a study of the recovery of vanadium as a by-product credit, can further enhance project economics."

Project Economics

The PEA provides for a four-year pre-production period which includes development drilling, mine and heap design, and permitting. Pre-production expenses are estimated at US$8 million. Initial capital for open pit mining equipment, mineral processing facilities, site preparation, access, infrastructure, buildings, and the initial heap leach pad construction total US$43.9 million. Additional capital for highwall and underground mining equipment would be added during years four through eight of the operations and total US$87.6 million. Total Life of Mine capital including contingences, replacement capital, and additional heap leach pads is estimated at US$139.2 million.

The anticipated mine life is 14 years during which it is anticipated that the mine will produce an estimated 16 million pounds of uranium at an average annual rate slightly in excess of one million pounds per annum.

The PEA shows a positive return on investment with an IRR ranging from 53% to 63% with uranium prices in the range of $60 to $65 per pound. NPV at a 10% discount rate ranges from US$109.0 to US$142.2 million before income tax. Including Arizona and US Federal income tax the IRR ranges from 42% to 50% with uranium prices in the range of $60 to $65 per pound. NPV at a 10% discount rate ranges from US$76.4 to US$101 million after income tax.

Before Income Tax

@ $60/lb@ $65/lb
NPV at� 8% discount rateUS$131.7 MillionUS$170.7 Million
NPV at 10% discount rateUS$109.0 MillionUS$142.2 Million
NPV at 12% discount rateUS$90.7 MillionUS$119.0 Million
IRR 53%63%

After Arizona and Federal Income Tax

@ $60/lb@ $65/lb
NPV at� 8% discount rateUS$93.6 MillionUS$122.8 Million
NPV at 10% discount rateUS$76.4 MillionUS$101.1 Million
NPV at 12% discount rateUS$62.4 MillionUS$83.6 Million
IRR 42%50%

Summary of Mineral Resources

The current NI 43-101 Technical Report (B D Resources, June, 2012) estimates the following mineral resources:

Mineral Resource CategoryCut-off % e U3O8K tonnesGrade % e U3O8M Pounds % e U3O8
Indicated Mineral Resource
���� Open Pit0.01025,4220.02815.5
���� Underground0.0351,4260.0491.5
Total Indicated 26,848 17.0
Inferred Mineral Resource
���� Open Pit0.0104,6330.0242.5
���� Underground0.0358,3620.0529.5
Total Inferred 12,995 12.0

The setting of the deposit is such that mineralization occurs at the surface in the north, and reaches depths in excess of 1800 feet to the south due to the geologic dip and local terrain. As a result, portions of the deposit are amenable to open pit mining methods while others are more suited to underground methods. The PEA is based on conceptual mine design which includes open pit mining and a combination of highwall and room and pillar underground mining.

Metallurgy and Processing

Mineral processing and recovery will be accomplished by heap leaching the mined materials on-site. The mineral processing plant and the initial heap leach pad will be located within an area which has been disturbed by shallow open pit mines which operated between 1955 and 1959, producing some 33,320 pounds of uranium which sold at the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) buying station in Tuba City, Arizona. Stockpiles of mineralized material from the existing open pits remains on-site and were sampled and tested for metallurgical purposes.

The metallurgical testing was completed by Resource Development Inc. of Denver, Colorado and was supervised by Dr. McNulty. The test results demonstrate that the mineralized material from the Anderson Project can be successfully recovered by conventional heap leach methods.

Based on the current metallurgical testing, the PEA assumes that the mined material will be crushed and screened to 80% passing 1-inches, then stacked on a lined pad with a radial stacker to a nominal height of 20 feet. A nominal 50 pounds of 93% H2SO4 acid per ton of mineralized material will be applied to the heap via a drip system to leach the contained uranium. Test results indicate an overall recovery of 90% is achievable. Leach solutions will be removed from solution using a solvent extraction (SX) circuit which loads the concentrate uranium onto resin.

The base case for the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) considers conventional mining in conjunction with on-site heap leach recovery, producing an intermediate uranium concentrate in the form of loaded resin which could be shipped to the White Mesa mill near Blanding, Utah for final processing. However, once the uranium is concentrated and loaded on resin it could be shipped to other central processing facilities.

Vanadium is present in the mineralized material. The PEA is based on the recovery of uranium only. Future studies will determine the feasibility of recovering vanadium as a by-product. The complete PEA will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days.

The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and was reviewed by Clyde L. Yancey, P.G., Vice President-Exploration for the Company, a QP under NI 43-101.



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