Anfield Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: AEC) has filed an updated preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its combined uranium and vanadium projects in Utah and Colorado, according to a company statement. The PEA, titled "The Shootaring Canyon Mill and Tributary Mines, Utah and Colorado, USA, Preliminary Economic Assessment," was filed on SEDAR+ and prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101.

The assessment covers the Velvet-Wood and Slick Rock uranium and vanadium projects, along with six mines from the West Slope complex, all located within the Uravan Mineral Belt. Anfield's Shootaring Canyon Mill in Utah is designated as the centralized processing facility in the plan.

Key financial projections from the PEA include a pre-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 106% and a pre-tax net present value (NPV) of $606 million, based on an 8% discount rate, a uranium price of $100 per pound, and a vanadium price of $9 per pound. The post-tax IRR is estimated at 97% with a post-tax NPV of $533 million. The projected payback period for mine and mill capital expenditures is 1.3 years.

Average annual production is estimated at approximately 1.3 million pounds of uranium (U3O8) and 6.4 million pounds of vanadium (V2O5) over a 15-year mine life, with a peak production year projected at 1.9 million pounds of uranium and 7.8 million pounds of vanadium.

Estimated mill-related capital expenditures at Shootaring total $80.1 million, including $31.1 million for general upgrades, $34.6 million for a vanadium circuit, and $14.4 million for tailings management facility updates, each including a 20% contingency. Mine-related capital expenditures are estimated at $37.5 million, partially offset by approximately $23.2 million in expected cash flow from initial uranium production from stockpiled material. Total life-of-mine costs are estimated at $173 million, including sustaining capital.

The PEA notes that a 10% change in commodity prices would vary the pre-tax NPV by approximately $136 million. The assessment is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative to be categorized as mineral reserves, with no certainty that projected outcomes will be realized.