Benzinga - by Matt Whittaker, Mining Editor.
President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law a ban on enriched uranium from Russia in the latest U.S. attempt to deprive Moscow of funding for its war in Ukraine.
The move is a win for North American uranium mining companies that have been ramping up production in response to rising prices for the nuclear fuel amid expectations of increasing demand as governments around the world look to decarbonize electricity production.
"The Russian-Ukraine conflict really put some light on how we became overly dependent on Russian nuclear fuel products," Mark Chalmers, CEO of Colorado-based uranium producer Energy Fuels (NYSEAMERICAN: UUUU), said during a call with reporters on Tuesday. "This is a day where we can say we're taking a significant step to reduce that dependency."
Also Read: US Lawmakers Vote To Ban Russian Uranium In Win For North American Miners
Biden's signature on the broadly bipartisan bill that cleared Congress after months of delay comes as his administration tries to balance a long-term goal of reducing planet-warming emissions against concerns of potential environmental harm from the mining necessary to produce metals critical to the energy transition.
In particular, uranium mining faces opposition from conservationists and indigenous groups who point to a legacy of health problems and environmental damage in the American West related to the nation's nuclear weapons program during World War II and the Cold War. Uranium mining proponents say modern production methods have much less of an environmental impact and are better regulated.
Energy Fuels owns a mine near the Grand Canyon that is central to the debate. The company is ramping up production there and says there are "extensive controls in place to ensure protection of air, water, wildlife and the environment." The company already had existing rights to the mine, which allow the operation to continue despite the Biden administration declaring the area a national monument last year, a move that bars new mining claims in the area.
"There's a lot of sounds and fury right now," Energy Fuels spokesman Curtis Moore told Benzinga in March at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference and trade show in Toronto. "We don't anticipate it affecting uranium operations out there."
On Tuesday's conference call, Moore said that the U.S. has "plenty of uranium resources in the ground to supply our needs."
The capacity to convert and enrich uranium after it is mined and concentrated is a key bottleneck in the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain.
Now that the uranium ban is law, it unlocks $2.7 billion in previously approved government spending on a domestic conversion and enrichment supply chain to replace what is banned from Russia. The law includes waivers until 2028 for utilities that might need extra time with the transition.
Supporting a domestic conversion and enrichment supply chain "does indirectly benefit non-Russian uranium miners," Moore said on the call.
Now Read: Uranium Executives Anticipated Russian Nuclear Fuel Ban Despite Senate Delay
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