Proactive Investors - Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp (CSE:WUC, OTCQX:WSTRF) is working toward doubling the uranium and vanadium operational capacity at its Sunday Mine Complex, located in Colorado and Utah, over the next few years.
CEO George Glasier joined Proactive on the floor at the PDAC 2024 conference to talk through the company’s plans for the mine and his insights into the shifting supply/demand dynamics for uranium.
Proactive: You are a producing uranium company in Colorado and Utah with the Sunday Mine Complex. Can you tell us a bit more about this complex?
GG: The Sunday Mine Complex consists of three fully developed, permitted mines that have been in production in the past. We're working seven days a week to get it ready for production. We could be in production now, and as soon as there's a processing plant ready to take the ore, we'll be delivering.
Wonderful. So, you are currently producing? What kind of numbers are we looking at?
Initially, the Sunday Mine can produce about a million pounds of uranium a year and about 6 million pounds of vanadium. It's a two-product mine, with vanadium production significantly higher than uranium. We're planning to potentially double uranium production in the next few years.
Are uranium and vanadium often found together?
Not often. This is one of the few areas in the world, known as the uranium-vanadium mineral belt, where you can find both uranium and vanadium in the same rock. It's quite unusual.
It gives you optionality.
Exactly. There might be better uranium mines or better vanadium mines, but there's no better uranium-vanadium mine than the Sunday.
You have plans to double operational capacity over the next few years. What does that strategy look like?
The strategy involves expanding the workforce, which is a significant challenge in any mining operation. We're focusing on attracting young people to the mining industry, and while it's challenging, we're making progress.
Uranium is becoming a hot topic at PDAC 2024. What's your take on this cycle?
This seems to be a genuine shift. The supply-demand balance is finally tipping. There's not enough supply to meet demand, necessitating new mines worldwide. I believe the price increase we're seeing is sustainable, as higher prices are needed to bring new mines online.
Quotes have been edited for clarity and style