Part One - New Mexico Uranium: Who Are the Serious Players?

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Author: James Finch

Article source: http://www.articlealley.com/. Used with author's permission.

Uranium Resources Inc.

Many uranium deposits can be recovered commercially by modern, low cost in situ recovery technology. This type of mineral recovery involves the circulation of groundwater with bubbled oxygen and club-soda-like mixture through a series of injection and extraction wells until the uranium in the sand of the aquifer has been depleted.

Uranium Resources is the top front runner in New Mexico. The company has devoted a great deal of time and money to permit its Church Rock property. In an interview with Craig Bartels, president of HRI (a wholly owned subsidiary of Uranium Resources), he told us, "We hope we can begin construction at the property in 2007." The company has cleared numerous hurdles, posed by local environmentalists, having successfully won every legal battle to date. Its parent company produces about 1 million pounds annually in Texas. Earlier this year, Uranium Resources announced a proposed joint venture on the company's Church Rock property with Japanese conglomerate, Itochu Corporation.

Phillips Petroleum made the Church Rock uranium discovery in the 1950s, and later sold the project to United Nuclear (UNC). UNC constructed a mill and mine to the northeast. One HRI property, at Crownpoint, was developed by Mobil Oil as an In Situ Recovery (ISR) project. Earlier work at Crownpoint was done by Westinghouse and Conoco. Phillips developed HRI's uranium property at Nose Rock; Kerr-McGee did the original uranium drilling at Roca Honda. Uranium Resources holds about 185,000 acres in the southern San Juan Basin of New Mexico.

Through the uranium depression, Uranium Resources was the "lone man" in New Mexico. Now times have changed. "It is great having other companies coming in here now," said Bartels. "There is so much uranium, and the national attitude has changed so dramatically over the last year, that there is an actual excitement as to what can be done now." Bartels looks forward to the success of the company's first uranium projects in New Mexico, on the western end of the Grants Uranium Belt. He explained, "Using a pretty typical recovery rate of 75 percent for ISR, recovery would be about 4.9 million pounds on Section 8, and 6.3 million pounds recovered at Sec 17." Bartels told us he has been advertising for employees in the northwestern New Mexico newspapers.

James Finch is a contributing editor for StockInterview.com and other publications.
http://www.stockinterview.com