Ur-Energy begins ISR mining operations at Wyoming’s Shirley Basin

Ur-Energy Inc. announced last week that it has begun in situ recovery (ISR) operations at its Shirley Basin uranium mining site in central Wyoming.

The company, which also operates the Lost Creek ISR project in south-central Wyoming, decided to begin construction at Shirley Basin after making a "go" decision in March 2024. It has said that the combined total annual licensed production and toll processing capacity of Lost Creek and Shirley Basin is 4.2 million pounds U₃O₈.

Matt Gili, Ur-Energy CEO and president, said the start of Shirely Basin operations marks a pivotal achievement in the company's growth strategy and plans to expand U.S. uranium production capacity. "Two years ago, we committed to building out this project. Today, we have successfully brought a historically significant uranium district back to life, demonstrating disciplined execution of our strategy."

Current operations: Uranium bearing solution is currently being captured from Mine Unit 1 at Shirley Basin, Ur-Energy announced on April 23. Ion exchange columns are used to extract the uranium from the solution, and the uranium-loaded resins will be transported to the company's Lost Creek facility for final processing, drying, and packaging.

"We expect to transport uranium-loaded resin to Lost Creek for processing this summer, subject to an additional regulatory inspection and approval," the company said.

According to Ur-Energy, uranium concentrations in recovered solutions are expected to increase over time as the company further conditions the wellfield and all production circuits are brought on line.

Stats: According to Ur-Energy, Shirley Basin has a licensed annual wellfield and toll processing capacity of up to 2 million pounds equivalent of U₃O₈, with measured and indicated mineral resources totaling approximately 9.1 million pounds U₃O₈ at an average grade of 0.22 percent.

The anticipated life of the mine is approximately nine years across three shallow mining units.

ISR birthplace: According to Ur-Energy, Shirley Basin is historically the second largest uranium producing district in Wyoming, producing more than 51 million pounds of U₃O₈ from 1960 through 1992. In 1963, using acid leach mining methods, the site became the first commercially successful ISR mining operation in the United States.

Production demands, however, caused mining operators to switch to open pit mining in 1970. Following the end of open pit mining in 1992, two historical resource areas in Shirley Basin were identified as potentially suitable for ISR mining, Ur-Energy said.