Westwater Applauds EPA’s Action to Withdraw Rule Change for Reclamation
October 24, 2018
Proposed rule change offered no new protection for the environment
CENTENNIAL, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$WWR #EPA—Westwater Resources, Inc. (“Westwater,” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:
WWR), an energy materials development company, is pleased to report
that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has withdrawn a rule
change proposed in 2017 for groundwater restoration that afforded no new
protection for the environment, but only promised to raise costs for the
uranium industry if enacted.
Westwater Resources is nearing the completion of reclamation at two
sites, and this EPA action is an important affirmation that ongoing work
to reclaim future operations will not be impacted by poorly conceived
rules that offer no positive impact on groundwater quality and only
succeed in increasing the costs of restoration. Westwater remains
committed to the safety of the environment and the public at our
operations, and compliance with sensible and effective rules are key to
this promise.
On Friday, October 19, 2018, the EPA said that its existing rules (for
groundwater restoration) were sufficient for the protection of public
health and safety from radiological and non-radiological hazards
associated with uranium and thorium ore processing.
EPA’s acting administrator Andrew Wheeler cast the proposed rule change
as “unnecessary and punishing” on uranium producers.
“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has regulated in-situ uranium
recovery for nearly 40 years. The agency has never found an instance of
ground water contamination that would be addressed by this rule,”
Wheeler said in a statement.
The rule “failed to articulate a risk that justified the rulemaking,
ignored the need for a realistic cost-benefit analysis, and
underestimated compliance costs and impacts to small businesses,”
National Mining Association President Hal Quinn said.
Westwater Resources thanks the National Mining Association for their
able leadership in the effort to achieve this action.
About Westwater Resources
Westwater is focused on developing energy-related materials. The
Company’s battery-materials projects include the Coosa Graphite Project
— the most advanced natural flake graphite project in the contiguous
United States — and the associated Coosa Graphite Mine located across
41,900 acres (~17,000 hectares) in east-central Alabama. In addition,
the Company maintains lithium mineral properties in three prospective
lithium brine basins in Nevada and Utah. Westwater’s uranium projects
are located in Texas and New Mexico. In Texas, the Company has two
licensed and currently idled uranium processing facilities and
approximately 11,000 acres (~4,400 hectares) of prospective in-situ
recovery uranium projects. In New Mexico, the Company controls mineral
rights encompassing approximately 188,700 acres (~76,000 hectares) in
the prolific Grants Mineral Belt, which is one of the largest
concentrations of sandstone-hosted uranium deposits in the world.
Incorporated in 1977 as Uranium Resources, Inc., Westwater also owns an
extensive uranium information database of historic drill hole logs,
assay certificates, maps and technical reports for the western United
States. For more information visit www.westwaterresources.net.
Cautionary Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are
identified by words such as “expects,” “estimates,” “projects,”
“anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” and other similar words. All
statements addressing events or developments that WWR expects or
anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to
statements relating to the future demand for and price of uranium, the
Company’s growth, developments at the Company’s projects, and the
Company’s liquidity and cash demands, including future capital markets
financing and disposition activities, are forward-looking statements.
Because they are forward-looking, they should be evaluated in light of
important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, (a) the Company’s ability
to successfully integrate Alabama Graphite Corporation’s business into
its own, and the risk that additional analysis of the Coosa Graphite
Project may result in revisions to the findings of WWR’s initial
optimization study; (b) the Company’s ability to raise additional
capital in the future; (c) spot price and long-term contract price of
graphite, lithium and uranium; (d) risks associated with our domestic
operations; (e) operating conditions at the Company’s projects; (f)
government and tribal regulation of the graphite industry, the lithium
industry, the uranium industry, and the power industry; (g) world-wide
graphite, lithium and uranium supply and demand, including the supply
and demand for lithium-based batteries; (h) maintaining sufficient
financial assurance in the form of sufficiently collateralized surety
instruments; (i) unanticipated geological, processing, regulatory and
legal or other problems the Company may encounter in the jurisdictions
where the Company operates or intends to operate, including in Alabama,
Texas, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada; (j) the ability of the Company to
enter into and successfully close acquisitions or other material
transactions; (k) the results of the Company’s lithium brine exploration
activities at the Columbus Basin, Railroad Valley, and Sal Rica
projects, and the possibility that future exploration results may be
materially less promising than initial exploration result; (I) any
graphite, lithium or uranium discoveries not being in high-enough
concentration to make it economic to extract the metals; (m) currently
pending or new litigation or arbitration; and (n) other factors which
are more fully described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize or should any of the Company’s underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from
those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be
placed on the Company’s forward-looking statements. Except as required
by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or publicly
announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements
contained in this news release. The results of the initial optimization
study are preliminary in nature and subject to revision following WWR’s
further analysis of the Coosa project.
Contacts
Westwater Resources
Christopher M. Jones, 303-531-0480
President
& CEO
or
Jeff Vigil, 303-531-0481
VP Finance & CFO
Info@WestwaterResources.net
or
Investor
Relations Contact:
Porter, LeVay and Rose
Michael Porter,
212-564-4700
Westwater@plrinvest.com