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Peninsula Minerals reports NRC grants license for Wyoming Uranium facility

Published: 10:44 06 Oct 2010 BST

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Peninsula Minerals (ASX:PEN) has reported that the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued an operating license to Uranium One Americas, Inc. for the Moore Ranch in situ uranium recovery (ISR) facility in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming.

The NRC will conduct a three day site visit in late October 2010 at Peninsula's proposed Ross in situ uranium recovery (ISR) project site, the Ross Project.

The purpose of this visit is to ensure that Peninsula’s license application, via its wholly owned subsidiary Strata Energy Inc (Strata), contains the appropriate information required for NRC staff to conduct a detailed technical and environmental review so that a new operating license can be issued.

The grant of the Moore Ranch license is evidence of the NRC’s revised permitting policy for ISR mining operations in western USA which is designed to support an efficient and consistent approach to reviewing site-specific license applications for ISR facilities as well as to improve the efficiency of the regulatory bodies’ environmental reviews of these ISR applications.

Gus Simpson, executive chairman, said “the issue of the Moore Ranch operating license grant is exciting news for Peninsula as we move towards the final stage of our permitting process.”

The NRC’s review of the Uranium One Americas application included an environmental review published August 27 as a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which referenced the agency’s Generic Environmental Impact Statement for in situ leach uranium recovery facilities.

The review also included a Safety Evaluation Report, which concluded the proposed facility can operate safely, including management of radiological and chemical hazards, groundwater protection, and eventual cleanup and decommissioning.

The pro-active approach of Peninsula’s licensing team in combination with the streamlined regulatory process being implemented for ISR operations in the USA bodes well for the timely approval of the company’s applications and to date feedback from the regulatory bodies has been positive.

Peninsula is on track to have final permits and licenses submitted by December 2010, to complete the next iteration of the resource calculation prior to Christmas, finalize the DFS in the first quarter 2011 and the targeted commencement of mining in 2012.

Peninsula Energy Ltd insulated from the challenging uranium price

Gus Simpson, managing director of US-focused uranium miner Peninsula Energy Ltd (ASX:PEN), brings Proactive Investors up to date on the company’s progress in the USA, where the company recently started production. The company is still in the ramp-up period, but the important thing is it has...

on 29/11/16