Featured Company

March 17, 2007 - By: John Pentony, Publisher, StockGuru.com

The Utah Uranium Corporation is a Moab, Utah-based exploration and development company focused on the acquisition of past producing underground uranium mines, highly prospective new uranium projects and other conventional and non-conventional energy projects. All of the uranium projects acquired to date, in addition to those under review by the Company are within economic haul distances of the White Mesa Uranium Vanadium Mill in Blanding, Utah owned by Dennison Mines.

NameFamily ButteHatHoopieWhaleMarcasRay MariePintoWildTotal
Shares100,000100,000100,00050,000100,000150,000300,000100,000 
Shares150,000100,000100,000100,000100,000 400,000250,000 
Shares 150,000150,000100,000   250,000 
Total250,000350,000350,000250,000200,000150,000700,000600,0002,850,000

UTUC creates value by obtaining the potential for future resources which can be exploited optimally under a range of possible economic conditions.

Successful exploration will create profitable mines and adds value to company shares if this ore can be removed at less than the going rate per pound.

Utah Uranium Corporation’s business plan is to be a low debt but high activity company by acquiring highly prospective mineral properties, then entering into joint ventures to see development of these assets. By following this method, the company will be able to reduce or eliminate acquisition costs looking forward, while also seeing extensive work performed on these projects, financed by joint venture partners, in order to prove up economic resources.

UTUC has chosen to focus on the acquisition of past producing underground uranium mines that can be brought back into production in the near term with a low capital expenditure. All of the mines currently in the acquisition pipeline are within economic haul distances of the White Mesa Uranium Vanadium Mill in Blanding, Utah owned by Dennison Mines. The white Mesa Uranium Mill is currently the only operating Uranium mill in the United States.

To date, UTUC has acquired mineral rights to approximately 13,000 acres of uranium properties. Two of its properties are within the Henry Mountains Complex, one of the largest known uranium resources in the Colorado Plateau District. Moreover, Ted Murer, an exploration geologist who conceptualized and discovered the complex’s first mine in the 1980s (the Tony M Mine), has assembled UTUC`s two Henry Mountains Basin properties, the Pinto and the Wild, using the same data and methodology in the identical geologic setting as the Tony M Mine and the Bullfrog Mine, which are also part of the complex.

UTUC has purchase agreements for eight uranium prospective properties (650 claims) spread across Utah and Colorado. The Company reported mineral property assets of approximately $880,000 at September 30, 2007.

UTUC has exploration programs planned for all of its projects; these programs utilize modern exploration technologies and the data acquired through previous on-site exploration programs to maximize the likelihood of locating economic orebodies of uranium. The Company also uses information and work product derived from various reports, maps, radioactive rock samples, exploratory drill logs, state organization reports, consultants, geological study, and other exploratory information to direct its efforts.

Additional Uranium Property Acquired

On January 23, UTUC announced the signing of an agreement to purchase a 100% interest in the "Wild" claims, located north of Hanksville, Utah.

The Wild claims consist of 23 mineral claims located within the Henry Mountain Syncline of East Central Utah. The Henry Mountain Syncline is an enclosed structural basin within the Colorado Plateau of southeastern Utah that is entirely underlain by the massive uranium bearing Salt Wash sandstone member of the Morrison formation. The hydraulic migration of oxygenated water containing liberated uranium tends to flow down-dip within the formation into the trapped, oxygen free static water creating a zone of major ore concentration known as a roll-front environment.

The first discovery, known as the Tony M mine, was made in the 1980s by Plateau Resources, a division of Michigan Light and Power and consists of 10,898,000 pounds U308. Subsequently, the Bullfrog mine was discovered adjacent and north of the Tony M mine by Imperial Oil Corporation, and consists of an additional 12,924,000 pounds U308. These mines are currently owned by Denison Mines and are collectively known as the Henry Mountains complex, one of the largest known uranium resources in the Colorado Plateau district.

The company has acquired the Wild claims from Christian (Ted) Murer P.Geo, the prospector geologist who conceptualized, discovered and currently holds a production royalty on the Tony M mine. Ted has assembled the Wild claims, as well as the previously purchased Pinto claims, using the same data and methodology.

Cost of the acquisition to the Company includes the issuance of a total of $275,000 and the issuance of 600,000 shares within the following time frame: 100,000 shares and $75,000 on signing; 250,000 shares and $100,000 by January 15, 2009; and 250,000 shares and $100,000 by January 15, 2010.

Joint Venture Announced

Two weeks after announcing the signing of the purchase agreement, UTUC announced the signing of a Joint Venture Agreement with Consolidated Abaddon Resources Inc. ("Abaddon") of Vancouver, B.C.

Under the terms of the Agreement, Abaddon will be responsible for payments to Utah Uranium totaling $195,000, the issuance of a total of 300,000 shares over the life of the agreement, and they will be required to complete a minimum of $600,000 in work on the property in a two-phase work program prior to December 1, 2008. On completion of certain milestones within the agreement, Abaddon will be deemed to have earned up to a 60% interest in the property.

Drill Permitting Underway

The Company is in the filing process for permitting a drill program for the Wild claims. Historically, there were a number of drill holes made on the Wild property by Continental Oil Company in 1969. As part of their activities, down-hole logging was performed on these holes, revealing radioactive mineralization in several holes. It is the intention of the Company to drill in the vicinity of those previous holes in order to properly assess the uranium/vanadium content.

Corporate Strategy

UTUC plans to continue to expand its mineral resources through both exploration and drilling programs on existing properties and acquisitions, and advance its projects from exploration and development to production with the goal of generating cash flow to fund further exploration and acquisition activity. The company is concentrating on the project generation model, whereby the company will research, negotiate and acquire highly prospective properties, then joint venture these projects to third party companies. By following this model, the company expects to partially or completely cover acquisition costs, allow development of the projects through third party funding, while retaining sizeable interests in each property.

Acquisition activity in 2008 will focus on additional mineral properties and claim blocks located in, but not limited to, the "Four Corners" area of the Western US, with a primary focus in Utah and Colorado.

UTUC plans to:

  • Continue exploring for uranium and vanadium on properties which have been explored in the past and showed promise of mineral reserves in order to maximize the value of each project for entering into joint venture agreements

  • Develop specific projects with the nearest term production potential, with the goal of generating cash flow to support additional programs

  • Commence a substantial drilling campaign on the Wild, Pinto and Whale Properties

  • Continue to build a project portfolio by staking claims and making acquisitions

  • Build a well-financed, diversified exploration program

  • Reduce exploration risk and increase economic viability through joint venturing current and future acquisitions

Geology and Mineralization

Exploration activity focuses on the Colorado Plateau, an area that covers nearly 130,000 square miles in the Four Corners region of the US. The dominant geologic feature of the Colorado Plateau has been its comparative structural stability since the close of Precambrian times. Folding and faulting of the basement during the Laramide orogeny of Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary time produced the major structural features of the Colorado Plateau. However, compared to adjacent areas, it affected the Plateau only slightly.

The Henry Mountains Basin, a sub-province of the Colorado Plateau physiographic province, is an elongate north-south-trending, doubly plunging syncline in the form of a closed basin. The Henry Mountain Syncline is entirely underlain by the massive uranium bearing Salt Wash sandstone member of the Morrison formation. The hydraulic migration, which contains liberated uranium in solution, flows down the formation into the trapped, oxygen-free static waters within the basin. This creates a reducing environment which precipitates ore grade uranium, resulting in a zone of major ore concentration otherwise known as a roll-front environment.

Overview of Industry

The uranium story is one of supply and demand. UTUC intends to be a major supplier. A review of the world’s uranium supply explains why this is a possibility.

Uranium Supply

  • Over half of the world's production of uranium from mines is from Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan.

  • An increasing proportion is produced by in situ leaching.

  • After a decade of falling uranium mine production to 1993, output has generally risen since then and now comprises 61% of demand for power generation.

Canada produces the largest share of uranium from mines (25% of world supply from mines), followed by Australia (19%) and Kazakhstan (13%). Australian and Canadian production was depressed in 2006 due to particular problems.

Mining methods have been changing. In 1990, 55% of world production came from underground mines, but this shrunk dramatically to 1999, with 33% then. From 2000 the new Canadian mines increase it again, and with Olympic Dam it is now 50%.

In 2006 production was as follows:

underground41%
open pit24%
in situ leach (ISL)26%
by-product9%

UTUC has the potential to compete in the world uranium mining industry with 517 claims; they are the early mover in this bid to roll up potential uranium finds in Utah and Colorado. With additional potential processors coming on line over the next few years their price for ore should increase.

In the 1990s the uranium production industry was consolidated by takeovers, mergers and closures.

In 2006, the eight companies marketing most of the world's uranium mine production were:

CompanyTonnes UPercent
Cameco824920.9
Rio Tinto709418.0
Areva527213.4
KazAtomProm36999.4
TVEL32628.3
BHP Billiton28687.3
Navoi22605.7
Uranium One10002.5
Total top 833,70485.5%

The largest-producing uranium mines in 2006 were:

MineCountryMain OwnerTypeProduction (tU)% of World
McArthur RiverCanadaCamecoUnderground720018.3
RangerAustraliaERA (Rio Tinto 68%)open pit402610.2
RossingNamibiaRio Tinto (69%)open pit30677.8
KraznokamenskRussiaTVELunderground29007.4
Olympic DamAustraliaBHP Billitonby-product /u'ground28687.3
Rabbit LakeCanadaCamecounderground19725.0
AkoutaNigerAreva/Onaremunderground18694.7
ArlitNigerAreva/Onaremopen pit15654.0
AkdalaKazakhstanUranium OneISL10002.5
Highland - Smith RanchUSACamecoISL7862.0
BeverleyAustraliaHeathgateISL6991.7
McClean LakeCanadaCogemaopen pit6901.7
top 12 total28,64272.6%

Western World Uranium Production and Demand 1945-2004

Known Recoverable Resources of Uranium

CountryTonnes U% of world
Australia1,143,00024%
Kazakhstan816,00017%
Canada444,0009%
USA342,0007%
South Africa341,0007%
Namibia282,0006%
Brazil279,0006%
Niger225,0005%
Russian Fed.172,0004%
Uzbekistan116,0002%
Ukraine90,0002%
Jordan 79,0002%
India67,0001%
China 60,0001%
Other287,0006%
World total4,743,000 

Current usage is about 66,500 tU/yr.

The world's present measured resources of uranium (4.7 Mt) in the cost category somewhat above present spot prices and used only in conventional reactors, are enough to last for some 70 years. This represents a higher level of assured resources than is normal for most minerals. Further exploration and higher prices will certainly, on the basis of present geological knowledge, yield further resources as present ones are used up.

There was very little uranium exploration between 1985 and 2005, so the significant increase in exploration effort that we are now seeing could readily double the known economic resources. On the basis of analogies with other metal minerals, a doubling of price from present levels could be expected to create about a tenfold increase in measured resources, over time.

This is in fact suggested in the IAEA-NEA figures if those covering estimates of all conventional resources are considered - 10 million tons (beyond the 4.7 Mt known economic resources), which takes us to over 200 years' supply at today's rate of consumption. This still ignores the technological factor mentioned below. It also omits unconventional resources such as phosphate/ phosphorite deposits (22 Mt U recoverable as by-product) and seawater (up to 4000 Mt), which would be uneconomic to extract in the foreseeable future.

About 20% of US uranium came from central Florida's phosphate deposits to the mid 1990s, as a by-product, but it then became uneconomic. With higher uranium prices today the resource is being examined again, as is another lower-grade one in Morocco. Plans for Florida extend only to 400 tU/yr at this stage. Another project is aiming to recover uranium from coal ash.

Widespread use of the fast breeder reactor could increase the utilization of uranium 50-fold or more. This type of reactor can be started up on plutonium derived from conventional reactors and operated in closed circuit with its reprocessing plant. Such a reactor, supplied with natural or depleted uranium for its "fertile blanket", can be operated so that each ton of ore yields 60 times more energy than in a conventional reactor.

Uranium Demand

Reactor Fuel Requirements

The world's power reactors, with combined capacity of some 370 GWe, require about 67,000 tons of uranium from mines (or the equivalent from stockpiles) each year. While this capacity is being run more productively, with higher capacity factors and reactor power levels, the uranium fuel requirement is increasing but not necessarily at the same rate. The factors increasing fuel demand are offset by a trend for higher burn-up of fuel and other efficiencies, so demand is steady. (Over the 18 years to 1993 the electricity generated by nuclear power increased 5.5-fold while uranium used increased only just over 3-fold.) It is likely that the annual uranium demand will grow only slightly to 2010.

Reducing the tails assay in enrichment reduces the amount of natural uranium required for a given amount of fuel.

Reprocessing of spent fuel from conventional light water reactors also utilizes present resources more efficiently, by a factor of about 1.3 overall.

Nuclear Weapons as a source of fuel

An important source of nuclear fuel is the world's nuclear weapons stockpiles. Since 1987 the United States and countries of the former USSR have signed a series of disarmament treaties to reduce the nuclear arsenals of the signatory countries by approximately 80 percent.

The weapons contain a great deal of uranium enriched to over 90 percent U-235 (ie up to 25 times the proportion in reactor fuel). Some weapons have plutonium-239, which can be used in diluted form in either conventional or fast breeder reactors. From 2000 the dilution of 30 tons of military high-enriched uranium has been displacing about 10,600 tons of uranium oxide per year from mines, which represents about 13% of the world's reactor requirements.

Thorium as a nuclear fuel

Today uranium is the only fuel supplied for nuclear reactors. However, thorium can also be utilized as a fuel for CANDU reactors or in reactors specially designed for this purpose. Neutron efficient reactors, such as CANDU, are capable of operating on a thorium fuel cycle, once they are started using a fissile material such as U-235 or Pu-239. Then the thorium (Th-232) atom captures a neutron in the reactor to become fissile uranium (U-233), which continues the reaction. Some advanced reactor designs are likely to be able to make use of thorium on a substantial scale.

The thorium fuel cycle has some attractive features, though it is not yet in commercial use. Thorium is reported to be about three times as abundant in the earth's crust as uranium. The 2005 IAEA-NEA "Red Book" gives a figure of 4.5 million tonnes of reserves and additional resources, but points out that this excludes data from much of the world.

Outlook Uranium Mining Industry

Finally, the supply response from the mining industry continues to lag demand and despite the slowing U.S. economy over the past year, metal inventories have not rebuilt to worrying levels. In most forecasts, including our own, while surpluses are expected in 2008, they are not large.

The reality of a sharp slowdown in the Chinese economy would have the greatest impact internationally.

Uranium Price Forecasts Adjusted; Still a Tight Market But Speculative Edge Dampened

2007 and 2008 spot uranium price forecasts are:

US$100.00/lb and US$110.00/lb

Uranium is experiencing weaker market conditions.

Uranium

The spot market is well supplied currently with approximately 2.0 million pounds available versus 800,000 pounds of demand.

Much of the demand in the market is discretionary and the near term price direction will be determined by how motivated sellers are.

The market will remain tightly supplied through the end of the decade. A good indicator of this is the stability in the term price at US$95.00/lb for the past eight months. The term price reflects the fixed price that utilities will pay for material with expected delivery more than 24 months in the future. We are maintaining our long-term uranium price of US$50.00/lb.

Western World mine supply declined in 2006 (-2.5%) and increased only 3.6% in 2007.

Production problems and delays have kept this market tight. The most high profile of these has been the flooding of the Cigar Lake project in October 2006 and the subsequent delays in the recovery of the mine. Other supply issues include the flooding of ERA’s Ranger mine in 2007, ramp-up delays at Paladin’s new Langer Heinrich mine and disappointing production from BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam copper/uranium mine.

It is estimated that approximately 5 million pounds of production was lost in 2007.

Mine supply is expected to accelerate over the next three to four years in a response to high market prices.

Assuming that projects in the development pipeline achieve targeted production levels on time (which may be challenging with most of the growth driven by junior/intermediate producers), new projects could add as much as 55 million pounds of new annual production to the market by the 2010-2012 timeframe.

Western World mine supply growth of 12.3% in 2008, 12.0% in 2009 and 14.5% in 2010 is a consensus figure.

The supply/demand models suggest this should be enough to push the market into surplus – although not a large surplus – by 2010.

Uranium Ore

  • Uranium is a relatively common metal, found in rocks and seawater. Economic concentrations of it are not uncommon.

  • Its availability to supply world energy needs is great both geologically and because of the technology for its use.

  • Quantities of mineral resources are greater than commonly perceived.

Uranium is ubiquitous on the Earth. It is a metal approximately as common as tin or zinc, and it is a constituent of most rocks and even of the sea. Some typical concentrations are: (ppm = parts per million).

High-grade ore - 2% U20,000 ppm U
Low-grade ore - 0.1% U1,000 ppm U
Granite 4 ppm U
Sedimentary rock 2 ppm U
Earth's continental crust (av)2.8 ppm U
Seawater 0.003 ppm U

An orebody is, by definition, an occurrence of mineralization from which the metal is economically recoverable. It is therefore relative to both costs of extraction and market prices. At present neither the oceans nor any granites are orebodies, but conceivably either could become so if prices were to rise sufficiently.

Measured resources of uranium, the amount known to be economically recoverable from orebodies, are thus also relative to costs and prices. They are also dependent on the intensity of past exploration effort, and are basically a statement about what is known rather than what is there in the Earth's crust.

Changes in costs or prices, or further exploration, may alter measured resource figures markedly. At ten times the current price, seawater might become a potential source of vast amounts of uranium. Thus, any predictions of the future availability of any mineral, including uranium, which are based on current cost and price data and current geological knowledge, are likely to be extremely conservative.

From time to time concerns are raised that the known resources might be insufficient when judged as a multiple of present rate of use. But this is the Limits to Growth fallacy, a major intellectual blunder recycled from the 1970s, which takes no account of the very limited nature of the knowledge we have at any time of what is actually in the Earth's crust. Our knowledge of geology is such that we can be confident that identified resources of metal minerals are a small fraction of what is there.

Economics of UTUC Model with no Known, Probable or Possible Reserves

Whether a particular mineral deposit is sensibly available as a resource will depend on the market price of the mineral concerned. If it costs more to get it out of the ground than its value warrants, it can hardly be classified as a resource (unless there is some major market distortion due to government subsidies of some kind). Therefore, the resources available will depend on the market price, which in turn depends on world demand for the particular mineral and the costs of supplying that demand. The dynamic equilibrium between supply and demand also gives rise to substitution of other materials when scarcity looms (or the price is artificially elevated). This then is the third aspect of creating resources.

Replacement of uranium

A characteristic of metals resource replacement is that the mineral discovery process itself adds a small cost relative to the value of the discovered metals. As an example, the huge uranium reserves of Canada's Athabasca Basin were discovered for about US$1.00/kgU (2003 dollars, including unsuccessful exploration). Similar estimates for world uranium resources, based on published IAEA exploration expenditure data and assuming that these expenditures yielded only the past uranium produced plus the present known economic resources categories at up to US$80/kg* yields slightly higher costs of about US$1.50/kgU. This may reflect the higher component of State-driven exploration globally, some of which had national self-sufficiency objectives that may not have aligned with industry economic standards.

Cautionary note: This report may contain forward-looking statements, particularly those regarding cash flow, capital expenditures and investment plans. Resource estimates, unless specifically noted, are considered speculative. Unless otherwise stated, any and all resource or reserve estimates are historical in nature, and should not be relied upon. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on factors that will or may occur in the future. Actual results may vary depending upon exploration activities, industry production, commodity demand and pricing, currency exchange rates, and, but not limited to, general economic factors. Cautionary Note to US investors: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission specifically prohibits the use of certain terms, such as "reserves" unless such figures are based upon actual production or formation tests and can be shown to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions.


 

Disclosure: Pentony Enterprises LLC has been compensated $19,500 from a non-controlling third party for profile coverage. Pentony Enterprises is not a registered investment adviser or a broker/dealer. Pentony Enterprises LLC makes no recommendation that the purchase of securities of companies profiled in this web site is suitable or advisable for any person, or that an investment in such securities will be profitable. In general, given the nature of the companies profiled and the lack of an active trading market for their securities, investing in such securities is highly speculative and carries a high degree of risk.