Standard Minerals Inc, in which Metals One (MET1) holds a 75% stake, has signed a term sheet with DISA Technologies to seek to evaluate and, if successful, treat historically abandoned uranium mine waste dumps and recover saleable uranium and other critical mineral concentrates at its Colorado projects Radium Mountain and Wedding Bell. 

Standard will be paid a gross revenue share of saleable uranium and other critical mineral concentrates recovered from waste dumps at the Colorado projects via deployment of DISA's modular mobile plants.

These utilise the patented High-Pressure Slurry Ablation system.

DISA has been working with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) since 2021 on a robust licensing process which is expected to conclude soon, making it the first company to receive a Service Providers License (SPL) to remediate abandoned uranium mine waste

Aside from extracting valuable uranium and critical minerals, the process delivers significant improvements to the local environment and watersheds by removing on average 90% of the uranium and radium-226 content from the waste, as evidenced by a treatability study DISA completed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Thirteen separate prospective waste dumps have been ground surveyed at the Colorado projects thus far, and others may be added to this inventory over time.

There will be no capex or opex payable by Standard, and DISA will be the operator.

A programme will now be undertaken to determine the likely quantities of uranium and other recoverable minerals present in the waste piles.

"We are delighted to have executed this term sheet with DISA, which creates a pathway for Metals One to potentially generate revenue from our U.S. uranium portfolio,” said Craig Moulton, chair of Metals One.

“DISA are global leaders in materials upgrading, and their patented HPSA process is a breakthrough, non-chemical technology.”

 

View from Vox

 

Metals One has been systematically assembling a portfolio of U.S. uranium exploration projects over the past nine months or so, and it now looks as though revenue generation is in sight from the first of these assets. The potential is broad and deep, but there’s nothing like a bit of near-term cashflow to perk up investor interest.