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Uranium Exploration in Wyoming - The Investment Opportunity in Nuclear Fuels

Uranium explorer Nuclear Fuels represents a unique opportunity for investors seeking leverage to exploration upside and fast-track development potential in the strengthening nuclear fuel market.

  • Nuclear Fuels is focused on uranium exploration in Wyoming, primarily at the Kaycee project.
  • The company was spun out of enCore Energy to focus on exploration while enCore pursues production.
  • enCore has an option to acquire a majority stake in any discovery at Kaycee.
  • Nuclear Fuels sees strong potential to expand known mineralization at Kaycee based on historical data.
  • The company is currently conducting an aggressive drilling program at Kaycee to validate and expand resources.

About Nuclear Fuels

Uranium exploration company Nuclear Fuels is focused on unlocking the potential of its projects in Wyoming, centered around the large-scale Kaycee project. With uranium prices beginning to recover and renewed interest in domestic supply, Nuclear Fuels represents a unique opportunity for investors to gain exposure to high-impact exploration in a premier US uranium district.

Nuclear Fuels was recently spun out from uranium producer enCore Energy to concentrate on exploration while enCore pursues near-term production. This structure allows both companies to focus on their core strengths. enCore brings mining operational expertise while Nuclear Fuels leverages its technical capabilities in early-stage exploration.

Importantly, enCore retains the option to acquire a majority stake in any discovery made at Nuclear Fuel's Kaycee project in Wyoming. This provides a built-in path to production for any mineralization Nuclear Fuels is able to prove up.

Interview with CEO & Director, Michael Collins and Chairman, William Sheriff

The Kaycee Project: Exploration Upside in a Proven Uranium District

Nuclear Fuel's Kaycee project is located in the prolific Powder River Basin on trend with several past-producing in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mines. The project covers a major portion of the Pumpkin Buttes mineral district, which has seen intermittent exploration efforts since the 1970s. Historic drilling has delineated approximately 500,000 pounds of uranium resources, providing Nuclear Fuels with an initial foothold.

But the greater prize lies in the upside potential across the broader 42 square-mile land package. Nuclear Fuels sees clear evidence that the known trends of uranium-bearing sandstones, or "roll fronts", extend much further than the limited previous exploration covered. CEO Mike Collins explains, "What we're doing is going back and doing 3D modeling and doing projections of where we think lower roll fronts should come in underneath this shallow drilling."

This opportunity is created by the sporadic nature of previous exploration across different ownerships. Today, Nuclear Fuels control the entire prospective trend, granting the opportunity to pursue district-scale exploration for the first time. As Sheriff noted, "This is the first time in the history of the district...that the entire system of roll fronts, which is over 110 miles of roll fronts, is actually under common ownership."

Near-Term Catalysts from Aggressive Drilling Program

To systematically explore its targets, Nuclear Fuels has commenced an aggressive drilling campaign. The work is focused on the previously drilled Saddle zone but with significantly deeper drill holes targeting mineralization below the historical holes.

This drilling is designed to validate the continuity of mineralization and expand the boundaries of known resources. Collins says initial results could demonstrate "upside by stepping out, doing significant step-outs from the historic drilling, along strike of the roll fronts and expand those out, get more pounds in the ground." Nuclear Fuels will be using prompt gamma testing to get quick initial readings from drilling, with results expected within days rather than waiting months for full assays. This will allow the company to quickly gauge the success of drill holes and iterate on targeting as the program advances. Additional results from definitive lab assays will follow to build the formal resource estimate.

Collins estimates this phase of drilling will continue through 2024, keeping a steady news flow of exploration updates. Demonstrating a significant expansion beyond the historical 500,000 pounds could prove a major catalyst for the stock and garner increased attention from investors.

Experienced Leadership Team to Unlock Potential

Nuclear Fuels benefits from the guidance of enCore Energy's management team, who have direct experience permitting and building ISR operations. enCore itself is on track to begin uranium production in 2024 from its fully licensed Dewey Burdock project, providing a direct pathway for Kaycee with further success.

Likewise, the Nuclear Fuels board includes past executives from uranium producers Ur-Energy and Energy Fuels. This hands-on knowledge of ISR mining will be vital to efficiently advance Kaycee along the development timeline.

Chairman Sheriff believes Nuclear Fuels could potentially reach production within 5-6 years following exploration success. He states, "With a couple of years of exploration and then the benefits of being an agreement state in Wyoming gives us the ability to get this thing permitted and in production in a reasonably short period of time." This represents an aggressive but plausible schedule given Nuclear Fuel's inherent advantages.

Upside from Exploration Success in Strengthening Uranium Market

Nuclear Fuels offer investors a unique opportunity to gain leverage for potential exploration success ahead of the coming nuclear renaissance. The company's strategic focus on the historic Kaycee project provides both resource expansion potential and a clear low-risk path to eventual production.

Near-term drilling has strong prospects to rapidly delineate additional mineralization in a strengthening uranium price environment. Confirming the ability to significantly increase resources could prove a major inflection point and re-rating catalyst for the stock.

Investors buying in at the current exploratory stage stand to benefit from this fundamental upside. Any major discovery would also trigger enCore's acquisition option, crystallizing the inherent production value. The backdrop is a growing recognition that new uranium mines will be needed to fuel the large reactor construction pipeline. Wyoming's supportive permitting environment further de-risks Nuclear Fuel's assets and helps expedite the exploration timeline.

Investors seeking leverage to a potential new US-based uranium discovery would do well to evaluate Nuclear Fuels. The company provides an intriguing backdoor into the operating capabilities of enCore Energy alongside high-potential exploration assets. The coming year promises a steady stream of results that may substantially revalue Nuclear Fuel's large land package.

The Investment Thesis for Nuclear Fuels

  • Control of a proven uranium district presenting large-scale exploration potential beyond historically known mineral zones.
  • Near-term share price catalysts from the current drilling program expanding resources.
  • Clear path to production through enCore's clawback option, providing inherent development upside.
  • Strong technical team with a track record of efficiently bringing ISR projects into operation.
  • Favorable jurisdiction in an agreement state with a deep uranium mining talent pool.

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