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Uranerz Energy Corporation Letter to
Shareholders
It is exciting to reflect on the corporate
events that have unfolded over the past year and the first quarter of
2011. Uranerz Energy Corporation had a very
successful 2010 during which several key milestones were achieved, and we
are looking forward to continuing that success through 2011 to allow us
to initiate construction on our first in-situ recovery ("ISR")
uranium mine.
The highlights
for 2010 and early 2011 included:
- Acquiring
extensive drill data including drill logs, drill hole maps and
geologic cross sections and commencing a detailed assessment of
these data on over 15,000 uranium exploration holes in the Powder
River Basin area of Wyoming;
- Significantly
increasing our Powder River Basin uranium resource base by over 45%
to 19.1 million pounds (in all categories), as U3O8;
- Initiating
the permit application process on our third in-situ recovery
("ISR") mining unit;
- The
adoption of a Shareholder Rights Plan designed to ensure that all of
the Company's shareholders receive fair and equal treatment in
situations where an unsolicited offer to acquire the Company is
made;
- Strengthening
the Company's treasury to over $47 million through the completion of
an ATM financing and the exercise of warrants; and
- Achieving
major advancements for the Nichols Ranch ISR Uranium Project with:
- Receipt
of the Permit to Mine from the Wyoming Department of Environmental
Quality ("WDEQ");
- Contracting
for long lead time well-field installation equipment, processing
plant equipment and project power;
- Issuing
requests-for-quotation for well-field development, plant
construction, and equipment;
- Receipt
of the final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
("SEIS") by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
("NRC"); and
- Receipt
of the draft Materials License from the NRC.
Last summer we acquired and commenced a detailed
assessment of a large data library which includes over 15,000 drill logs,
drill hole maps and geologic cross sections for
nearly all of the Pumpkin Buttes Mining District in the Powder River
Basin of Wyoming. These drill holes cover over 340 square miles and are
expected to be very helpful in identifying prospective uranium targets
while saving the Company a substantial amount of time and exploration
expense. The library may also be used to target potential acquisitions
within the Powder River Basin and to generate data for permitting and
eventual production operations in favorably identified areas.
During 2010, Uranerz focused efforts on
expanding its resource base and completed technical reports on three new
project areas. With the addition of Reno Creek, Uranerz
has reported uranium resources on seven of its projects under the
guidelines of NI 43-101, and increased its uranium resource base by over
45% (in all categories). The Company currently has over 30 uranium
projects at various stages of exploration and development in the Powder
River Basin area of Wyoming.
The Company also commenced preparation of the environmental permit and
license applications for its planned third ISR uranium mining unit in the
central Powder River Basin of Wyoming. This unit, named Jane Dough, includes the Doughstick,
South Doughstick and North Jane uranium
properties. The Jane Dough permit area is
adjacent to and immediately south of the Nichols Ranch permit area, and
the Company intends to add the Jane Dough Unit
as an amendment to the Nichols Ranch ISR Uranium Project license.
During 2010, the Company implemented a Shareholder Rights Plan to
safeguard our shareholders' interests by discouraging undervalued or
unfair takeovers of the Company. The Company wants to ensure that the
future benefits of its ongoing initiatives are not denied to its
shareholders by an opportunistic, undervalued acquisition of the Company.
This Plan is designed to protect against such acquisitions so that
shareholders can share in the full benefit of Uranerz'
long-term potential.
Late in December 2010, the Company completed a $20 million financing, and
caused the accelerated exercise of an outstanding series of warrants in
February of 2011. These funds significantly bolstered the Company's
treasury which stood at over $47 million by the end of Q1 2011. The funds
will be used primarily for the development of commercial mining
facilities at the Nichols Ranch ISR Uranium Project, further exploration
on Powder River Basin properties, and working capital to hire new staff
for construction, production and ongoing overhead.
Several imperative permitting milestones have been achieved during the
past several months. In late December the State of Wyoming, Department of
Environmental Quality ("WDEQ"), issued the commercial Permit to
Mine (Permit Number 778) for the Company's Nichols Ranch ISR Uranium
Project located in Johnson and Campbell counties in the Central Powder
River Basin of Wyoming, U.S.A. In January of 2011, the final Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement ('SEIS") for the Nichols Ranch ISR
Uranium Project was posted on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
("NRC") website and published in the Federal Register. In the
SEIS, the NRC reported its conclusion that there were no major environmental
impacts that would preclude licensing of the Nichols Ranch ISR Uranium
Project.
The last authorization needed before on-site construction can commence is
the final Materials License from the NRC. The NRC issued to the Company
in draft form the Materials License Number SUA-1597 in late November
2010. Once the final Materials License is issued, the Company plans to
commence development of its first ISR uranium mine in Wyoming. The
Nichols Ranch project will serve as a platform to develop the Company's
other Powder River Basin projects through the permit amendment provisions
of the regulatory process.
The Company believes that, notwithstanding the effects of the March 2011
tsunami in Japan, the long term fundamentals for nuclear energy remain
strong. The demand for uranium far exceeds mined supply, as climate
change and environmental concerns continue garnering increased world
attention, and nuclear is regarded as a safe, clean and sustainable
energy source.
In closing, I would like to thank all our shareholders, financiers, and
employees for their continued support and contribution towards building a
successful uranium company. I particularly want to thank our field
employees for performing their jobs in a safe and environmentally
friendly manner. With this continued support I am confident that Uranerz will meet its objective of becoming an
economic producer of uranium to be used for fuel utilized in nuclear
power plants.
Sincerely,
Glenn Catchpole, M.S., P.Eng.
President and Chief Executive Officer
You are invited to attend the 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Uranerz Energy Corporation to be held in Casper,
Wyoming on Wednesday, June 15, 2011. The Annual Report and Proxy
Statement can be viewed at: http://www.uranerz.com/i/pdf/Uranerz_AR_2011_and_Proxy_Document.pdf .
Alternatively please visit our web site at: www.uranerz.com.
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