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Uranium One is a uranium mining and exploration company based in Canada with holdings in South Africa and Australia.
“We need to get together and figure out how we’re going to work together,” Ben Vallerine, BRM exploration manager, said Tuesday afternoon. “We’re not competing against each other.”
Black Range holds a 100 percent interest in the Taylor Ranch Project, where exploration is proving mining and milling operations are viable.
“Things are going very well,” Vallerine said. “We’ve got some really good results. We’re very encouraged.”
On the other hand, the Hansen Project — located just south of the Taylor Ranch — was studied more than 30 years ago.
Cyprus Mines had all permits in place to begin open cut and underground mining and to construct an on-site processing facility, but the global uranium price
collapsed and development stopped.
Uranium One has an option to acquire a 39.2 percent interest in Hansen. The owners of the surface rights there also have a 51 percent interest in the mineral rights and recently declared their holdings in the project for sale.

In the letter of intent, BRM and Uranium Ore agreed to jointly pursue the purchase of that 51 percent mineral interest. If that acquisition is completed by Dec. 19, 2011, the two companies will consolidate their assets in the Tallahassee area to establish a joint venture.

Although exploration is complete at Hansen, Vallerine said more drilling is required before actual construction work
could begin.
“Ideally, we’d like to do underground mining, but we need to do some drill test work to make sure it is going to be mineable by underground methods,” he said. “We need to investigate other alternative mining methods.”
Despite the uncertainty of the most suitable mining technique, BRM managing director Mike Haynes is on record saying his company is not considering “in situ recovery,” where leaching solution is pumped into the mineral deposit via a borehole, circulated to dissolve the ore and then extracted and processed.
“What we’ve been saying all along is we want to do underground mining,” Vallerine said again Tuesday. “Our footprint on the surface is going to be as minimal as we can make it. We’ll do everything by the book, use best business standards and be good stewards of the environment.
“We will do it as well as we can, as safe as we can.”
Although the mining method is still up in the air, the venture is going so well, BRM hopes to begin the arduous mining permit process by the end of the year. Vallerine said the next step is to obtain the 51 percent mineral rights from the owners in the Hansen Project.
“Black Range will work on that in the immediate future,” he said. “Uranium One owns 39 percent of Hansen, but we really need the other 51 percent to make it workable.”
Because the Hansen project is well understood, Vallerine said it would be the first target for mining.
“It’s going to be so much more economically viable to develop the Hansen and Taylor Ranch infrastructure together,” he said. “It will save a lot of money to have only one build, one workshop, one administration building, and manage both projects.”
If the massive mining project eventually receives approval, BRM has pledged to invest time, money and effort to create the most technologically-advanced, state-of-the-art facilities possible. The company is on record claiming the project could create as many as 437 local jobs with more than a $1 billion earnings impact. The project also could mean millions more for the city and county coffers as well as the local school district.
Vallerine did not have updated employment figures or definitive timelines.
“The first step is to acquire the 51 percent, then decide on a work program and how we’re going to approach it,” Vallerine said. “We need to agree on terms for the joint venture and then formalize that contractually.” He said BRM would approach Fremont County officials about expanding its current Conditional Use Permit or applying for a new one.
“We need to get all the details sorted out first,” Vallerine said. “It’s very time consuming. Everything we’re doing is aimed at getting those permits. It just takes so much time.


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