Ur Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:URG) reported higher second-quarter uranium production and shipments at its Lost Creek operation while advancing the startup of its Shirley Basin satellite project in Wyoming, as management emphasized its strategy to expand domestic in-situ recovery, or ISR, production capacity.
CEO and President Matt Gili said the company drummed 141,000 pounds of yellowcake at Lost Creek during the second quarter, up 47% from the first quarter and 26% from the year-earlier period. The company shipped 150,000 pounds, an increase of 44% sequentially and 42% year over year.
Delivery deferral adds flexibility
Gili said Ur-Energy proactively deferred 300,000 pounds of 2026 delivery commitments into 2027 and 2029. The company had started the year with 1.3 million pounds of contracted deliveries for 2026, he said, and the deferral was intended to reduce ramp-up risk and increase flexibility for the remaining commitments.
While declining to provide specific production guidance, Gili said the company remains on track to meet its delivery commitments this year. He said the company is prioritizing inventory management over spot uranium sales, with the goal of meeting contract deliveries, repaying its uranium loan and retaining inventory for potentially more favorable pricing opportunities.
In response to an analyst question, Gili said the company’s base-case plan is to deliver uranium into its loan this year. He said the loan is with a trading entity and is potentially flexible or renegotiable, but stressed that Ur-Energy has multiple options within its risk-management strategy.
Lost Creek upgrades lift flow rates
At Lost Creek, Ur-Energy installed a sand filtration system intended to address fine particles from the well field that had affected flow rates and production. The system was installed during the second quarter and was fully commissioned in July.
Gili said plant flow averaged just over 2,500 gallons per minute in the second quarter. Since the filtration system came online, average flow rates have increased to roughly 3,200 to 3,300 gallons per minute. He described the change as statistically meaningful and said it shifted the operating constraint to other areas, including bringing more production injection wells online.
The company also broke ground in July on a wastewater treatment facility and expects to complete reverse-osmosis upgrades and a new maintenance program by year-end. Ur-Energy had 17 active drill rigs at Lost Creek and continued delineation drilling in its fourth and fifth mine units. Subject to regulatory approval, management expects to begin well-field construction in Mine Unit 5 by the end of the year.
Shirley Basin begins full operations
Ur-Energy began capturing uranium at Shirley Basin in the second quarter, recovering 10,634 pounds during limited operations. Full operations had been pending state authorization to commence shipments to Lost Creek, which the company received in late June.
Gili said the Shirley Basin plant is now in full operation, with six of its 10 production columns online. The company has completed the infrastructure and processes necessary to transport uranium-bearing resin to Lost Creek, where it will be further processed and drummed. The remaining near-term work involves commissioning and inspecting specialty trailers, and Gili said the first resin shipment is imminent.
Shirley Basin is being operated as a spoke to the Lost Creek processing hub, an approach management said is intended to improve capital efficiency and accelerate cash flow. The project is also fully licensed to operate independently as a production hub in the future, providing additional strategic flexibility.
COO Steve Hatten said Shirley Basin has higher grades and shallower drilling requirements than many facilities, and its resource has already been defined for the project life. He said the site has two installed header houses and drilling has extended through the eighth header-house area. Management expects that a nominal annual production rate of 1 million pounds would require installation of roughly six to 10 header houses annually, depending on grade and flow conditions.
Hatten said early results indicate that Shirley Basin is behaving generally in line with expectations. Natural flow rates are two to three times those typically seen at other Wyoming ISR facilities, he said, while the company continues collecting data on recovery curves and production chemistry.
Pipeline and contracting outlook
Ur-Energy plans to begin a 120-hole exploration program later in the third quarter at Lost Creek South, a 16-square-mile project adjacent to the existing Lost Creek operation. Gili said proximity to Lost Creek and the same hydrologic basin could reduce permitting effort, shorten development timelines and lower capital requirements if additional uranium resources are identified.
At Lost Soldier, the company is conducting baseline environmental studies and preparing a technical report targeted for completion by year-end. Gili said the report is expected to address resources and economics at the preliminary economic assessment level. Hatten and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Ryan Schierman said the company has not encountered major surprises in its review of the historically drilled project or in advancing baseline permitting work.
On uranium contracting, Gili said discussions with utilities have increasingly centered on security of supply rather than negotiating marginal price differences. The company has not aggressively pursued new contracts and has turned down requests for proposals, he said, because it considers its current contract book solid. Management plans to reassess contracting next year as it evaluates production ramp-up, though it has some discussions underway that could result in commitments for future years.
About Ur Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:URG)
Ur-Energy Inc is a U.S.?based uranium mining company focused on the exploration, development and production of uranium to serve the global nuclear power industry. The company’s core expertise centers on in situ recovery (ISR) mining techniques, which involve the extraction of uranium from sandstone formations using a low-environmental-impact process that recovers uranium in solution. Through this approach, Ur-Energy strives to maintain efficient production while minimizing surface disturbance, water usage and waste generation.
The company’s flagship asset is the Lost Creek Project in Wyoming’s Great Divide Basin, which commenced commercial production in 2013.
