WHITE MESA MILL

Denison’s 100% owned White Mesa mill is a fully licensed, conventional uranium processing mill with a vanadium co-product recovery circuit. Located six miles south of Blanding, Utah in the southeastern part of the state, White Mesa is the only conventional uranium mill currently operating in the United States. It is strategically located within hauling distance of all of Denison’s current U.S. mine and exploration properties near the Colorado Plateau, the Henry Mountains Complex and the Arizona Strip.
Ore Buying Program
Ore Buying Program

White Mesa Mill, Blanding, Utah

VANADIUM
Vanadium is a soft, corrosion resistant metal with good structural strength. It is used primarily as an additive to stainless and carbon steel, where it imparts strength, hardness and wear resistance. Similarly, it is used in titanium alloys for jet engines, airframes, golf clubs and nuclear fuel cycle facilities. It is also used as a catalyst in the production of chemicals such as sulphuric acid, plastic, dyes and pigments.

The White Mesa mill produces vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), or “black flake” as it is commonly called, which is used in the production of vanadium or ferrovanadium.

Construction of the White Mesa mill started in 1979, and conventionally-mined, uranium/vanadium ore was first processed in May 1980. 

The mill uses sulphuric acid leaching and a solvent extraction recovery process to extract and recover uranium and vanadium. The mill is licensed to process an average of 2,000 tons per day of ore and produce 8.0 million pounds of U3O8 per year. In full operation, the mill employs approximately 130 people.

White Mesa is also licensed to process alternate feed materials – uranium-bearing materials derived from uranium conversion, tantalum and other metal processing facilities or material from U.S. government cleanup projects. Usually classified as waste by the generators of the material, Denison processes the material, reclaiming uranium that would otherwise have been disposed of in licensed waste facilities and disposes of the remaining by-product in the mill’s licensed tailings cells. This process significantly reduces remediation costs for Denison’s customers.

The refurbishment of the White Mesa mill to prepare it for conventional ore processing is now complete. The project included the refurbishment of the vanadium roasting facilities, fusion and packaging circuits, replacement and upgrading of major pumps and component drives, and a complete modernization of the mill’s instrumentation and process control systems. In addition, the re-lining of tailings Cell 4A was started in 2007 using state-of-the-art technology and is complete and in operation. Tailings Cell 4A provides a further two million tons of tailings capacity, enough for about four years of production. Licensing has commenced on another tailings cell, Cell 4B, which will provide an additional two million tons of tailings capacity when completed.

Tailings Cell 4A under construction

White Mesa's Tailings Cell 4A under construction

White Mesa produced approximately 254,000 pounds of U3O8 from alternate feed materials in 2007. Conventional ore processing at White Mesa began on April 28, 2008 with the processing of uranium-only ore from the Tony M mine. On July 1, 2008, processing of uranium/vanadium ore from the Company's Colorado Plateau mines commenced. It is expected that 2008 production at White Mesa will yield 1.0 million pounds of U3O8 and 1.5 to 2.0 million pounds of vanadium.

A parallel alternate feed circuit to run in conjunction with the processing of conventional ore is being planned for White Mesa. Start-up is anticipated by mid-2009. With the new circuit, production from alternate feed is expected to be 150,000 to 250,000 pounds U3O8 on an annualized basis.

Ore Buying Program

The White Mesa mill Ore Buying Program provides an opportunity for independent miners to sell their uranium and uranium/vanadium ore to Denison Mines (USA) Corp., the operator of the White Mesa mill.

For uranium only ore, the value paid in US$ per ton is based on the average uranium (U3O8) grade and is shown in the Uranium Only Ore Buying Schedule. For uranium/vanadium ore, the value in US$ per ton is determined by the average uranium (U3O8) and vanadium (V2O5) grades as shown in the Uranium/Vanadium Ore Buying Schedule. Both of these Ore Buying Schedules will be updated monthly. The average ore grade is determined by probing of the ore and metallurgical assays which are conducted by the lab at the White Mesa mill.

In addition to the ore buying schedule, Denison also offers a transportation allowance to compensate the independent miners for their estimated transportation costs to the White Mesa mill. The transportation allowance, in US$ per ton, is as follows:

MILES ALLOWANCE
0-25 $ 5.00 per ton
26-50 $ 9.50 per ton
51-75 $13.50 per ton
76-100 $17.00 per ton
101-125 $20.00 per ton
126-150 $22.50 per ton


Transportation of the ore to the White Mesa mill should be done by a qualified contractor. Denison Mines (USA) Corp. has prepared a Transportation Policy for its own mines which should be followed when transporting uranium ore on federal highways.

An Ore Purchase Contract with Transportation Allowance will be entered into which defines the general terms and conditions for the sale of the ore. An Agreement will be entered into for each mine or for a group of mines owned by the same party.

If you have any questions regarding the White Mesa mill Ore Buying Program please contact: Harold Roberts at (303) 628–7798 or hroberts@denisonmines.com.

Last updated January 2010