Yahoo Finance Energy Fuels (UUUU) Appoints Director to Grow REE Business
Energy Fuels Inc. UUUU announced that it appointed Debra Bennethum to the Energy Fuels Management Team as director of Critical Minerals & Strategic Supply Chain , who is expected to focus on growing its rare earth elements (REE) business. The company announced last week that it achieved commercial production of “on spec” separated rare earth elements at its wholly-owned White Mesa Mill in Utah.
Energy Fuels' new "Phase 1" REE separation circuit can generate around 850-1,000 metric tons of separated neodymium-praseodymium ("NdPr") per year, making it one of the world's largest commercial REE separation circuits, with the exception of China. The integration of REE separation technologies has had no effect on the mill's uranium production capacity, with a uranium processing campaign scheduled for the third quarter of 2024.
In the second quarter of 2024, UUUU expects to produce 25-35 tons of on-spec, separated NdPr.
Following the NdPr production, Energy Fuels will concentrate on uranium production, with a projected output of 150,000-500,000 pounds of triuranium octoxide in 2024 and higher in 2025.
Bennethum's background is expected to give Energy Fuels essential knowledge and experience as she fills a critical role in the company's REE sales and marketing operations.
Debra Bennethum, a chemical engineer, previously worked as the EV Critical Minerals Manager in General Motors' GM Global Purchasing and Supply Chain Division . Bennethum oversaw supply strategies at GM to ensure the resilience of EV important mineral supply chains, which included REEs for permanent magnet and battery critical minerals. She also handled more than $1.5 billion in investment projects, working with technical and internal stakeholders to boost GM's supply chains.
Energy Fuels anticipates Debra Bennethum, as a director, to establish relationships with original equipment manufacturers and other customers while negotiating supply, offtake and other agreements for the company's REE products. Her expertise will aid the company in considering REE collaborations in metal, alloy and magnet production, as well as analyzing and potentially pursuing government financing and other support.
Energy Fuels came out with quarterly earnings of 2 cents per share in the first quarter of 2024, meeting the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This compares favorably with a loss of 1 cent per share reported a year ago. The company posted revenues of $25.43 million for the quarter ended March 2024 compared with $19.61 million reported a year ago.
Price Performance
Shares of Energy Fuels have lost 6.6% in the past year against the industry's 29.5% growth.
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Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are Ero Copper Corp. ERO and Ecolab Inc. ECL. ERO sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present and ECL carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ero Copper’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $1.66 per share. The consensus estimate for 2024 earnings has moved 20.3% north in the past 60 days. It has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 53.9%. ERO shares have gained 9.5% in a year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ecolab’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $6.59 per share, indicating an increase of 26.5% from the prior year’s reported number. It has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.3%. ECL shares have gained 34.5% in a year.
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