Dec 04 - Victoria Advocate, Victoria, Texas

A uranium company moves closer to bringing the Goliad project online as it focuses on Texas in the current economic environment.

Uranium Energy Corp. submitted the last two permit applications needed for in-situ recovery in Goliad County to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Monday, Harry Anthony, chief operating officer, said.

"We're in a renaissance here," Anthony said. "It's a milestone for the company and the industry."

The company filed a radioactive material license application, which covers the mining process, the processing of uranium and safety operating procedures.

It also applied for a permit by rule, which covers facilities with near-zero air emissions.

Now, Uranium Energy Corp. must wait while its six applications undergo technical review and hearings for draft permits.

Anthony hopes to start in-situ recovery in Goliad County by mid-year 2010 at the latest.

In the meantime, the company will identify possible projects and areas for future development, environmental manager Josh Leftwich said.

While the company started projects in five other states, it will concentrate its efforts on Texas to preserve capital.

President and chief executive officer Amir Adnani announced via news release in October that the Colorado Plateau projects were postponed and other cost-saving measures like reassessing field personnel would be enacted. The company raised $15.3 million in the equity markets during the summer, but market conditions remain uncertain, he said.

Texas has the regulatory climate and resources that favor in-situ recovery, Anthony said. The state also has eight proposed nuclear reactors, which if all come online, would make Texas the largest nuclear electrical generating state in the country, he added.

Obviously, the company would sell to those nuclear entities if the Goliad project comes online, he said.

"We're just continuing to do what we know and that is to develop low-cost uranium for our nation," he said.

Uranium Energy Corp. Timeline

June: Draft mine permit issued by TCEQ

September: Filed application for production area authorization, now under TCEQ technical review

Late September 2008: Filed two class I non-hazardous waste disposal well applications with Railroad Commission of Texas, which completed review and determined wells would not endanger known oil or gas reservoirs

October: Disposal well applications under technical review by TCEQ

Dec. 1: Filed radioactive material license application, permit by rule application to TCEQ

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