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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES General Legal Matters Other than routine litigation incidental to our business, or as described below, the Company is not currently a party to any material pending legal proceedings that management believes would be likely to have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. White Mesa Mill In 2011, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe filed an administrative appeal of the Utah Division of Air Quality’s (“UDAQ”) decision to approve a Modification to the Air Quality Approval Order at the Mill. Then, in 2013, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe filed a Petition to Intervene and Request for Agency Action challenging the Corrective Action Plan approved by the State of Utah Department of Environmental Quality (“UDEQ”) relating to nitrate contamination in the shallow aquifer at the Mill. In August 2014, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe filed an administrative appeal to the Utah Division of Radiation Control’s (“DRC”) Radioactive Materials License Amendment 7 approval regarding alternate feed material from Dawn Mining. The challenges remain open at this time and may involve the appointment of an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) to hear the matters. The Company does not consider these actions to have any merit. If the petitions are successful, the likely outcome would be a requirement to modify or replace the existing Air Quality Approval Order, Corrective Action Plan or license amendment, as applicable. At this time, the Company does not believe any such modifications or replacements would materially affect its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, the scope and costs of remediation under a revised or replaced Air Quality Approval Order, Corrective Action Plan and/or license amendment have not yet been determined and could be significant. The UDEQ renewed in January 2018, then reissued with minor corrections in February 2018, the Mill’s radioactive materials license (the “Mill License”) for another ten years and the Groundwater Discharge Permit (the “GWDP”) for another five years, after which further applications for renewal of the Mill License and GWDP are required to be submitted. During the review period for each application for renewal, the Mill can continue to operate under its existing Mill License and GWDP until such time as the renewed Mill License or GWDP is issued. Most recently, on July 15, 2022, the routine GWDP renewal application was submitted to UDEQ, which remains under consideration at this time. In 2018, the Grand Canyon Trust, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Uranium Watch (collectively, the “Mill Plaintiffs”) served Petitions for Review challenging UDEQ’s renewal of the Mill License and GWDP and Requests for Appointment of an ALJ, which they later agreed to suspend pursuant to a Stipulation and Agreement with UDEQ, effective June 4, 2018. The Company and the Mill Plaintiffs held multiple discussions over the course of 2018 and 2019 in an effort to settle the dispute outside of any judicial proceeding. In February 2019, the Mill Plaintiffs submitted to the Company their proposal for reaching a settlement agreement. The proposal remains under consideration by the Company. The Company does not consider these challenges to have any merit and, if a settlement cannot be reached, the Company intends to participate with UDEQ in defending against the challenges. If the challenges are successful, the likely outcome would be a requirement to modify the renewed Mill License and/or GWDP. At this time, the Company does not believe that any such modification would materially affect its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. On August 26, 2021, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe filed a Petition to Intervene and Petition for Review challenging the UDEQ’s approval of Amendment No. 10 to the Mill License, which expanded the list of Alternate Feed Materials that the Mill is authorized to accept and process for its source material content. Then, on November 18, 2021, the Tribe filed its Request for Appointment of an ALJ, followed shortly thereafter by a stay on the request in accordance with a Stipulation and Agreement between the Tribe, UDEQ and Company. Thereafter, discussions between the Company and the Tribe commenced in an effort to resolve the dispute and other outstanding matters without formal adjudication. However, the Company does not consider this action to have any merit. If resolution is not achieved, the stay is lifted and the petition is successful before an ALJ, the likely outcome would be a requirement to modify or revoke the Mill License amendment. At this time, the Company does not believe any such modification or revocation would materially affect its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Mineral Property Commitments The Company enters into commitments with federal and state agencies and private individuals to lease mineral rights. These leases are renewable annually, and, as reported in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, renewal costs for the remainder of 2023 are expected to total approximately $0.33 million. Surety Bonds The Company has indemnified third-party companies to provide surety bonds as collateral for the Company’s asset retirement obligations. As of September 30, 2023, the Company has $17.52 million posted as collateral against an undiscounted asset retirement obligation of $33.00 million. As of December 31, 2022, the Company has $21.04 million posted as collateral against an undiscounted asset retirement obligation of $42.91 million. The Company will be liable to pay any reclamation expense that exceeds the amount of the collateral posted against the surety bonds. Commitments The Company is contractually obligated under a Sales and Agency Agreement appointing an exclusive sales and marketing agent for all vanadium pentoxide produced by the Company.

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