Westwater Resources Applauds U.S. Government’s Actions on Materials Imports from China
July 17 2018 - 3:23PM
Levels Playing Field for American
Developers and Producers
Westwater Resources, Inc. (“Westwater,” or the
“Company”) (Nasdaq:WWR)
, an energy
materials development company, released the following statement
from Christopher M. Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Westwater:
“United States Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer has included graphite, lithium and uranium on the list
of materials imported from China, now under consideration for
additional tariffs of 10%. Further, the US Government has asked for
comments in advance of hearings scheduled in August of this year,
which we intend on providing.
Westwater supports the US Government’s intention
to levy tariffs on these products imported from China. This action
can result in a more level playing field for developers and
producers of graphite, lithium and uranium in the United States
like Westwater. The USA enjoys a robust suite of regulations
designed to protect our environment from harm, something that
Westwater respects and treats as a core value. Production of these
materials in China is not always subject to these regulations and
the costs associated with that protection. We believe that tariffs
of the type that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is
contemplating begin to fully integrate the full value of
environmental protection into the cost structure of graphite,
lithium and uranium, making sustainable US domestically produced
materials properly cost competitive in the United States.”
Westwater Resources has previously announced
that all three of its portfolio products—graphite, lithium, and
uranium—are on the Critical Minerals List, which was submitted to
the US Department of Commerce for action in May 2018. These
minerals were included due to their importance to the security and
economic prosperity of the United States.
Westwater Resources is working to develop a
domestic battery graphite business as its first priority, as well
as explore for lithium in the western United States. Westwater also
holds a portfolio of uranium production and exploration properties
in Texas and New Mexico.
About Westwater ResourcesWWR is
focused on developing energy-related materials. The Company’s
battery materials projects include lithium mineral properties in
three prospective lithium brine basins in Nevada and Utah and the
Coosa Graphite Project, located across 41,900 acres (17,000 ha) in
east-central Alabama. WWR’s uranium projects are located in
Texas, New Mexico and the Republic of Turkey. In Texas, the
Company has two licensed and currently idled uranium processing
facilities and approximately 11,000 acres (4,400 ha) of prospective
in-situ recovery uranium projects. In New Mexico, the Company
controls mineral rights encompassing approximately 188,700 acres
(76,394 ha) in the prolific Grants Mineral Belt, which is one of
the largest concentrations of sandstone-hosted uranium deposits in
the world. Incorporated in 1977 as Uranium Resources, Inc., WWR
also owns an extensive uranium information database of historic
drill hole logs, assay certificates, maps and technical reports for
the Western United States. For more information, visit
www.westwaterresources.net.
Cautionary StatementThis news
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and
assumptions and are identified by words such as “expects,”
“estimates,” “projects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” and
other similar words. All statements addressing events or
developments that WWR expects or anticipates will occur in the
future, including but not limited to statements relating to the
Company’s growth, developments at the Company’s projects, including
environmental matters, the impact of the proposed tariffs on the
demand for and price of graphite, lithium and uranium, are
forward-looking statements. Because they are
forward-looking, they should be evaluated in light of important
risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, (a) the Company’s
ability to successfully integrate AGC’s business into its own, and
the risk that additional analysis of the Coosa Graphite Project may
result in revisions to the findings of WWR’s initial optimization
study; (b) the Company’s ability to raise additional capital in the
future; (c) spot price and long-term contract price of graphite,
uranium and lithium; (d) risks associated with our foreign and
domestic operations; (e) operating conditions at the Company’s
projects; (f) government and tribal regulation of the graphite
industry, uranium industry, the lithium industry, and the power
industry; (g) world-wide graphite, uranium and lithium supply and
demand, including the supply and demand for lithium-based
batteries; (h) maintaining sufficient financial assurance in the
form of sufficiently collateralized surety instruments; (i)
unanticipated geological, processing, regulatory and legal or other
problems the Company may encounter in the jurisdictions where the
Company operates or intends to operate, including in Alabama,
Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and Republic of Turkey; (j) the
ability of the Company to enter into and successfully close
acquisitions or other material transactions, (k) the results of the
Company’s lithium brine exploration activities at the Columbus
Basin, Railroad Valley, and Sal Rica projects, and the possibility
that future exploration results may be materially less promising
than initial exploration result; (I) any graphite, lithium or
uranium discoveries not being in high-enough concentration to make
it economic to extract the metals; and (m) other factors which are
more fully described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these
risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the Company’s
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue
reliance should not be placed on the Company’s forward-looking
statements. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any
obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of
the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. The
results of the initial optimization study are preliminary in nature
and subject to revision following WWR’s further analysis of the
Coosa project.
Westwater Resources Contact: |
Investor Relations Contact: |
Christopher M. Jones, President & CEO |
Michael Porter |
Phone: 303.531.0480 |
Porter, LeVay and Rose |
Jeff Vigil, VP Finance & CFO |
Phone: 212.564.4700 |
Phone: 303.531.0481 |
|
Email: Info@WestwaterResources.net |
Email: Westwater@plrinvest.com |
|
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