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This Month's Tiny Gems - November 2010
Denison Mines Corp. (NYSE AMEX: DNN)
Uranerz Energy Corp. (NYSE AMEX: URZ)
Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. (NYSE AMEX: PZG)
Denison Mines Corp. (NYSE AMEX: DNN)
Denison Mines Corp. (NYSE AMEX: DNN) is a diversified, growth-oriented, intermediate uranium producer with three active mines in the United States and an environmental services division. Denison has a global portfolio of world-class exploration projects in close proximity to the company's mill in the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, including the Wheeler River project and exploration and development properties in Mongolia and Zambia which will provide future production.
The company's assets include an interest in two uranium mills in North America, with its 100% ownership of the White Mesa mill in Utah and its 22.5% ownership of the McClean Lake mill in Saskatchewan. Both mills are fully permitted. 2009 production from the two mills was 1.4 million pounds U3O8 and 0.5 million pounds of vanadium. Denison also has other mines and projects on stand-by in Canada and the U.S.
Denison Environmental Services (DES) division focuses on rehabilitation and monitoring of closed mine sites, offering a complete decommissioning package from mine closure planning, through to implementation of a closure plan, then long-term care and maintenance and monitoring. Provided services include site restoration, asset disposal, demolition, tailings relocation, dam construction and decant decommissioning, hazardous material abatement, and long term treatment and monitoring of mine and tailings effluents.
Last month the company reported assay results from the remaining holes of the summer drill program on the Wheeler River property in Saskatchewan. Significant results included WR-342 which returned 12.41% U3O8 over 10.0 metres and WR-345 which intersected 5.0 metres grading 16.21% U3O8, both of which were in Zone A of the Phoenix Trend. In Zone B, WR-347 returned 5.44% U3O8 over 6.5 metres and WR-348 intersected 4.87% U3O8 over 7.0 metres. With working capital of $81.1 million and no debt as of June 30, 2010, Denison Mines is well positioned to take advantage of increasing demand for uranium.
Uranerz Energy Corp. (NYSE AMEX: URZ)
Uranerz Energy Corp. (NYSE AMEX: URZ) is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of properties in the uranium sector. Uranerz has 38 projects in the Powder River Basin ("PRB"), with two advanced project areas at the early development stage. The company plans to joint venture those projects in order to advance them with reduced exploration risks.
The company controls more than 119,000 acres in the Pumpkin Buttes Uranium Mining District of the central Powder River Basin of Wyoming, U.S.A., an area well-known for hosting uranium-mineralized roll fronts often amenable to ISR mining techniques. Uranerz Energy is currently conducting aggressive exploration drilling programs to identify new uranium mineralized trends and to further delineate known resources.
Uranerz Energy is comprised of an experienced team of mining personnel, many of whom are former officers, senior management and employees of the original Uranerz Exploration and Mining Limited and related companies, which collectively was the third-largest primary uranium producer in the world when acquired in 1998 by Cameco. There are nine persons with Uranerz Energy Corporation that are from the original "Uranerz Group" of companies.
Two of Uranerz's projects are in the final permitting and licensing stage and the company has already entered into long-term uranium sales contracts with two of the largest nuclear utilities in the U.S., including Exelon. The company is well on its way to commencing commercial production by late 2011 or 2012 and meeting its ultimate goal of producing 1.5 Million lbs of uranium (U3O8) each year.
Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. (NYSE AMEX: PZG)
Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. (NYSE AMEX: PZG) is a U.S. based exploration and development company with multi-million ounce advanced stage precious metals projects in Nevada and northern Mexico. The company has fully funded programs in progress at these two main projects with the objective of substantially expanding its resources over the next two years. Plans are also underway to exploit a large, surface inventory of gold in tailings and leach pad heaps on the Nevada property for potential near-term cash flow.
Paramount's corporate strategy is three-fold: acquiring and expanding known deposits in large-scale geological environments in North America, locating opportunities in established mining camps near successful operating mines, and generating near-term cash flow to reduce financing risks and provide for greater operating flexibility. Dahlman Rose and Co. initiated coverage on Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. this summer with a price target of $9.06 and recently increased the price target to $9.78.
The company's executive team and board of directors have extensive experience in the mining sector as well as management expertise gained from serving major corporations spanning a diverse set of industries. Paramount's team is focused on proven, advanced stage mining projects in existing mining camps, with the objective of minimizing both political and exploration risk. Their philosophy is to maximize shareholder value and reduce risk by focusing efforts on the gap between discovery and production.
Recently Paramount announced that its drill program to expand gold resources at its Sleeper Gold Project in Nevada will commence. The exploration program will focus on two resource areas near historical mining, the West Wood Vein and the Facilities target, although other existing targets are being evaluated and prioritized for inclusion in the $3 million program. The second large-scale resource expansion program, Paramount is very excited and optimistic of the forthcoming results.