enCore Energy has announced the start-up of its second ion exchange (IX) circuit at the Alta Mesa In-Situ Recovery (ISR) Uranium Central Processing Plant (Alta Mesa CPP) in South Texas, US.
This development doubles the plant’s total flow capacity from 2,500 gallons (gal) per minute to 5,000gal per minute, significantly enhancing uranium extraction capabilities.
In line with this expansion, enCore Energy has installed additional injection and extraction wells at the currently operational Wellfield 7 (PAA-7).
The integration of the second IX circuit and the wellfield expansion currently makes use of around 75% of the plant’s processing capacity.
Additional wells will be systematically brought online to reach full capacity and increase uranium capture.
The company is also expanding Wellfield 7, with 22 drill rigs now operational across its projects. Of these, 17 rigs are focused on increasing uranium extraction at Alta Mesa.
In the past six months, 43 injection wells and 36 recovery wells have been installed at Wellfield 7, supplying the second IX circuit with a total flow rate of 1,450gal per minute.
enCore Energy executive chairman William M. Sheriff said: “At any given concentration of dissolved uranium in water, the more solution you pump, the more uranium that can be captured. At the Alta Mesa CPP, we have learned that our extraction process is faster than anticipated, which is expected to be positive for revenue and return on investment.
“The work on the second IX circuit and additions to the wellfield have been under way for several months. While we are pleased to see the second IX circuit operating, we look forward to full utilisation of this increase in capacity. With additional drill rigs and accelerated effort, we look forward to steady advancement of our uranium capture rates.”
The Alta Mesa Project, located on more than 200,000 acres of private land in Texas, operates under a 70/30 joint venture between enCore Energy and Boss Energy.
The facility commenced production in June last year. It has a total operating capacity of 1.5 million pounds (mlb) of triuranium octoxide (U3O8) per year, with additional drying capacity of 0.5mlb.
Further development is under way to supply additional uranium-bearing water to the second IX circuit, with 13 injection wells and 13 recovery wells expected to be added over the next six weeks.
Efforts are also under way to restart Wellfield 6 (PAA-6), which was operational when Alta Mesa shut down in 2012/2013 and still holds 370,000lb of measured U3O8 resource, within the next six months.
Additionally, one drill rig is currently operating at the Upper Spring Creek Project, with completion expected in the coming days. This rig will then be redeployed to Wellfield 7, increasing the total to 18 rigs.
A short programme at the Rosita Extension will delineate an unexplored portion of the wellfield, potentially bringing additional wells online within the next three to four months.
Another wellfield is planned at the Upper Spring Creek Project once final permits are received, expected before year-end.
A third IX circuit is currently on-site, with recommissioning planned for 2026. Once operational, it will increase the processing capacity to 7,500gal per minute, achieving 100% IX capacity at the Alta Mesa CPP.
