80 FR 45002 - Uranerz Energy Corporation; Nichols Ranch ISR Project

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 144 (July 28, 2015)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an Order approving the indirect transfer of license (change of control) for NRC Source and Byproduct Materials License SUA-1597 (SUA-1597), docket number 040-09067, for the Nichols Ranch In Situ Recovery (ISR) Project, from Uranerz Energy Corporation (Uranerz) to Energy Fuels, Inc. (Energy Fuels). The NRC's approval of this action is required by its regulations. This approval allows the companies to merge after an exchange of stock. The current licensee, Uranerz, remains the licensee after the transaction; however, the company is controlled by Energy Fuels.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 144 (Tuesday, July 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45002-45003]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18463]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 040-09067; NRC-2015-0126]


Uranerz Energy Corporation; Nichols Ranch ISR Project

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Indirect transfer of license; issuance.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an Order 
approving the indirect transfer of license (change of control) for NRC 
Source and Byproduct Materials License SUA-1597 (SUA-1597), docket 
number 040-09067, for the Nichols Ranch In Situ Recovery (ISR) Project, 
from Uranerz Energy Corporation (Uranerz) to Energy Fuels, Inc. (Energy 
Fuels). The NRC's approval of this action is required by its 
regulations. This approval allows the companies to merge after an 
exchange of stock. The current licensee, Uranerz, remains the licensee 
after the transaction; however, the company is controlled by Energy 
Fuels.

DATES: The Order was issued on June 18, 2015, and is effective for one 
year.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2015-0126 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2015-0126. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, 
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. For 
the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided 
in a table in the ``Availability of Documents'' section of this 
document.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron C. Linton, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555; telephone: 301-415-7777; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The NRC is providing notice of consent to the indirect transfer 
(change of control) of SUA-1597. This license authorizes Uranerz to 
possess uranium and 11.e(2) byproduct materials at its Nichols Ranch 
ISR Project, which consists of two separate properties known as the 
Nichols Ranch Unit and the Hank Unit, in Johnson and Campbell Counties, 
Wyoming. Uranerz is authorized for operations at the Nichols Ranch Unit 
to produce uranium-laden resins but is not authorized for further 
processing (elution, precipitation and drying of yellowcake) at the 
Nichols Ranch Unit or production at the Hank Unit.
    By letter dated March 12, 2015, and supplemented on June 5, 2015, 
Uranerz submitted an application to the NRC requesting approval of the 
change of control of SUA-1597. The change of control involves a share 
purchase agreement whereby Energy Fuels will acquire all shares of 
Uranerz common stock resulting in Uranerz merging with EFR Nevada 
Corporation, an existing Nevada Corporation and a wholly owned 
subsidiary of Energy Fuels. The merged corporations will adopt the 
Uranerz name and Uranerz will remain the licensee for SUA-1597.
    The NRC's receipt of the request to take this licensing action was 
previously noticed on the NRC's public Web site on April 9, 2015, and 
in the Federal Register on May 22, 2015 (80 FR 29753) with a notice of 
an opportunity to request a hearing by June 11, 2015. No requests for a 
hearing and no comments were received.
    By Order dated June 18, 2015, the NRC approved the indirect 
transfer. The Order was accompanied by a Safety Evaluation Report (SER) 
documenting the basis for the NRC staff's approval. In the SER, the NRC 
staff has reached the following conclusions: after the transaction, 
Uranerz and its parent

[[Page 45003]]

company, Energy Fuels, will remain qualified by reason of training and 
experience to use source material as to protect health and minimize 
danger to life or property; equipment, facilities, and procedures will 
remain adequate to protect health and minimize danger to life or 
property; and this action is not inimical to the common defense and 
security or to the health and safety of the public.
    These actions comply with the standards and requirements of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and NRC's rules and regulations.

II. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through the ADAMS Public Documents collection.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Document                       ADAMS  Accession  No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applicant's application, March 12, 2015.  ML15084A286
Supplementary information, June 5, 2015.  ML15160A025
NRC Letter approving change of control,   ML15161A464
 June 18, 2015.
NRC Order dated June 18, 2015...........  ML15161A470
NRC Safety Evaluation Report dated June   ML15161A486
 18, 2015.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 16th day of July, 2015.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrew Persinko,
Deputy Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and 
Waste Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2015-18463 Filed 7-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7590-01-P