By Mark Travis, CPG | June 2025
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
– Vladimir Lenin (and, let’s be honest, every energy sector analyst this month)
For years, the phrase “American uranium renaissance” has lingered in industry headlines like the smell of a diesel rig that never quite fired up. Promising starts faded. Policy support came in fits and starts. And those of us in the trenches—operators, geologists, engineers—held on to a vision of domestic nuclear revival that never quite made it out of committee.
Until now.
The last few weeks have delivered something different: not just press releases, but permits, production, and political will—aligned, accelerating, and actively reshaping the landscape of uranium in the United States. From Wyoming to Utah to Texas, major players are pushing forward with restarts, expansions, and acquisitions, emboldened by a rare trifecta: market fundamentals, government policy, and infrastructure readiness.
Let’s take a tour of the sector’s seismic shifts.
🚨 Policy First: Washington Opens the Gates
It started at the top.
In April and May, the Trump administration rolled out a flurry of Executive Orders aimed at reviving the nuclear fuel cycle. These included:
- Emergency Declarations identifying uranium as a strategic national asset
- A ban on Russian uranium imports (signed into law in May 2024)
- Federal directives to streamline permitting for domestic uranium and vanadium projects
The creation of the National Energy Dominance Council brought policy coordination to a new level, explicitly calling out uranium as an “amazing energy asset.” That might sound like political theater, but in an industry as permit-constrained as ours, it’s hard to overstate what a signal like this does to capital flows and operational confidence.
And the results? Almost immediate.
⛏️ Anfield Energy: Permitted at the Speed of Policy
On May 27, Anfield’s Velvet-Wood Project in San Juan County, Utah, became the first uranium mine approved under the new emergency declaration. The U.S. Department of the Interior wrapped environmental review in just 14 days—a process that once took years. This was not a pilot or demonstration; this was the green light to go.
Anfield’s position is even stronger when you consider their Shootaring Canyon Mill, one of only three licensed conventional uranium mills in the U.S. With mill capacity in place and a $238 million pre-tax NPV (PEA combined with Slick Rock), Anfield’s production pipeline is now a strategic national asset.
In June, Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) doubled down, acquiring 170 million Anfield shares and boosting its stake to over 37% (partially diluted). In doing so, UEC is anchoring itself not just as a producer, but as a portfolio architect of the American fuel cycle.
🛠️ IsoEnergy: Restart Plans with a Permit-First Strategy
Also on May 27, IsoEnergy Ltd. announced it had kicked off technical optimization programs at its fully permitted Tony M Mine in Utah. These included:
- Ore sorting with Steinert’s sensor-based technology
- High-Pressure Slurry Ablation (HPSA) for improved uranium recovery
- Enhanced evaporation to speed up dewatering and reduce pond buildout costs
All of IsoEnergy’s mines in Utah—Tony M, Daneros, and Rim—are fully permitted. With a toll milling agreement already in place with Energy Fuels’ White Mesa Mill, IsoEnergy is poised to become a low-capex, near-term producer with minimal regulatory hurdles.
A restart decision is anticipated by the end of 2025. From where I sit, that’s not just likely—it’s inevitable.
🧭 Ur-Energy: Expansion Secured, Basin Rising
In early May, Ur-Energy received final approval from both Wyoming DEQ and the EPA to expand its Lost Creek ISR project by six additional mine units. While production in those areas is several years out, the regulatory legwork is now done—a rare luxury in our industry.
More immediately, Ur-Energy’s focus is on the Shirley Basin Project, with construction underway and startup expected in early 2026. When combined with Lost Creek, Shirley Basin increases Ur-Energy’s licensed production capacity by 83%.
And just in case you missed it: according to EIA data, Ur-Energy was the top U.S. uranium producer in 2024.
🧮 Production Reawakens: The Data Don’t Lie
Fourth-quarter 2024 U.S. uranium production reached 375,401 pounds U₃O₈—the highest since 2018. Here’s how the key players stacked up:
| Company | Q4 2024 U₃O₈ Output | Notables |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Fuels | 157,525 lbs | White Mesa Mill + Pinyon Plain (AZ) |
| EnCore Energy | 127,293 lbs | Alta Mesa ISR (TX) |
| Ur-Energy | 74,006 lbs | Lost Creek ISR (WY) |
| UEC | Restarted 2024 | Christensen Ranch ISR + Irigaray processing |
| Peninsula Energy | 2,669 lbs | Lance ISR (WY), full output expected mid-2025 |
UEC also added Rio Tinto’s Sweetwater Mill to its portfolio—a massive 4.1 million lb/year licensed facility. Plans are underway to retrofit it for resin-based recovery from ISR feedstock, creating a centralized processing solution for Wyoming’s next chapter.
🔮 What It All Means
We’ve crossed a threshold. These aren’t speculative PEA-stage juniors poking around the desert. These are licensed facilities, operational mines, and full-cycle infrastructure moving into motion under the influence of:
- Strong uranium prices
- A domestic supply crisis
- And now—at last—unified federal support
The combination of ISR assets (UEC, EnCore, Ur-Energy) and conventional mine-mill pairs (Anfield, IsoEnergy, Energy Fuels) represents a diversified, scalable, and increasingly de-risked supply base.
More importantly, this isn’t a rerun of 2010s false starts. The Russian ban is real. The mills are licensed. The ore is moving. The politics are aligned.
✍️ Final Thoughts: The Clock Is Ticking—and We’re Finally Ticking With It
For years, the U.S. uranium industry has been a paradox—essential, but ignored; strategic, but unsupported. Today, that paradox is breaking.
What’s emerging is not just a domestic comeback. It’s a structural reawakening—where geology, capital, and policy are syncing into rhythm. As a geologist and project manager in this space, I’ve never seen the lines on the map feel so alive.
From drill rigs in Wyoming to boardrooms in Toronto, the message is clear:
The uranium engine is no longer idling. It’s revving. And this time, we’re going somewhere.
Mark Travis, CPG is a consulting geologist, writer, and uranium exploration advocate based in Nevada and Wyoming. He is President of Arkenstone Exploration and serves as Acting Vice President of the Nevada Mineral Exploration Coalition.
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