Heathgate Resources affiliate Grants Energy is considering uranium production from the Grants Precision ISR project, twenty miles from the community of Grants, in the early 2030s.
     The project scope includes both Cibola and McKinley counties, where Gulf Mineral Resources Corporation identified and validated a large uranium deposit in the 1960s and 1970s including the Mt Taylor deposit. The Mt Taylor deposit was conventionally mined between 1980 and 1990. General Atomics affiliate Rio Grande Resources purchased Mt Taylor in 1991, according to information from the New Mexico Environment Department.
     Commercial inquiries and contracting will be managed by General Atomics’ Nuclear Fuels Corporation. They told World Nuclear News that uranium production is planned to commence in the early 2030s with first permits and license applications due over the next 12-24 months.
     The company’s innovative production plan combines in-situ recovery, or ISR which is a widely used method of uranium extraction, with horizontal wells which is a method used in oil and gas production. Combining these two proven technologies means uranium extraction will be cleaner and more efficient than ever before according to Grants Energy. This approach will also reduce ground disturbance and carbon emissions from the equipment used to construct the wellfields.
     From the mid-20th century to the 1980s, the state of New Mexico was a hub for U.S. uranium mining. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission currently lists only one New Mexico uranium recovery operation which is Crownpoint, now owned by Laramide Resources as licensed, although no operations have taken place. New Mexico is also home to Urenco U.S.’s uranium enrichment plant at Eunice, and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant repository for the disposal of transuranic wastes.
     The Grants Precision ISR project could potentially create more than two hundred skilled, local jobs, and more than four hundred million dollars in state and local tax revenue while minimizing environmental impacts, and providing an affordable fuel for carbon-free domestic energy supply.
     Janet Lee Sheriff is the director of communications for Grants Energy. She said in the company’s January 6th announcement, “In this initial stage, Grants Energy is focused on reaching out to members of the community to provide more detailed information about our project and identify community issues and concerns. We truly understand and respect concerns surrounding uranium extraction through conventional mining technology and are dedicated to unlocking a strategic long-term energy resource responsibly and with the participation and involvement of the New Mexico community.”
     Clean Energy Association of New Mexico (CLEAN) is a new association committed to advocating for the nuclear energy industry and “empowering the people of New Mexico by fostering economic growth to benefit from their resources in a safe and sustainable manner”. Grants Energy is a member of CLEAN which was launched on January 3rd. CLEAN says it is “committed to focusing on education and awareness, providing valuable resources and advocating for the safe and environmentally responsible extraction of uranium through In-Situ Recovery technology as a key component of the state’s clean energy future”.
     Grants Energy is a subsidiary of Rio Grande Resources and an affiliate of Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd. It is the first uranium producer to use ISR in Australia, where the technique has now been in use for twenty-five years of production from the Four Mile/Beverley project.

Grants Energy

     The five hundred- and twenty-five-million-dollar acquisition of the Canadian nuclear services company Kinetrics by BWXT “creates a comprehensive portfolio of end-to-end lifecycle services for customers in the small modular reactor and traditional large-scale nuclear reactor markets”.
     Toronto-based Kinectrics operates two core business areas: commercial power services and nuclear medicine. Its commercial nuclear services portfolio includes support for all stages of the nuclear power plant lifecycle, and it is also a supplier of medical radioisotopes including lutetium-177.
     Rex Geveden is the BWXT President and CEO. He described Kinectrics as a “strong and growing nuclear services company with a comprehensive portfolio of offerings to commercial nuclear players globally”, with a wide base of customers, many of which are new to BWXT.
     The combination of these capabilities with the products and services of BWXT’s Commercial Operations segment will enable an expanded portfolio of products and services for current and new customers in the global nuclear power and radiopharmaceutical industries, BWXT said. “In the commercial nuclear power market, Kinectrics brings a broad suite of lifecycle support services that will further strengthen BWXT’s position in the CANDU reactor market, while increasing its exposure to the US market and select international markets.”

     John MacQuarrie is the BWXT Commercial Operations President. He said, “This acquisition expands our ability to deliver end-to-end solutions to existing and new customers more efficiently.” He added that the investment “uniquely brings together two industry leaders with complementary expertise and service offerings in the growing commercial nuclear power and nuclear medicine markets” and will improve the company’s ability to meet evolving customer needs. “This includes supporting utilities as they explore ways to expand nuclear power generation through life extensions and new builds, partnering with small modular reactor designers seeking comprehensive regulatory, engineering, manufacturing, and aftermarket solutions, and collaborating with healthcare partners who require reliable isotopes for under-supplied medical isotopes revolutionizing oncology.”

     Kinectrics produces ytterbium-176 which is a stable isotope used for the production of non-carrier-added lutetium-177 through irradiation at the Bruce nuclear power plant. Geveden told investors that production of lutetium-177, through the Isogen joint venture partnership with Framatome, is not expected to change. The Kinetics acquisition “adds a very important therapeutic isotope to our portfolio”.
     Turning to small modular reactor projects, Geveden said the combination of Kinectric’s offerings in project areas such as design, engineering, project integration and field testing would be complementary to BWXT’s manufacturing capabilities. Kinectric’s transmission and distribution project area would be vital for distributing the power to customers or to direct users such as data centers. “We’re trying to create an ecosystem [for small modular reactors] … as customers select partners long-term, we have the whole map figured out.”
     Kinectrics employs more than thirteen hundred engineers and technical experts located across its twenty sites worldwide. The Kinectrics acquisition is targeted to close in the middle of this year. It will nearly double the workforce of BWXT’s Commercial Operations and expand its capabilities, including lifecycle management, specialized plant services and engineering, to support the North American and international nuclear markets, the company said. Kinectrics will operate as a BWXT subsidiary, and its financial results will be reported within BWXT’s Commercial Operations segment. Its current President and CEO David Harris will continue to lead the organization, reporting to John MacQuarrie.
     BWXT said that it expects the investment to be “modestly accretive to BWXT’s earnings”, is “one of BWXT’s strategic steps in response to current and anticipated demand for nuclear projects and services worldwide”. BWXT, announced in 2024 a sixty-million dollar expansion at its facility in Cambridge, Ontario, to increase the plant’s footprint by twenty five-percent and create more than two hundred long-term jobs for skilled workers, engineers and support staff in the area.
     The announcement of the Kinectrics acquisition came right after BWXT completed its acquisition of L3Harris’ Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee, Inc. It is the provider of advanced speciality materials, fabrication and high-strength alloy manufacturing and is also the sole provider of depleted uranium to the US government, and will operate within BWXT’s government operations segment.

BWXT