The United States Department of the Interior has approved Anfield Energy’s (TSXV: AEC; US-OTC: ANLDF) Velvet-Wood uranium and vanadium mine in Utah – the first project to be greenlit under a compressed 14-day environmental review timeline.
Now that the final environmental assessment has been completed by the Bureau of Land Management, Anfield Energy has the necessary approval to restart the old Velvet mine and develop the nearby Wood deposit, the Department of the Interior said Friday in a statement.
Fast-track permitting measures were introduced in April to speed up the development of energy and critical minerals projects after President Donald Trump declared a national energy emergency in January. Environmental studies for mines and other resource projects typically take years because of the potential environmental effects.
“This approval marks a turning point in how we secure America’s mineral future,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in the statement. “By streamlining the review process for critical mineral projects like Velvet-Wood, we’re reducing dependence on foreign adversaries and ensuring our military, medical and energy sectors have the resources they need to thrive. This is mineral security in action.”
Anfield shares jumped 12.5% to 9¢ by the close of trading Friday on Canada’s TSX Venture Exchange. That gave the company a market value of C$104 million ($76 million).
Vancouver-based Anfield announced last week that the U.S. had selected Velvet-Wood uranium project for expedited permitting. The company didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment Friday.
Velvet-Wood will aim to produce uranium, which is used in both nuclear energy and nuclear weapons production, as well as vanadium, a metal than can be used in batteries or to strengthen steel and other alloys.
Anfield estimates the combined Velvet and Wood mines hold 4.6 million lb. of uranium oxide equivalent (eU3O8) at a grade of 0.29% eU3O8 in the measured and indicated category and 552,000 lb. of eU3O8 at a grade of 0.32% U3O8 in the inferred category. The vanadium-to-uranium ratio is 1.4 to 1.
Total initial capital expenditures – not including current and sunk costs – are estimated at $122.3 million, according to a preliminary economic assessment prepared for Anfield in May 2023.
Most of the work at the mine will take place underground, targeting known mineral deposits left from earlier operations. Velvet-Wood is located in San Juan County, about 200 miles from Salt Lake City.
Anfield also intends to reopen Utah’s Shootaring Canyon uranium mill, which is one of only three licensed, permitted and constructed uranium mills in the U.S. The facility would convert uranium ore into uranium concentrate, helping to cut the country’s reliance on imported uranium concentrate.
Imports supply a substantial share of the U.S. needs for both minerals. In 2023, 99% of the uranium used by U.S. nuclear power plants came from countries including Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Almost half of the vanadium used in the U.S. in 2024 was imported.
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