Holland & Hart represented Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC), the largest, diversified North American focused uranium company, advancing the next generation of low-cost, environmentally friendly ISR mining uranium projects in the United States and high-grade conventional projects in Canada, in its agreement with Rio Tinto America Inc. (Rio Tinto) to acquire 100% of Rio Tinto's Wyoming assets, comprised of the wholly-owned and fully-licensed Sweetwater Plant and a portfolio of uranium mining projects with approximately 175 million pounds of historic resources. The $175 million purchase price payable at closing, expected to occur in Q4 2024, is subject to customary working capital adjustments, and will be funded with UEC’s available liquidity.
With this transaction, UEC will build upon its transformative acquisition of Uranium One Americas in 2021, which added a large portfolio of holdings in the Great Divide Basin of Wyoming. With meaningful development synergies with the Rio Tinto assets, UEC will establish its third hub-and-spoke production platform that will make UEC the leading uranium developer in Wyoming and the U.S.
For more information, please see UEC’s press release.
The Holland & Hart transactional team was led by the firm’s Mining Practice Co-Leader Karol Kahalley and Corporate Partner Susan Oakes, with subject matter expertise assistance from Andrea Grave (land & mineral title), Stuart Knight, Aisha May, David Glynn (corporate), Ann Prouty, Kayleigh Verboncoeur (environmental), Bill Caile (water rights), Benjamin Gibbons (employment law), Conrad Kranz, and Trent Timmons (tax law).
With decades of experience in the mining industry, Holland & Hart’s mining team helps clients achieve results at every stage of the process. We have a deep understanding of the business, regulatory, and environmental challenges mining industry stakeholders face. We represent precious metals, hard rock, energy, industrial, coal, and critical mineral producers with operations and properties throughout the United States and the world.