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Current Developments and Liquidity
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Current Developments and Liquidity 
Current Developments and Liquidity

 

(2)   Current Developments and Liquidity

 

Business Condition – Since inception, the Company has suffered substantial losses.  During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2011, the Company reported a net loss of $8,254,802  and net cash used in operating activities of $2,846,527. During the same period in 2010, the Company reported a net loss of $4,736,317 and net cash used in operating activities of $2,722,647. The Company has made significant investments in, and will continue to invest in, the design, licensing and construction of a large scale uranium de-conversion and fluorine extraction facility. Assuming the Company continues development work on this project at the current schedule, the Company expects that these continued expenses will exceed current revenue from sales by a significant amount for the remainder of 2011 and the next several years as well.  As a result, the Company expects to continue to incur significant losses until the planned uranium de-conversion facility commences commercial production, which the Company does not expect to occur until at least the first quarter of 2014. Current expenditures on that project include licensing, design, and related subcontractor project efforts.  Management expects to generate sufficient cash flows from the existing business segments to meet operational needs during 2011 and beyond; however, there is no assurance that these cash flows will occur.  In addition, the Company will require additional capital to support ongoing efforts for the planned uranium de-conversion and fluorine extraction plant.  There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to secure additional capital or financing on terms acceptable to the Company or at all. 

 

The Company’s uranium de-conversion project began in 2004 with the acquisition of patents for its Fluorine Extraction Process (FEP).  Since that time, the Company has made significant investments to construct the first commercial depleted uranium de-conversion and fluorine extraction facility in the U.S.  The Company believes this will provide a commercial opportunity because there are several companies constructing, or planning to construct, new uranium enrichment facilities in the U.S.   These facilities are expected to produce large amounts of depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF6) that would require de-conversion prior to disposal. In the process of de-conversion, the Company plans to use FEP to produce high-value, high-purity fluoride gases. Additional design and licensing activities for this new facility will continue throughout the remainder of 2011.

 

In April 2010, the Company entered into an agreement with URENCO U.S.A. (UUSA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of URENCO, to provide depleted uranium de-conversion services for its enrichment facility located in Eunice, New Mexico. These services will begin once commercial operations of the Company’s planned de-conversion facility, to be built in Lea County, near Hobbs, New Mexico, are underway. The term of the agreement extends through the first five years of the Company’s operation of the planned uranium de-conversion facility. It will require significant capital and time to design, license, and construct such a uranium de-conversion facility before the Company can recognize revenue under this agreement.

 

In July 2011, the Company announced the selection of Parsons Corporation as the lead design-build contractor for the planned uranium de-conversion facility.  The Company plans to execute a design and build contract with Parsons Corporation if and when it secures additional capital to further support the project.

 

In August 2011, the Company announced it had completed the acquisition of property for the planned uranium de-conversion facility with Lea County, New Mexico.  The property is a 640 acre parcel that was offered to the Company as part of an incentives package prepared by the Economic Development Corporation of Lea County.  Pursuant to a project participation agreement and an industrial revenue bond transaction, the property was transferred to the Company in accordance with the Local Economic Development Act of Lea County, New Mexico. Under the project participation agreement, the Company is required to commence construction on the facility no later than December 2014 and to substantially complete Phase 1 of the facility and have hired at least 75 persons by December 2015.  If the Company fails to perform either of these obligations, and at the time of such failure has not secured financing for Phase 1 of the facility and expended at least $200,000 in costs of improvement of the property, then the Company must either reconvey the property to Lea County, New Mexico or purchase the property from Lea County in accordance with the project participation agreement.  The Company has not recorded the value of this property as an asset and will not until such time that sufficient progress on the project has been made to meet the Company’s obligations under the agreements for permanent transfer of the title.

 

The Company continues to explore the opportunity to raise funds to support the engineering, construction and start-up of the planned uranium de-conversion facility through debt financing and equity offerings over the next year.