(Wyoming Business Report, December 2) – CASPER – While young uranium-mining company Uranerz is finishing its first facility at Nichols Ranch, it has announced that it has hired a new president and chief operating officer.
Paul Goranson comes to Uranerz fresh from being president of Cameco Resources, a major competitor to the uranium upstart. According to a Uranerz release, Goranson has more than 25 years of mining, processing and regulatory experience in the uranium extraction industry that includes both conventional and in-situ recovery mining. While president of Cameco Resources, Goranson led operations at the Smith Ranch-Highland, Crow Butte and North Butte ISR uranium recovery facilities.
“Uranerz is very pleased to have a person with Mr. Goranson’s talent, uranium mining experience and in-depth industry knowledge join our company” stated Uranerz CEO Glenn Catchpole. “He has been involved in all facets of the uranium sector, and we look forward to his input as we initiate production at Nichols Ranch and continue our efforts to grow the company.”
The company hosted several auditors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission at Nichols Ranch in mid-November for final inspection and auditing of the facility. Prior to the inspection, an official said the outcome would determine how soon the company could go into production for the first time.
“We feel like we’re in a good position once the inspection’s over to be able to start up,” Thomas said. As of Sept. 30, the company had logged $42.8 million in expenditures on their new facility in the Powder River Basin. The company now said it expects to go into operation within the next few months.