enCore Energy is under investigation by the SEC

RAPID CITY – Powertech Uranium Corporation had planned to start mining for uranium in the southern Black Hills 15 years ago, but it was blocked by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Black Hills Clean Water Alliance (BHCWA), as well as other allies and residents of the Black Hills who are concerned about water pollution.

When it was proposed Powertech Uranium Corporation owned it. Azarga Uranium then acquired Powertech and then enCore Energy acquired Powertech/Azarga and still own it today.

The project was delayed originally because Black Hills residents were upset about pollution to water supplies. Now, it could be further delayed because investors are upset, but not for the same reasons as local residents. Investors think they were misled regarding enCore Energy Corp’s (EU) business prospects and have started a class action lawsuit.

EnCore recently came under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the company’s stock dropped 46 percent since the beginning of March 3. The previous day, on March 2, the company announced the removal of Paul Goranson as CEO and a member of the board of directors and named a new acting CEO.

A press release from the BHCWA noted there was a publication that was recruiting investors who experienced stock losses or perhaps those who still holding shares, to participate in the class action lawsuit saying issues include failing to disclose crucial information and inadequate internal financial controls.

The filed complaint alleges that enCore made false statements or hid information about its financial reporting, that it could not capitalize certain exploratory and development costs under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) increasing net losses, therefore investors support of the company and their positive statements about enCore’s operations were misleading.

Also, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reissued the well permits for mining and waste disposal for Dewey-Burdock, but the permits were sent back to the EPA for reworking.

Furthermore, BHCWA said that the company’s license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is running out. So, the company has to renew the license.

The Dewey-Burdock Project is an advanced uranium exploration project and is a part of the Edgemont Mining District in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota.

This is an in-situ recovery (ISR) project, also known as in situ leaching (ISL) in which the search for minerals requires drilling holes into ore deposits and creating pathways for a leaching solution to penetrate. EnCore calls this a closed-loop system, which they say reduces waste considerably compared to traditional mining operations.

Essentially, the solution is pumped underground into an aquifer which holds groundwater, it dissolves the target minerals, such as uranium, into the solution and then pumps the dissolved minerals to the surface for processing. After extracting uranium, the leached groundwater is often recycled and reinjected into the aquifer through injection wells.

Encore says their ISR process extracts the uranium using oxygen and natural groundwater, as well as a proven ion exchange process, to recover the uranium, and the aquifer is returned to its original state.  EnCore explains that the process is benign. BHCWA explains that the project would be pumping the wastewater into the Minnelusa aquifer.

Encore says there is reduced water consumption compared to traditional mining operations, but their request of state regulators, if approved is to withdraw 551 gallons of water per minute from the Madison aquifer and 8,500 gallons  of water per minute from the Inyan Kara Formation for a total daily consumption of nearly 13 million gallons of water per day. This translates into 2.75 billion gallons of water over the 20-year lifespan of the mine.

The Alliance say this would have a great impact on the two most important aquifers in the Black Hills, the Minnelusa and Madison. According to the USGS, the aquifers are important “because of the utilization of water supplies and important influences on surface-water resources resulting from large springs and stream-flow-loss zones.”

Uranium is naturally found in all soil, rock and water, including drinking water but in very small amounts. Industry representatives often cite the natural presence of uranium as an explanation when uranium levels are found in nearby waters and soils.  But the processes of extracting uranium from the rock also leave behind radioactive waste.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, these processes separate uranium from its decay products which are also radioactive and contain up to 80 to 90 percent of the radioactivity in the rock.

BHCWA say that runoff from the nearly 300 abandoned uranium mines in the Black Hills has led to elevated levels of uranium in local water reservoirs and the Cheyenne River and Red Shirt.  A recent study by the School of Mines found elevated uranium in the sediment where the Cheyenne River flows into the Angostura Reservoir.

Lilias Jarding, executive director of BHCWA, says that no groundwater has ever been returned to its original conditions at any in situ leach uranium mine in the United States.

Recently, South Dakota legislators killed a bill that would have studied explosive growth, overdevelopment and preservation in the Black Hills for the next century. During discussion the majority of dissenters of the bill said they opposed it because they didn’t like that people outside of the Black Hills would be making decisions about the Black Hills for the people who live in the Black Hills.

“It’s like me and others wanting to study and micromanage Sioux Falls growth, of the Falls or any community that lives along the Missouri River,” said Republican Senator Helene Duhamel, who lives in Rapid City. “It’s not my issue. If we’re really about local control, we cannot discount the opposition from almost all the local governments who are weighing in to tell us they don’t appreciate it. They feel it’s an insult and a slap in the face.”

While legislators may think that management of the Black Hills should remain in the pocket of Black Hills residents only, there are 14 million inhabitants of the Great Plains who are also impacted by decisions made by South Dakota west river legislators.

The Black Hills are the headwaters for both surface and groundwater for a multi-state area.  Because they’re higher than the surrounding Plains, they capture rain and snow and are a major collector of groundwater, serving an area from Canada in the north to all of the Dakotas, as well as parts or Montana and Wyoming.

Most of the remaining surface water runs east providing water to a good portion of east river. Municipalities there are using water from the Missouri River. The groundwater in the Black Hills also feeds the Missouri via Black Hills bodies of water like the Belle Fourche River and the Cheyenne River.

As for the Dewey-Burdock project, Jarding says they are a long way from being able to start their project because they don’t have any of the state permits and the state won’t even consider them until the federal level activity is complete. “So, at this point, everything that’s going on is subject to appeal, which can take a while.”

Jarding said the project is by no means a done deal. “It’s a long way from that possibility and the public needs to stay engaged and be prepared to participate in the process.”

(Contact Marnie Cook at cookm8715@gmail.com)

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