Lifts suspension holding back development at Energy Fuels' Toliara critical minerals project.

With approval from the Malagasy Council of Ministers, Energy Fuels, one of the largest uranium producers in the United States, is resuming its Toliara project in southwest Madagascar after a five-year suspension of development.

"The lifting of the suspension by the Malagasy Government is a very significant step in the development of the Toliara rare earths, titanium, and zirconium project," said Mark Chalmers, president and CEO of Energy Fuels. "The company can now re-commence development and other technical activities on the ground, which are expected to include the re-establishment of the company's social programs, additional mine planning and engineering, expanding the critical mineral resource base, as well as progressing any other legal activities necessary to progress the Toliara project and achieve a positive financial investment decision."

Energy Fuels, a leading uranium producer based in Lakewood, Colorado, also manages heavy mineral sands operations from Perth, Australia. Beyond uranium, the company has diversified into vanadium and medical isotope production at its White Mesa Mill in Utah – the only conventional uranium processing facility in the U.S. – and is now expanding into rare earth host minerals at Toliara.

Now that the Council of Ministers, chaired by the president of the Republic of Madagascar, has lifted the suspension on Toliara, the company can restart development at the world-class critical minerals project, re-establish community programs, and advance the technical, environmental, and social activities necessary to achieve a final investment decision by 2026.

"We look forward to growing our partnership with the Government of Madagascar as we formalize the fiscal and other terms applicable to the project, move forward with development activities, and rapidly progress Toliara towards operation for the benefit of our host communities, the nation of Madagascar, and our shareholders," said Chalmers.

Besides acquiring Australian rare earth miner Base Resources in 2024 – including access to Toliara – the company bought the Bahia rare earth project in Brazil in 2022 and is co-developing the Donald rare earth and mineral sands project in Australia with local miner Astron.

Energy Fuels' Toliara mining permit, which had been suspended in 2019 until terms were negotiated, allows for the extraction of titanium and zirconium minerals, including ilmenite, rutile, and zircon.

Using mechanisms such as a memorandum of understanding, investment agreements, or amendments to existing laws, Energy Fuels can now collaborate with the government to add rare earth element production to its existing mining permit.

"We also believe the Toliara project has the strong potential to be a 'crown jewel' of Madagascar's future economy, a leader in the global clean energy transition, and a model for sustainable mining in Africa," said Chalmers, citing the principles and practices established by newly acquired Base Resources over its 11 years of titanium and zirconium operations in Kenya.

Backed by a 45-year career evaluating mining projects around the world, Chalmers believes Toliara "is truly a 'generational' mining project, having the potential to provide the U.S. and the rest of the world with large quantities of critical minerals for many decades, including rare earth elements which we plan to process at our existing facility in the U.S."