Westwater Resources Announces Receipt of NPDES Permit
Milestone Achievement Enables Commencement of Site Grading
CENTENNIAL, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Westwater Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: WWR), a battery-grade natural graphite development company (“Westwater” or the “Company”), is pleased to announce it has received an NPDES Permit (“Permit”). The Permit is required to commence site grading at the Coosa Graphite Processing Facility (“Coosa Graphite Plant”) located near Kellyton, Alabama. The Permit has been issued by the State of Alabama under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) to ensure Westwater’s construction efforts comply with the Federal Clean Water Act as it relates to regulated disturbances and any stormwater runoff from the Coosa Graphite Plant site. The Permit, when coupled with the Company’s Best Management Practices, allows Westwater to commence site grading activities at the Coosa Graphite Plant. Site grading activities, anticipated to begin in March, are those required to prepare for building construction.
”This permitting milestone has been met and allows our construction to proceed on time,” said Chris Jones, President and CEO of Westwater. “This is splendid work on the part of the Operations Team in Alabama.”
Westwater has secured contracts for certain long-lead equipment items and continues to focus on adding key contractors to the construction team. Westwater previously announced its intention to start production of critical graphite materials for Lithium-Ion batteries in 2023, once construction and start up is complete.
About Westwater Resources Inc.
Westwater Resources Inc. (NYSE American: WWR) is focused on developing battery-grade natural graphite materials. The Company’s primary project is the Coosa Graphite Project — the most advanced natural graphite project in the contiguous United States — which includes the Coosa Graphite Plant located near Kellyton, Alabama and the associated Coosa Graphite Deposit located across 41,900 acres (~17,000 hectares) in east-central Alabama. For more information, visit www.westwaterresources.net.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as “expects,” “estimates,” “projects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “scheduled,” and other similar words. Forward looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the schedule related to the construction and completion date of the Company’s Coosa Graphite Plant. The Company cautions that there are certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information that has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such suggested results will be realized. The following factors, in addition to those discussed in Westwater’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and subsequent securities filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations as suggested by such forward-looking information: (a) the Company’s ability to successfully permit and construct the Coosa Graphite Plant on schedules consistent with the Coosa Graphite Project business plan; (b) the ability to control costs and avoid cost and schedule overruns during the development and construction of the Coosa Graphite Plant, due to challenges which include, but are not limited to, changes in labor costs, availability and productivity; challenges with management of contractors or vendors, subcontractor performance, adverse weather conditions; shortages, delays, increased costs or inconsistent quality of equipment, materials and labor, contractor or supplier delays; delays due to judicial or regulatory action; and nonperformance under construction agreements (c) unanticipated geological, processing, regulatory and legal or other problems the Company may encounter in the jurisdictions where the Company operates or intends to operate, including but not limited to Alabama and Colorado (d) the Company’s ability to raise additional capital in the future, including the ability to utilize existing financing facilities; (e) spot price and long-term contract price of graphite and vanadium; (f) risks associated with our construction, permitting and operations, and the associated activities of our partners such as Dorfner Anzaplan and Samuel Engineering, including the impact of COVID-19 and its potential impacts to the capital markets; (g) government regulation of the graphite industry and the vanadium industry; (h) world-wide graphite and vanadium supply and demand, including the supply and demand for energy storage batteries; (i) the ability of the Company to enter into and successfully close acquisitions or other material transactions; (j) any graphite or vanadium discoveries not being in high-enough concentration to make it economic to extract the minerals; and (k) new litigation or arbitration. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release.
Contacts
Westwater Resources Inc.
Christopher M. Jones, President & CEO
Phone: 303.531.0480
Jeff Vigil, VP Finance & CFO
Phone: 303.531.0481
Email: Info@WestwaterResources.net
Product Sales Contact:
Jay Wago, Vice President – Sales and Marketing
Phone: 303.531.0472
Email: Sales@westwaterresources.net
Investor Relations
Porter, LeVay & Rose
Michael Porter, President
Phone: 212.564.4700
Email: Westwater@plrinvest.com