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Ur-Energy is considering drilling, acquisitions and processing uranium for other producers to use spare capacity following the restart of its Shirley Basin mine in Wyoming. CEO Matthew Gili told The Northern Miner that the company’s two operations have combined licensed capacity of 4.2 million pounds of uranium oxide per year, while about 2.2 million pounds of capacity has been built. The scale and timing of further growth remain subject to exploration results, development decisions and access to material from other miners.
Ur-Energy is looking to drilling, acquisitions and potentially processing uranium for other companies to fill unused capacity after restarting its Shirley Basin mine in Wyoming, CEO Matthew Gili told The Northern Miner in an interview published in October. The expansion strategy matters because the company has built processing capacity beyond current production, but its plans to put that capacity to work depend on new resources, development choices and possible third-party supply.
Ur-Energy began recovering uranium at Shirley Basin in April, marking the first mining at the site since 1992. The operation sent its first shipment of uranium-loaded resin to the company’s Lost Creek processing plant in August. Gili described the arrangement as a “hub and spoke” model: Shirley Basin produces resin, while Lost Creek processes material from both operations. Using one processing hub avoids duplicating equipment, the company says.
The two Wyoming operations have a combined licensed capacity of 4.2 million pounds of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) a year, including capacity for material from other producers. About 2.2 million pounds of capacity has been built, according to the report. Gili said the additional potential volume could come from Ur-Energy’s own deposits, toll processing for other miners, organic growth or mergers and acquisitions; those are possible routes, not announced production commitments.
Ur-Energy reported packaging 236,472 pounds of uranium oxide at Lost Creek in the first half of 2026, including 140,873 pounds in the second quarter, in results cited in the source report. The company was due to report third-quarter results after markets closed on the Monday following the report. A March 2024 preliminary economic assessment projected Shirley Basin output of about 1 million pounds annually over nine years. These are company-reported production figures and project estimates, not guarantees of future output.
How Ur-Energy Could Use Spare Capacity
Unused processing capacity gives Ur-Energy several potential ways to grow without building a separate processing plant for every source of uranium. If exploration adds economically workable material, or if other producers contract with the company, Lost Creek could process more than the mines currently supply. That could make the hub-and-spoke setup more productive, while toll processing could generate work from nearby deposits without Ur-Energy owning all of the material.
But the capacity figure is not the same as actual output. Red Cloud Securities analyst David Talbot told The Northern Miner that neighbouring uranium projects in the Shirley Basin district were not producing, limiting immediate opportunities to process material from other miners. Ur-Energy’s own exploration and development decisions therefore matter to whether it can close the gap between built capacity and its larger licensed total.
The development also comes as U.S. uranium production remains far below its historical peak. The source report cited Energy Information Administration data showing U.S. producers produced about 2.1 million pounds in 2025, compared with a national peak of 43.7 million pounds in 1980. That backdrop helps explain the company’s interest in Wyoming expansion, but it does not establish that Ur-Energy’s plans will materially change national supply.
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Wyoming Operations and Exploration Plans
Shirley Basin is about 250 kilometres northwest of Cheyenne and helped pioneer in-situ recovery in the 1960s. The method circulates a solution through wells in an orebody, dissolves uranium and pumps it to the surface for recovery. It does not require excavating ore and can cost less than conventional mining when local geology is suitable. Ur-Energy acquired former owner Pathfinder Mines in 2013.
Lost Creek, about 140 kilometres west of Shirley Basin, restarted in 2023 and serves as the processing hub. Ur-Energy announced a 120-drill-hole program at Lost Creek South on Oct. 29. Gili said the drilling area forms part of a roughly 142-square-kilometre land package that is only about 10% explored. He also said delineation drilling at Lost Creek the previous year added about 3.5 million pounds of inferred uranium oxide resources, a 34% increase.
Ur-Energy is also evaluating Lost Soldier, north of Lost Creek. A technical report expected by year-end was to help the company decide whether to proceed with construction. The source cited company disclosures estimating 9.1 million pounds of measured and indicated uranium oxide resources at Shirley Basin. A March 2026 estimate for Lost Creek listed 11.9 million pounds of measured and indicated equivalent uranium oxide resources and 10.4 million pounds inferred. Resource estimates are not the same as reserves or confirmed mine production.
“We’re now making regular shipments of uranium-loaded resin from Shirley Basin to Lost Creek for processing. That’s our hub and spoke model.”
— Matthew Gili, Ur-Energy CEO, speaking to The Northern Miner
What Could Slow the Expansion
Ur-Energy has not set out in the source report a schedule or committed output target for filling the unused capacity. It is also not clear which of the proposed routes—company-owned resources, toll processing, exploration growth or acquisitions—will supply most of the additional material, or whether any deals with other producers are in progress.
The availability and economics of new deposits remain uncertain. The Lost Creek South drilling program will need to produce results that support further development, while the planned Lost Soldier technical report is intended to inform a construction decision. Talbot’s comment that nearby projects were not producing underscores that toll processing may not provide an immediate source of feed.
Staffing is another reported challenge. Gili said the company had to rebuild a skilled workforce after a long industry slowdown, including well drillers, contractors and plant operators. The report does not give current staffing levels or say whether labour availability is still limiting production. Uranium prices and project costs also affect development decisions; the interview cited a long-term price of $96.50 per pound at the time Gili spoke, while spot prices had cooled after rising above $100 per pound in January 2024.
Drilling and Project Decisions Ahead
The immediate operational milestone is the outcome of the 120-hole Lost Creek South drilling program announced on Oct. 29. Results could help Ur-Energy assess the area’s potential, though the source does not give a timetable for publishing findings. The company’s next stated development decision concerns Lost Soldier: a technical report expected by year-end was set to inform whether construction should proceed.
Investors and readers can also look to the company’s operating updates for production and processing figures, including the third-quarter results that were scheduled after market close on the Monday following the interview report. Those results may clarify recent performance but will not by themselves establish whether the company can reach its full licensed capacity. Any acquisition, toll-processing agreement or construction decision would be a separate development and was not confirmed in the source material.
Key Questions
What is Ur-Energy planning to expand in Wyoming?
The company is exploring ways to use spare capacity at its Wyoming operations through drilling, potential acquisitions and possibly processing uranium for other producers. These are options under consideration, not confirmed production commitments.
How does the Shirley Basin and Lost Creek setup work?
Shirley Basin sends uranium-loaded resin to Lost Creek, where Ur-Energy processes it. The shared processing arrangement is intended to avoid duplicating equipment at the two sites.
How much uranium processing capacity does Ur-Energy have?
The two operations have combined licensed capacity of 4.2 million pounds of uranium oxide per year. The source report says about 2.2 million pounds of capacity has been built; licensed capacity should not be read as actual annual production.
When will Ur-Energy decide whether to build Lost Soldier?
The company expected a technical report by year-end to help determine whether to proceed with construction. The source material does not confirm a construction decision or a start date.
Could Ur-Energy process uranium from other companies?
Gili identified toll processing as one possible way to use spare capacity. Red Cloud Securities analyst David Talbot said nearby projects in the Shirley Basin district were not producing, and the report did not identify any processing agreement.
Source: northernminer.com
