Silex gets go ahead to enrich US stockpiles to produce uranium






Materials technology company Silex Systems has been given clearance by the US Department of Treasury for the restructure of its US uranium enrichment technology venture.

The approvals, the last of a number of necessary US government regulatory approvals secured, clears the way for Silex and Canada’s Cameco Corporation to go ahead with their agreement with GE-Hitatchi Nuclear Energy for the purchase of its 76 per cent share in Global Laser Enrichment.

For a deferred payment of $20 million, Silex will emerge with 51 per cent of GLE and Cameco 49 per cent, though Cameco also has the option to move to majority control of the business.

Silex originally licensed its laser uranium technology to GE-Hitatchi in 2000, with the companies joining in GLE to operate a laser enrichment facility in Wilmington, NC.

The path to market for the venture is underpinned by an agreement between GLE and the US Department of Energy under which DOE uranium tailings will be made available for the proposed Paducah Laser Enrichment project.

Silex’s technology will be used to produce natural grade uranium from the tailings.

Silex’s CEO Dr Michael Goldsworthy said: “The receipt of approval…for the GLE transaction represents a significant milestone for Silex and reflects the dedicated efforts by the Silex team, our colleagues at Cameco and GEH, along with many representatives within the US government.”

Silex is a R&D company that is also developing methods to produce zero-spin silicon (ZS-Si) for use in silicon quantum computing chips.

Picture: Silex

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