Powertech Uranium Corp. is putting a proposed uranium mine project on hold in part because the Japan nuclear crisis has reduced demand on the uranium industry.

Powertech USA President Richard Clement said yesterday that his company will hold off on the Centennial Project in Colorado and instead will focus on the Dewey-Burdock uranium mine in South Dakota. The Centennial Project was to be built outside of Fort Collins and would have mined uranium using a process called situ leaching, which involves injecting a baking soda-like solution into the ground and pumping out the uranium as a liquid.

"Dewey-Burdock is the most advanced project the company has, therefore, we're concentrating our efforts on Dewey-Burdock to get permitted," Clement said. "Especially in the post-tsunami financial environment, we need to concentrate our efforts as much as any other company."

Uranium prices have plummeted amid the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that was crippled in the March 11 earthquake. Prices that had reached $75 just before the quake have now fallen to $55.25 this week, according to market analysis firm TradeTech.

Clement said that while he expects the uranium market to rebound, the company would rather focus on the most advanced project during the time of turmoil. But Clement said that once the South Dakota project is up and running, it could generate enough cash flow to finance Centennial.

David McIntyre, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said he expected the Dewey-Burdock permitting process to be finished by the middle of 2012, unless the agency was affected by budget cuts (Bobby Magill, Fort Collins Coloradoan, April 28). -- JP