Anfield Energy Inc. has advanced its Velvet-Wood uranium and vanadium project in Utah toward active dewatering after securing Concept Approval from the Utah Division of Water Quality for its water treatment plan.

The company has also submitted a formal request to reactivate Outfall under the mine’s active UPDES Permit. Subject to final Division approval and confirmation that treated water meets permit standards, Anfield is targeting the commencement of treated-water discharge as early as November 7.

Bringing the historic underground workings back into a dry, workable condition forms a central step in the company’s hub-and-spoke strategy, which centres on the Shootaring Canyon Mill in Utah. The facility is one of only three licensed, permitted, and constructed conventional uranium mills in the United States.

The latest permitting steps follow underground development milestones achieved in late August, when Anfield completed the first underground blast at the project in nearly 40 years and rehabilitated the first 700 feet of the decline. Construction of the water treatment plant and installation of the dewatering pump have proceeded in parallel with underground work. Once discharge begins, Anfield expects the remaining decline to dewater within approximately the first month of pumping, with two to three months required to clear the existing underground workings.

Velvet-Wood last produced uranium and vanadium in 1984. In May 2025, the project was selected by the U.S. Department of the Interior for expedited permitting as the first uranium project under a federal emergency declaration. Anfield remains on track to resume production at Velvet-Wood by the end of 2026.

“We are moving Velvet-Wood from restart milestones into an executable dewatering timeline. Utah’s Concept Approval of our water treatment plan, together with our request to reactivate Outfall, puts us on track to begin treated discharge as early as November 7, subject to final Division approval and permit compliance. Combined with the first underground blast in nearly four decades and ongoing decline rehabilitation, Velvet-Wood is advancing as a real near-term contributor to our Shootaring-centered hub-and-spoke platform.”

— Corey Dias, CEO of Anfield

With dewatering preparations advancing alongside ongoing underground rehabilitation, the company continues to work toward its target of resuming commercial operations.

Read the full announcement: Anfield Advances Velvet-Wood Toward Active Dewatering with Utah Concept Approval and Outfall Reactivation Request