Premier American Uranium (TSX-V:PUR) has completed drilling at its Cebolleta Uranium Project in New Mexico, US, delivering samples to support advanced metallurgical studies.
The drilling program recovered representative samples from the underground resource area to support the company’s 2026 work program, which is focused on process optimisation and project economics.
Premier American Uranium has delivered the recovered samples to Hazen Research in Golden, Colorado, where they will support a comprehensive metallurgical testing program aimed at optimising heap-leach uranium recovery and informing key assumptions for future economic studies.
The company says it plans to update its current preliminary economic assessment (PEA) with respect to the project, targeted for completion in 2027.
CEO Colin Healey says the comprehensive metallurgical program aims to optimise uranium recoveries and refine processing assumptions for future engineering and economic studies.
“As demonstrated in our 2025 PEA, increasing metallurgical recovery from 80% to 90% has the potential to increase the after-tax NPV (8%) by approximately 90%, from US$84 million–159 million ($121 million–229 million), if test work can successfully validate this potential,” Healey says.
Under the guidance of metallurgical consultant Dr Terence McNulty, Hazen Research has commenced a metallurgical testing program including mineralogical characterisation, bottle roll recovery testing, and long-term column leach tests to simulate heap leaching.
The testing utilises both the underground core samples and the open-pit bulk sample delivered in March 2026. Bottle roll and column leach tests will examine multiple oxidants, lixiviants, and application rates to assess uranium recovery characteristics.
Premier American Uranium expects to report key findings as the metallurgical testing progresses.
The Cebolleta Uranium Project is a past-producing property with extensive historical work and infrastructure.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Premier American Uranium
