This follows an Environmental Assessment and a Finding of No Significant Impact in support of the licence issued by the commission earlier this month. The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has also recently authorised the start of construction of infrastructure on portions of bureau-managed public lands within the larger Dewey Burdock Project.
Dewey Burdock is described by enCore as an advanced-stage uranium project covering 10,580 acres (about 4,282 hectares), including 10,340 acres of private surface rights and 240 acres of Bureau of Land Management-managed surface rights. It was originally awarded a source and byproduct materials licence by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 2014. The project became part of enCore Energy’s portfolio on its acquisition of Azarga Uranium in 2022, consolidating the companies’ assets which also included licensed in-situ production facilities at Rosita and Kingsville Dome, both in South Texas, and the Gas Hills project in Wyoming.
The project was approved in August 2025 for inclusion in the US Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council’s FAST-41 programme. (“Permitting Council”) on 28 August, 2025, with the NRC acting as the lead agency. Inclusion in the programme helps critical mineral projects to receive accelerated permitting review.
Permitting Council Executive Director Emily Domenech congratulated the NRC and enCore Energy Corp “for getting the Dewey Burdock ISR Uranium Project to the federal permitting finish line … increasing the domestic production of uranium is critical to national security and energy dominance, and will play a pivotal role in accelerating the deployment of nuclear energy to meet growing electricity demand”.
The company has commenced permitting efforts with the State of South Dakota, which are required before the Dewey Burdock Project proceeds to full operational status.
“FAST-41 has played an important role in securing federal permitting, and we look forward to finalising state permitting, beginning construction, and ultimately producing from this critical source of clean, reliable, and affordable uranium to fuel the rapidly expanding US nuclear energy needs,” enCore Energy Executive Chair William Sheriff said. “This project should provide positive local and national economic impacts through development and ongoing operations.”
EnCore plans to operate Dewey Burdock through its Powertech USA subsidiary by the in-situ recovery, or ISR, process, using an oxygen and water-based solution in the production wellfield to dissolve uranium minerals in place. (ISR is also sometimes referred to as in-situ leach).
