US Oil Sands Inc. announced approval of its U.S. patent application and the filing of its 2013 independent resource evaluation report. The company has received notification from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (‘USPTO') that allows the company's U.S. patent application relating to its bitumen extraction process. The company will be formally issued the patent after the company finalizes issuance procedures with the USPTO.

The company has previously been granted a patent by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office in 2012 and has completed the international filing of a patent application through World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in October 2007. The approval of the U.S. patent application and the granting of a Canadian patent provides a key, strategic advantage for the company, as no commercial oil sands mining process has yet been implemented that can operate with the overall reduced environmental footprint that the company's process provides. In addition, the company believes its low capital cost allows the company's extraction process to be economically deployed to a broad range of smaller deposits, previously deemed out of reach for oil sands mining operations using traditional extraction processes.

The company's 32,005 acres of bitumen leases in Utah's Uinta Basin make it the bitumen lease holder of State lands in the U.S., and the company's permitted PR Spring Project is expected to be the first commercial bitumen extraction project in the U.S. US Oil Sands' extraction process is effective on both oilwet deposits such as those found in the US and internationally, and waterwet deposits such as those found in Canada's Athabasca region. Traditional extraction processes, developed decades ago, are effective on the waterwet oil sands found in Canada, however, they remain economically and environmentally ineffective at extracting bitumen from oilwet deposits that are found in other parts of the world. Following commercial production of Phase 1 of the PR Spring Project, expected in 2015, the company intends to expand deployment of its proprietary process outside the State of Utah.