Utah uranium mining operations suspended

Reports Uranium Watch: It has taken only 5 years for the most recent uranium mining boom in Utah to hit bottom.  In 2012, Energy Fuels Inc. acquired the Denison Mines Corporation’s United States uranium interests through a buyout/merger process.  These interest include the White Mesa Mill, the operating La Sal Mines Complex and Daneros Mine in San Juan County and other mines and mining claims in Utah, Colorado, and Arizona.  Subsequently, Energy Fuels announced they would place their operating Utah mines on standby and would concentrate on operating their mines on the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon.  Energy Fuels’ US subsidiary, Energy Fuels Resources Inc. (EFR), has suspended operations at the La Sal/Beaver Shaft and Daneros Mine.  Originally EFR announced that they would reclaim the Pandora Mine, but later stated they would also temporarily suspend the Pandora Mine operations. 

The Moab office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is still reviewing the Plan of Operations Amendment (POA) for the La Sal Mines Complex and completing the Environmental Assessment.  The POA includes the updated provisions for the reclamation of the La Sal, Snowball, Beaver Shaft, and Pandora Mines.  These must be approved by the BLM.

Energy Fuels will now have 9 uranium mines in Utah that are permitted but not operating: Beaver Shaft/La Sal/Snowball, Daneros, Energy Queen, Pandora, Pine Ridge, Redd Block No. 4, Rim, Sage, and Tony M Mines.  The BLM and the Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining have specific regulations that apply to the long-term suspension of mining operations.  The regulations are inadequate and have not been fully implemented and enforced.

The decisions to suspend mining operations in Utah are decisions based on the economic viability of the Energy Fuels.  It is not know when, or if, these mines will resume operation.  Some of these mines have been kept on standby for over 10 years without the required approval of the Oil, Gas, and Mining Board.

Uranium Watch is following the recent suspension uranium mine operations and the status of other mines that are non-operational but have not been remediated.