Interest in nuclear power fuels uranium rush -- Grand Canyon area sees 1,100 claims staked

By Judy Pasternak Los Angeles Times / May 10, 2008

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. - Thanks to renewed interest in nuclear power, the United States is on the verge of a uranium mining boom and nowhere is the hurry to stake claims more pronounced than in the districts flanking the Grand Canyon's storied sandstone cliffs.

On public lands within 5 miles of Grand Canyon National Park, there are more than 1,100 uranium claims, compared with 10 in January 2003, according to data from the Department of the Interior.

In recent months, the uranium rush has spawned a clash as epic as the canyon's 18-mile chasm, with both sides saying they are working for the good of the planet.

Environmental organizations have appealed to federal courts and Congress to halt any drilling, arguing that mining so close to such a rare piece of the nation's patrimony could prove ruinous for the canyon's visitors and wildlife.

Mining companies say the raw material they seek is important to the environment, too: The uranium would feed nuclear reactors that could, unlike coal and natural gas, produce electricity without contributing to global warming.

And uranium is in short supply. In recent years, mines closed in Canada and West Africa, yet the United States as well as France and other European countries have announced intentions to expand nuclear power. Predictably, the price of uranium has soared to $65 a pound recently, from $9.70 a pound in 2002.

In the five Western states where uranium is mined in the United States, 4,333 new claims were filed in 2004, according to the Interior Department; last year the number had swelled to 43,153.

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