By Matthew Beaudin, Editor
The Bureau of Land Management inked an approval for expanded uranium mining in the Big Gypsum Valley last Friday, agreeing to a proposal brought forth from Denison Mines Corporation, a Canadian company.
New activities at the Sunday Mining complex — which lies near Naturita — will include the expansion of waste rock areas and the addition of vent holes along with access roads and additional drilling.
The existing land disturbance at the complex is about 80 acres; the proposed new surface disturbance would affect about 20 additional acres of public land in the area.
According to the BLM, the Denison Mines Corporation acquired the entire mining complex — it was multiple mines before — and will run it as one operation.
Jamie Sellar-Baker, the Dolores Public Lands Office associate manager, signed a Finding of No Significant Impact and Decision Record for the project, meaning its existence will have “no significant impact” on the environment surrounding it.
Hilary White, executive director of Sheep Mountain Alliance was disappointed with the decision to allow expansion.
“We hope that this region will usher in a new era of renewable energy exploration as opposed to old technologies that damage the environment as well as human health,” she said.
Across jurisdictions — from the Department of Energy to the Bureau of Land Management — the uranium boom is rippling.
In the summer of 2007, the Department of Energy also announced its intent to renew 13 active leases in southwest Colorado for 10 years, effectively rolling out the welcome mat for mining companies.
The Sunday Mines lies in Uravan Mineral Belt, which arcs west from here to Utah through the bust town of Uravan. The resource is as storied as the industry itself, as some of its ore went toward the Manhattan Project.
Now, yellowcake isn’t used to make weapons but to supply the world’s 400-plus nuclear power plants with fuel.
The Department of Energy has said the belt can produce some 2 million pounds of uranium ore every year and create jobs, though it could put as many as 300 trucks on regional roads each day when operating at its peak, far beyond only the Sunday Mines.
The county has voiced its opposition to the second uranium boom in the past but has little teeth to sink into the federally-permitted programs.
http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2009/02/04/news/doc498a5ae835df3095591068.txt
New activities at the Sunday Mining complex — which lies near Naturita — will include the expansion of waste rock areas and the addition of vent holes along with access roads and additional drilling.
The existing land disturbance at the complex is about 80 acres; the proposed new surface disturbance would affect about 20 additional acres of public land in the area.
According to the BLM, the Denison Mines Corporation acquired the entire mining complex — it was multiple mines before — and will run it as one operation.
Jamie Sellar-Baker, the Dolores Public Lands Office associate manager, signed a Finding of No Significant Impact and Decision Record for the project, meaning its existence will have “no significant impact” on the environment surrounding it.
Hilary White, executive director of Sheep Mountain Alliance was disappointed with the decision to allow expansion.
“We hope that this region will usher in a new era of renewable energy exploration as opposed to old technologies that damage the environment as well as human health,” she said.
Across jurisdictions — from the Department of Energy to the Bureau of Land Management — the uranium boom is rippling.
In the summer of 2007, the Department of Energy also announced its intent to renew 13 active leases in southwest Colorado for 10 years, effectively rolling out the welcome mat for mining companies.
The Sunday Mines lies in Uravan Mineral Belt, which arcs west from here to Utah through the bust town of Uravan. The resource is as storied as the industry itself, as some of its ore went toward the Manhattan Project.
Now, yellowcake isn’t used to make weapons but to supply the world’s 400-plus nuclear power plants with fuel.
The Department of Energy has said the belt can produce some 2 million pounds of uranium ore every year and create jobs, though it could put as many as 300 trucks on regional roads each day when operating at its peak, far beyond only the Sunday Mines.
The county has voiced its opposition to the second uranium boom in the past but has little teeth to sink into the federally-permitted programs.
http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2009/02/04/news/doc498a5ae835df3095591068.txt
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