Uranium mill announces expansion

A Canadian company is charging ahead with its plans for the Piñon Ridge Uranium Mill, in southwestern Colorado, in spite of an ongoing legal challenge. Energy Fuels Inc. recently announced a major “resource expansion” and has begun mining vast quantities of ore to feed the mill proposed for Western Colorado’s Paradox Valley.

The Toronto-based uranium and vanadium mining company received approval from Colorado regulators for Piñon Ridge in January. The company plans to site the mill in the middle of Western Colorado’s uranium belt on 1,000 acres of privately owned land not far from the Dolores River. The facility would be the nation’s first uranium mill in a quarter century and located close to the only other operating mill in the country, the White Mesa Mill in Blanding.

However, Piñon Ridge faces its share of opposition. The Telluride-based Sheep Mountain Alliance has filed a lawsuit that could derail the facility. The suit contends that Colorado regulators violated the Atomic Energy Act by not allowing the public to ask technical questions about the project and is being heard in Denver District Court. In addition, SMA and Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste, a citizens group in Cañon City, have asked the EPA to withhold its approval of the mill’s construction plan until Clean Air Act regulations can be brought up to speed. The 1989 Clean Air Act allows radioactive uranium tailings to be dumped without protections or emissions limits.

“We cannot afford the dangers of uranium milling and mining of the past to be repeated again on the Western Slope,” said Hilary White, executive director of Sheep Mountain Alliance.

However, Energy Fuels is confident that Piñon Ridge will become a reality after the company prevails in court. The company closed on an $11.5 million loan in March, has plans to break ground on the mill in the near term and is actively acquiring mines and unearthing ore not far from Paradox Valley.

“Energy Fuels is quietly assembling an impressive array of properties on the Colorado Plateau,” said Stephen Antony, Energy Fuels president and CEO. “This summer, we intend to expand our resource portfolio even further.”

Energy Fuels already owns two mines with vast uranium and vanadium resources – the Whirlwind and Energy Queen mines, just across the Colorado border in Utah. The company now plans to purchase abandoned uranium mines in the vicinity of Paradox Valley, bring them into compliance and use them to feed Piñon Ridge

“Our ultimate goal is to bring these proven and formerly producing mines back into production and process the material at the Piñon Ridge Mill,” Antony said.

Energy Fuels plans to begin construction on the facility in 2012 and have the mill operational early in 2013.

Local fire restrictions go into effect  

With smoke and high temperatures blowing into Southwest Colorado, fire bans have started going into effect. La Plata County enacted fire restrictions on Tuesday in the hopes of preventing the start of a local wildfire season. Open burning is now prohibited in areas of La Plata County that are south of U.S. Hwy. 160.  

Butch Knowlton, Emergency Management Director, explained that conditions have deteriorated in much of La Plata County. “Last winter’s precipitation led to the early development of grasses and other ground fuels,” he said. “La Plata County has experienced above-average temperatures, hot dry winds with low humidity and little rain. These ground fuels are now turning brown and dry, which increases the potential for the ignition of a wildfire.”

In addition, many local firefighters and resources have been called south of the border to battle fires in New Mexico and Arizona. This fact could put Southwest Colorado in a pinch if fires do ignite.

“Extreme drought conditions and larger wildland fires in the Southwest and other regions of the U.S. are now leading to equipment and personnel shortfalls which limit response abilities to new wildland fires,” Knowlton said.

The Stage 1 fire restrictions prohibit open burning on private property and on property owned by La Plata County. Campfires, charcoal grills and coal or wood-burning stoves are also off limits

unless they are within designated campground pits with protective grates. As of press time, no significant fires have sparked in Southwest Colorado. The smoky haze currently hitting the region is a result of the Las Conchas Fire near Los Alamos, which forced evacuation of the town of Los Alamos and is continuing to spread.

GOCO awards two Durango projects

Colorado lottery proceeds are again flowing into La Plata County. Great Outdoors Colorado recently awarded $441,600 to two Durango projects.

With a grant total of $400,000, the City of Durango will purchase 43 acres of “the beach,” located 3 miles north of Durango along the Animas River. The plan is to use the property as part of the northern extension of the Animas River Trail and provide additional river access north of the 32nd St. put-in.

In addition, GOCO granted $41,600 to the Durango West II Metro District to upgrade a 26-year-old playground. The district will replace the deteriorating swing set, install a new play structure, expand the play area overall and improve access to the playground for those with special needs.

GOCO is also helping to boost the local labor market. The Durango-based Southwest Conservation Corps received funding that will create 30 jobs in Southwest Colorado. The $111,720 will hire  workers ages 16-25 in order to implement stewardship projects. 

“This is good news for our youth, who gain valuable transferable skills and get a great outdoors experience,” said Ron Hassel, of the Southwest Conservation Corps. “And it’s good news for our community and environment, which can reap the benefits of our young people’s dedication and hard work for generations to come.”

Projects include trail construction and repair, open space enhancement and construction of parks and park amenities.

Colorado Trail trek to benefit shelter

An unusual Durangoan sets off on a big journey this week. Maggie, an adopted border collie, and her owners Keith & Colleen Dunning, begin a full hike of the Colorado Trail on July 1 to raise funds for the La Plata County Humane Society.

The Denver-to-Durango trek has a goal of raising $10,000, and all of the funds will go to the shelter’s medical department and to training for staff. So far the shelter has been able to raise $7,500 toward Maggie’s hike.

“We are rooting for Maggie, and we’re confident that she can make the mileage, but we still need people to pledge her as she hikes,” said Chris Nelson, shelter director. “She is so close to her goal it would be a shame if we did not make it.”

The LPCHS is accepting donations from $0.01 a mile to $1 a mile for the length of the 483-mile Colorado Trail. More information about how to pledge can be found under the “Information” tab at www.lpchumanesociety.org.  

– Will Sands

 

 

 

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