![Colorado Plateau Map showing distribution of Triassic uranium deposits](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Colorado_Plateau_Map_showing_distribution_of_Triassic_uranium_deposits.png)
Uranium mining in Arizona has taken place since 1918. Prior to the uranium boom of the late 1940s, uranium in
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
was a byproduct of
vanadium
Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...
mining of the mineral
carnotite
Carnotite is a potassium uranium vanadate radioactive mineral with chemical formula K2( U O2)2( VO4)2·3 H2O. The water content can vary and small amounts of calcium, barium, magnesium, iron, and sodium are often present.
Occurrence
Carnotite i ...
.
Carrizo Mountains
Uranium mining started in 1918 in the
Carrizo Mountains
The Carrizo Mountains (36°50' N, 109°7'W) is a small, mostly circular mountain range 15 to 20 km (9 to 12 miles) in diameter located on the Colorado Plateau in northeastern Arizona. The range is about southwest of the Four Corners. The hig ...
as a byproduct of
vanadium
Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...
mining. The district is in
Apache County
Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns.
Most of the county is occupied by part ...
, in the northeast corner of Arizona. The
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
and
vanadium
Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...
occur as
carnotite
Carnotite is a potassium uranium vanadate radioactive mineral with chemical formula K2( U O2)2( VO4)2·3 H2O. The water content can vary and small amounts of calcium, barium, magnesium, iron, and sodium are often present.
Occurrence
Carnotite i ...
in sandstone of the Salt Wash member of the
Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Late Jurassic, Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandsto ...
(
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
). Production stopped in 1921. Another period of mining took place from 1941 to 1966, producing 360,000 pounds (160 metric tons) of uranium oxide (U
3O
8).
[Robert B. Scarborough (1981) ''Radioactive Occurrences and Uranium Production in Arizona'', US Department of Energy, part 3, GJBX-143-(81).]
Monument Valley
![Colorado Plateau Geologic Cross Section](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Colorado_Plateau_Geologic_Cross_Section.png)
A
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
discovered uranium in 1942 in
Monument Valley
Monument Valley ( nv, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, , meaning ''valley of the rocks'') is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona s ...
on the
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...
in northeast
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. The first mine in the district opened in 1948. Uranium and uranium-vanadium minerals occur in fluvial channels of the
Shinarump Sandstone member of the
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
Chinle Formation
The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. In Ne ...
. Ore deposits are associated with carbonized wood in the sandstone. Mining stopped in the
Monument Valley
Monument Valley ( nv, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, , meaning ''valley of the rocks'') is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona s ...
district in 1969, after producing 8.7 million pounds (3900 metric tons) of uranium oxide, more than has been produced from any other uranium mining district in Arizona. In 2005 the
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...
declared a moratorium on uranium mining on the reservation, for environmental and health reasons.
Lukachukai Mountains
In 1948, a
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
deposit in the
Moenkopi Formation
The Moenkopi Formation is a geological formation that is spread across the U.S. states of New Mexico, northern Arizona, Nevada, southeastern California, eastern Utah and western Colorado. This unit is considered to be a group in Arizona. Part ...
was discovered to have economic concentrations of
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
. The deposit was in the
Lukachukai Mountains
The Lukachukai Mountains are a mountain range in northeast Arizona, entirely located on the Navajo Nation. The highest point of the range is an unnamed point at above sea level. While open during the winter, no road maintenance is performed and ...
of
Apache County
Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns.
Most of the county is occupied by part ...
. Uranium totaling 3.5 million pounds (1600 metric tons) of U
3O
8 was produced from 1950 until the mines closed in 1968.
Cameron district
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
prospector Hosteen Nez found uranium near
Cameron in
Coconino County
Coconino County is a county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff. The county takes its name from ''Cohonino'', a name applied to the Havasupai p ...
in 1950. The uranium is in the
Kayenta Formation
The Kayenta Formation is a geological formation in the Glen Canyon Group that is spread across the Colorado Plateau province of the United States, including northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Traditionally has been suggested ...
and the
Chinle Formation
The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. In Ne ...
. Production was from 1950 to 1963, and totaled 1.2 million pounds (540 metric tons) of U
3O
8.
Collapse breccia pipes
Uranium was discovered in the Orphan copper mine near the south rim of the
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
in 1950. The mine has been private property since 1906, and is today completely surrounded by
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often consider ...
. The discovery led to the finding of uranium in other
collapse breccia pipes in northern Arizona. The breccia pipes were formed when overlying rocks collapsed into caverns formed in the
Mississippian Redwall Limestone
The Redwall Limestone is a resistant cliff-forming unit of Mississippian age that forms prominent, red-stained cliffs in the Grand Canyon, ranging in height from to .
Lithology
Redwall Limestone consists predominantly of light-olive-gray to ...
. The pipes are typically in diameter, and may extend up to vertically.
Sierra Ancha district
Uranium mining started in 1953 from deposits in the
Precambrian
The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...
Dripping Spring Quartzite
The Mesoproterozoic Dripping Spring Quartzite is a resistant, purple quartzite formation found in central and southeast Arizona, USA. It is a cliff-forming purplish unit found in the lower sections of the Apache Group, units of originally sedime ...
in
Gila County
Gila County ( ) is in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,272. The county seat is Globe.
Gila County comprises the Payson, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Gila County contains p ...
. The uranium mineral is most commonly
uraninite
Uraninite, formerly pitchblende, is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2 but because of oxidation typically contains variable proportions of U3O8. Radioactive decay of the uranium causes t ...
, which occurs with
pyrite
The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral.
Pyrite's metallic Luster (mineralogy), lust ...
,
marcasite
The mineral marcasite, sometimes called “white iron pyrite”, is iron sulfide (FeS2) with orthorhombic crystal structure. It is physically and crystallographically distinct from pyrite, which is iron sulfide with cubic crystal structure. Both ...
, and
chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite ( ) is a copper iron sulfide mineral and the most abundant copper ore mineral. It has the chemical formula CuFeS2 and crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has a brassy to golden yellow color and a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mo ...
. The orebodies are in veins or strataform deposits within one-half mile of
diabase
Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro,
is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-graine ...
intrusions.
Date Creek Basin
The Anderson uranium deposit was discovered in 1955 by an airborne gamma-radiation survey. Small amounts of ore were produced from 1955 to 1959. Uranium is associated with organic material in carbonaceous
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
siltstones and mudstones of
lacustrine
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
and
paludal Paludal is derived from the Latin word ''palus'' ("marsh").
*Paludal, in geology, refers to sediments that accumulated in a marsh environment.
*Paludal, in ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, includ ...
origin of the Chapin Wash formation of the
Date Creek Basin in
Yavapai
The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...
,
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, and
Mohave counties. The Anderson mine is now owned by Concentric Energy Corp. which is doing extensive development work to bring it into production.
Porphyry copper byproduct
For some years starting in 1980, the Twin Buttes copper mine in
Pima County
Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the population ...
recovered uranium as a byproduct from leach solutions recovering copper from waste material.
Uranium mining and native people
After the end of World War II, the United States encouraged
uranium mining
Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account f ...
to build nuclear weapons stockpiles. Large
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
deposits were found on and near the
Navajo Reservation
The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Indian reservation, reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwe ...
, and mining companies hired many Navajos. Disregarding the health risks of radiation exposure, the private companies and the
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President H ...
failed to inform the Navajo workers about the dangers and to regulate the mining to minimize contamination. As more data was collected, they were slow to take appropriate action for the workers.
Studies show that the Navajo mine workers and numerous families on the reservation have suffered high rates of disease from environmental contamination, but for decades, industry and the government failed to regulate or improve conditions, or inform workers of the dangers. As high rates of illness began to occur, workers were often unsuccessful in court cases seeking compensation, and the states at first did not officially recognize
radon
Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colourless, odourless, tasteless noble gas. It occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains through ...
illness. In 1990 the US Congress passed the
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
The United States Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) is a federal statute providing for the monetary compensation of people, including atomic veterans, who contracted cancer and a number of other specified diseases as a direct result of t ...
, to settle such cases and provide needed compensation.
In 2008 the US Congress authorized a five-year, multi-agency cleanup of uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation reservation; identification and treatment of contaminated water and structures has been the first priority. Certain water sources have been closed, and numerous contaminated buildings have been taken down. By the summer of 2011, EPA had nearly completed the first major project of removal of 20,000 cubic yards of contaminated earth from the Skyline Mine area.
There is a current producing uranium mine in the
Whetstone Mountains
The Whetstone Mountains is a mountain range in Cochise County, southeastern Arizona.
Geography
The range is located south of Interstate 10, between the Santa Rita Mountains to the west, and the Dragoon Mountains to the east. Higher elevations ...
of
Cochise County
Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise.
The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is ...
. The mine has restarted and has been in operation for five years. The government has also closed down about around the mountain which is all was public lands.
Current activity
There are currently no producing uranium mines in
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
.
Denison Mines
Denison Mines Corp. is a Canadian uranium exploration, development, and production company. Founded by Stephen B. Roman, and best known for its uranium mining in Blind River and Elliot Lake, it later diversified into coal, potash, and other proj ...
planned to begin mining its Arizona One mine in 2007. The deposit is in a
breccia pipe
A breccia pipe, also referred to as a chimney, is a mass of breccia (rock composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock cemented together by a fine-grained matrix), often in an irregular and cylindrical shape.
Characteristics
When exposed a ...
on the
Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau, also known as the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. This province covers an area of ...
of northern Arizona. In March 2011, the State of Arizona issued air and water permits to Denison which would allow uranium mining to resume at three locations north of the Grand Canyon, subject to federal approval.
As of May 2015, Energy Fuels was preparing to mine uranium at its Canyon mine, a deposit on US Forest Service land, six miles from the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The deposit was discovered in the 1970s, and partially developed as an underground mine under a Forest Service permit in the late 1980s, but never put into production. The Canyon deposit holds enough ore to yield an estimated 1.63 million pounds of uranium concentrate U3O8. A coalition of groups, including the
Havasupai
The Havasupai people (Havasupai: ''Havsuw' Baaja'') are an American Indian tribe who have lived in the Grand Canyon for at least the past 800 years. ''Havasu'' means "blue-green water" and ''pai'' "people".
Located primarily in an area know ...
Tribe, the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
, th
Grand Canyon Trust and the
Center for Biological Diversity
The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suckl ...
, sued the Forest Service to stop the reactivation of the mine. In April 2015 the US District Court for the District of Arizona ruled in favor of the Forest Service and Energy Fuels, and allowed work on the mine to proceed. The plaintiffs plan to appeal.
Energy Fuels has also been developing its
Pine Nut mine located north of the Grand Canyon since 1986.
Ban on uranium mining near Grand Canyon National Park
In July 2009 Secretary of the Interior
Ken Salazar
Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Mexico. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Ba ...
announced a two-year ban on new mining on federal land in an area of approximately surrounding
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often consider ...
. Although the ban is on all mining, the main effect is on exploration and development of breccia-pipe uranium deposits. Those claims on which commercial mineral deposits have already been discovered are exempt from the ban. During the two-year ban the Department of the Interior will study a proposed 20-year ban on new mining in the area.
["Two-year ban on mining near Grand Canyon imposed," ''Mining Engineering'', September 2009, p. 7.]
In January 2012, secretary
Ken Salazar
Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Mexico. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Ba ...
approved a 20-year ban on mining around the
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
. This decision preserves about “1 million acres near the Grand Canyon, an area known to be rich in high-grade uranium ore reserves” and has generated a number of different responses
[https://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/environment/story/2012-01-09/grand-canyon-mining-ban/52466224/1>]
The ban is supported by the president of the League of Conservation voters, Gene Karpinski: "Extending the current moratorium on new uranium mining claims will protect drinking water for millions downstream.” Many environmental groups agree that such mining would endanger the Colorado River as a source of water not only for wildlife, but for tens of millions of people; Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles rely on the river for drinking water.
With areas of contamination already noted in United States environmental impact reports on old mining operations, opposition fears that allowing mining to expand and continue would increase the levels of contamination in the river.
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/09/grand-canyon-uranium-mining-banned>]
Supporters of the mining around the Grand Canyon argue that large-scale contamination from accidents involving mining are unlikely. According to an Arizona Geological survey, “60 metric tons of dissolved uranium is naturally carried by the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in an average year".
[http://repository.azgs.az.gov/uri_gin/azgs/dlio/1000>] J.E. Spencer, AZGS Senior Geologist, argues that in one hypothetical, worst-case scenario experiment, a truck carrying “thirty metric tons (66,000 pounds) of one-percent uranium ore” spilling and washing into the Colorado River increases the natural uranium level in the river by an insignificant amount.
Providing further data on uranium levels in the Colorado River, a 2010 United States Geological survey found that the river carries about 40 to 80 tons through the canyon each year.
In 2011 more than 200 Arizona small businesses addressed postcards to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sign the 20-year ban on new uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, to preserve thousands of tourism-related jobs.
[http://www.wise-uranium.org/upusaaz.html>] President of the League of Conservation voters Gene Karpinski agreed that protecting the tourism industry, which relies on the Grand Canyon, is more economically important than mining near the canyon.
Coconino County Supervisor Carl Taylor argued that Uranium mining poses a great threat to tourism in the canyon and surrounding areas.
[http://www.grandcanyontrust.org/news/2012/02/grand-canyon-trust-uranium-campaign-chronicle/>] Some believe that one mining accident could be destructive for tourism in the highly popular park.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar states that “the Grand Canyon attracts more than 4 million visitors a year and generates an estimated $3.5 billion in economic activity”.
Salazar also stated that people from the United States and even all over the world come to visit and see the Grand Canyon. He believes that allowing mining in this area to be pursued would negatively impact this tourism industry.
Some argue that not allowing the mining to occur destroys years of resource development.
Hal Quinn, president and CEO of the National Mining Association states that banning mining in the Grand Canyon only deprives the United States of energy and minerals that are critical to the survival and strength of the US economy.
The mining industry agrees, believing that a ban on mining around the Grand Canyon would negatively impact Arizona's local economy and the United States’ energy independence.
Jonathan DuHamel states that a permanent ban on mining would eliminate hundreds of potential jobs. Former presidential candidate John McCain argues that opposition to the mining provoked by environmental groups who have the goal of killing mining and grazing jobs throughout Arizona.
The increasing number of claims that began in 2006 was a direct result of the rising uranium prices that began that year.
Higher uranium prices encouraged mining companies to locate and mine new deposits around the canyon area. In 2011, when the price of uranium lowered about 35%, companies continued to explore the area.
See also
*
Arizona breccia pipe uranium mineralization During the late 1970s and through the 1980s, Mohave County, Arizona, Mohave and Coconino County, Arizona, immediately north and south of the Grand Canyon and west of the Navajo Indian Reservation were explored for Arizona breccia pipe uranium minera ...
*
Uranium mining in the United States
Uranium mining in the United States produced of U3O8 in 2019, 88% lower than the 2018 production of of U3O8 and the lowest US annual production since 1948. The 2019 production represents 0.3% of the anticipated uranium fuel requirements of t ...
*
Uranium mining in Utah
Uranium mining in Utah, a state of the United States, has a history going back more than 100 years. Uranium mining started as a byproduct of vanadium mining about 1900, became a byproduct of radium mining about 1910, then back to a byproduct of va ...
*
Uranium mining in Colorado
Uranium mining in Colorado, United States, goes back to 1872, when pitchblende ore was taken from gold mines near Central City, Colorado. The Colorado uranium industry has seen booms and busts, but continues to this day. Not counting byproduct u ...
*''
The Navajo People and Uranium Mining
''The Navajo People and Uranium Mining'' (2006) is a non-fiction book edited by Doug Brugge, Timothy Benally, and Esther Yazzie-Lewis; it uses oral histories to tell the stories of Navajo Nation families and miners in the uranium mining industry ...
''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uranium Mining In Arizona
Mining in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...