Native Americans in Utah are in an uproar after a uranium mine near a sacred site discovered a massive reserve of the radioactive material.
Workers in the La Sal Complex, situated 32 miles outside of Moab, have returned to the mines after the facility opened and closed and opened again over the years.
With the price of uranium increasing recently, production of the precious material has returned to the Beehive State.
Other sites in the state include the White Mesa Mill in nearby White Mesa, both the facilities are owned by a company called Energy Fuels.
Ian Lange, professor of economics and business at the Colorado School of Mines told Fox 13: ‘It’s certainly very hot, right. Prices are high.’
Despite this, the mining of uranium in the area has sparked anger from Native American tribes, especially since they believe the mine to be atop an ancient burial.
With the price of uranium increasing recently, production of the precious material has returned to the Beehive State. Part of the La Sal Complex is seen here
Malcolm Lehi, the tribal government representative for White Mesa, said they also have concerns about possible pollution.
He told Fox: ‘If it was up to me, I would shut it down. This uranium mine long after we’re gone, it’s going to be there. No matter what. For thousands of years, it’s going to be there.
‘What they’re doing to Mother Earth, drilling and taking off different minerals or whatever, thinking that it’s going to [make] things better, but it’s not.
‘That’s part of climate change that you’re taking away from the heart of Mother Nature.’
Curtis Moore at Energy Fuels told Fox that there are better standards in place to protect the health and environment than there was in the early days of uranium mining.
Moore said: ‘Today we have a great understanding of what the hazards of uranium mining are and uranium milling.’
In a report last year by the US Department of Health and Human Services, they ruled it ‘unlikely’ that anyone would be harmed from the water or air in White Mesa.
Malcolm Lehi, the tribal government representative for White Mesa, said they also have concerns about possible pollution
Bill Hemphill, seen here, told Fox that the clicking of his Geiger counter was music to his ears while mining
Hemphill worked in La Sal in 1977 with his father working as a uranium miner there also. Now his two sons work in the mine
Bill Hemphill, one of the workers inside La Sal, told Fox that the clicking of his Geiger counter was music to his ear.
‘When it’s really going off like that you know you’re in your hood uranium’, Hemphill told the outlet.
Hemphill worked in La Sal in 1977 with his father working as a uranium miner there also. Now his two sons work in the mine.
He described the mining as a physical and intellectual challenge, saying: ‘Drilling. Looking for the ore, that’s the funnest part.’
The uranium appears as veins of yellow across the walls of the mine and have to be pursued with drills and explosives.
Professor Lange has attributed the rising uranium prices to work in developing nuclear reactors and the war in Ukraine.
Another company has announced plans to restart a mine in the town of Ticaboo, Utah, but Moore added that he believes the glory days of uranium mining to be over.
The area was previously the main source of American uranium, with production post WW2 being measured in millions of pounds annually.
Professor Lange has attributed the rising uranium prices to work in developing nuclear reactors and the war in Ukraine
Uranium is minimally radioactive, but mining it causes radioactive radon gas to be released into the air
He said: ‘Those days are over. We’re never going to have an industry like that.’
In nearby Arizona, a uranium mine opened near the Grand Canyon last year despite warnings it could wreak the environment and local water sources.
A 20-year law that banned mining on the uranium-rich land surrounding the national park expired in 2023, allowing the Pinyon Plain Mine to open in December – about 10 miles south of the Grand Canyon’s southern brim.
The mine’s proximity to the national park has sparked pushback from environmental activists who fear that radioactive chemicals will contaminate the water and pose a health hazard to people who live in the area, as well as tourists.
The Havasupai Tribe has repeatedly tried to prevent the mine from opening, arguing that it will contaminate local groundwater and threaten cultural and spiritual religious sites.