I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
A mining company has announced its next steps and timeframe for beginning uranium mining in New Mexico. Uranium Resources, Inc. (URI) hopes to begin production by 2013, subject to financing, uranium prices, and final permits being issued by New Mexico and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If the company stays on track, this would be the first uranium mining in the state since the industry closed up shop in the 1980s. But the resumption of uranium mining in New Mexico is a contentious subject because of health and environmental concerns.
“…Our Discharge Plan (Underground Injection Control Permit) from the New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) and our Source Material License from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are both in timely renewal status. We will be meeting with the appropriate state and federal agencies over the next several weeks to discuss next steps,” said Don Ewigleben, President and CEO of URI.
“URI’s objective is to be in a position to begin uranium production in New Mexico by the first half of 2013, assuming the renewal processes move forward in a timely manner, a recovery in uranium prices and the availability of financing for the necessary capital expenditures to build the infrastructure,” Ewigleben continued.
The company owns 183,000 acres of mineral holdings in New Mexico, which includes 101.4 million pounds of uranium. Its current NRC license allows it to mine one million pounds of uranium. The Section 8 portion of the NRC licensed area contains 6.5 million pounds of the mineral.
Churchrock is about six miles east of Gallup and while not on Navajo reservation land, has a population that is overwhelmingly Navajo. The Navajo Nation banned uranium mining in 2005 due to the negative impacts of past uranium mining on health and environment. The NRC license was challenged before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in two separate cases, one challenging the mining itself due to negative environmental impacts and the other seeking to move it under the jurisdiction of the EPA because it is located within a Navajo community. The 10th Circuit ruled in favor of the company in both cases.
