Uranium mining in Colorado

Underground uranium mining in Nucla, Montrose County, Colorado
Holding ponds at Uranium processing mill in Uravan, Montrose county, 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 uranium from phosphate, Colorado is considered to have the third largest uranium reserves of any US state, behind Wyoming and New Mexico.[1]

Uranium price increases from 2001 to 2007 prompted a number of companies to revive uranium mining in Colorado. However, price drops and financing problems in late 2008 have forced some companies to cancel or scale back uranium-mining projects. There are no currently producing uranium mines in Colorado.[2]

  1. ^ J. Keller and others, Colorado, Mining Engineering, May 2006, p. 76.
  2. ^ Mark Jaffe, "Mine woes run deep", Denver Post, 4 December 2008, p. B1.