Shipments of uranium ore from a revived mining operation just south of the Grand Canyon are expected to resume in February after the Navajo Nation reached a settlement with the mining company, clearing the way for trucks to transport the ore across the largest Native American reservation in the U.S.
The agreement announced Wednesday settles a dispute that erupted last summer when Energy Fuels Inc. began trucking ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine to a mill site in Utah. Navajo authorities attempted to put up roadblocks but the trucks already had left tribal roadways.
The dust-up spurred negotiations with the company and led the Navajo Nation to adopt emergency legislation to strengthen regulations for transporting radioactive material across tribal lands. The Navajo Nation and tribes elsewhere in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have a long, sordid history of disease, death and contamination linked to mining that took place during World War II and the Cold War.
Energy Fuels’ President and CEO Mark Chalmers acknowledged those longstanding impacts in highlighting the importance of the settlement. "This has understandably caused mistrust toward the U.S. government and energy companies,” Chalmers said, adding that he was honored to be able to work with the tribe to address the concerns and ensure transportation will be done safely and respectfully.
