A uranium mining company filed a petition Tuesday arguably to make the case for increased domestic exploration on United States lands.

Colorado-based Energy Fuels is the nation's only conventional uranium producer, and that's part of its argument for its petition, which states "a healthy uranium mining industry is vital to U.S. national security."

Energy Fuels owns three uranium mines in Arizona, including the Canyon Mine near the Grand Canyon South Rim, the subject of an ongoing debate about the ethics and potential environmental damage of uranium exploration there.

Energy Fuels also recently lobbied the U.S. government, along with other mining companies, to drop the ban on mining exploration at Bears Ears National Monument.