Company Postpones Opening Canyon Mine

By Laurel Morales
November 07, 2013
The
Bruce Gordon, Ecoflight
The Canyon Mine (foreground) is six miles south of Grand Canyon National Park.
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Canyon Mine

A uranium mining company has decided to postpone operations at a mine six miles outside Grand Canyon National Park.

In a press release, Energy Fuels' officials say the company has decided to halt operations at the Canyon Mine because of “market conditions and to simplify and lessen the expense of current litigation.” The company has been dealing with an ongoing lawsuit brought on by environmentalists and the Havasupai Tribe.

“The Canyon Mine is located in the headwaters of Havasu Canyon and the sole source of water for the Havasupai people,” said Roger Clark, Grand Canyon Trust’s director of air quality and clean energy. “We hope that depressed market in uranium will mean they keep holding off on reopening the mine.”

The price of uranium has hit a five year low. As of 2012, new uranium mining claims are banned on land surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. Energy Fuels was allowed to reopen the Canyon Mine because it was an older claim.