Policy and regulationMining and minerals
BLM approves expanded processing and reclamation plan for Colorado uranium ore pile
The Bureau of Land Management authorized Aura Grit to process an existing uranium-vanadium ore pile onsite and expand the disturbed area for reclamation.
- Event
- First published on EPC Feed
- Sources
- 2 listed below
- Reading time
- 2 min
The Bureau of Land Management’s Grand Junction Field Office issued a 22 October decision approving a modification to the October Ore Pile plan of operations in Colorado. Aura Grit LLC may process the existing uranium-vanadium-bearing pile onsite using High-Pressure Slurry Ablation (HPSA), which the agency describes as separating mineralized material from host rock. The approved disturbance area increases from 0.35 acre to 1.92 acres.
The BLM project record estimates 6,446 tons of mine waste for treatment. Its proposed sequence includes crushing and grinding the pile, feeding the material through HPSA and separating mineralized fines from development rock. Fines are to be transported to a licensed recycling or storage facility; development rock is intended for reclamation. These are approved plan elements, not completed work or reported uranium production.
The project register details the site works needed before processing: improve the access road for construction and haulage, build a truck turnaround, grade the HPSA equipment area and install the system onsite. The plan allocates about 0.78 acre to road improvement, 0.30 acre to the turnaround and 0.29 acre to the equipment area. During operations, the proposed route sends fines by truck to the White Mesa Mill in Utah or another approved Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed facility. The register estimates 1,611 tons of mineralized fines and 4,835 tons of development rock.
Reclamation is designed to proceed alongside processing. The proposal describes reuse of the clean rock, placement of salvaged topsoil, seeding and irrigation with treated process water, followed by checks against radiation-release criteria. The plan also calls for dust controls and sampling of rock and concentrates. BLM’s decision is a site-specific operating-plan and environmental-review outcome; it does not create a new mine or announce a uranium supply contract. The public record marks a decision and appeal period, and does not establish that the operator has begun construction or treatment.
The plan estimates that about 1,611 tons of mineralized material would leave the site and about 4,835 tons of development rock would remain for reclamation. It also estimates water use of approximately 268,600 gallons, with treated process water available for irrigation. The record describes sampling for uranium and other radionuclides and the possibility of unrestricted release only if required criteria are met. These design figures help show that the decision covers a remediation process with material-handling and monitoring controls, not an operating uranium mine.
Sources
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