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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- International Uranium Corp. has announced that it intends to begin reopening its mines in the western states, including its Henry Mountain property west of Blanding in southeastern Utah.
"We've been considering reopening our mines for a couple of years now," said Ron Hochstein, president of International Uranium of Vancouver, British Columbia. "And with uranium now trading around $43 a pound -- the highest it's ever been -- the economics are right for us to start producing again."
International Uranium holds properties on the Colorado Plateau, the Arizona Strip between the Grand Canyon and Utah's border and in the Henry Mountains.
The company will begin mining immediately on the Colorado Plateau. Production on its Henry Mountain property is expected to start late next spring, after the company acquires state permits, Hochstein said.
"Once we have the Henry Mountain property in full production we'll probably be employing about 500 miners there," he said this week.
International Uranium anticipates its properties in Arizona will be online by late summer 2007.
Ore from International Uranium's mines will be stockpiled at its White Mesa mill south of Blanding until late next year, when processing can begin.
Although there has been a lack of raw ore to process in recent years, International Uranium kept its mill operating by periodically processing waste containing small quantities of uranium. Much of that material comes from the cleanup of old nuclear-weapon research and production sites.
During the first year of mining and milling, International Uranium projects it will produce approximately 3.4 million pounds of refined uranium and 5.9 million pounds of vanadium, which is often alloyed with steel and also has nuclear applications.
Susan White, mining program coordinator at the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, said International Uranium could have its permit within six months.
She said that in the past year, the state has granted six permits for uranium exploration, with nine more applications under review.
"Prior to those permits, there hadn't seen much activity for years," she said.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
