Havasupai Tribe blasts Energy Fuels, Navajo Nation for cutting it out of uranium haul talks

Uranium haul trucks are once again leaving the Pinyon Plain Mine, and the Havasupai Tribe describes the actions of the state and the Navajo Nation permitting this hauling as a disregard for “the health risks and dangerous implications of uranium mining.”

Energy Fuels, Inc., restarted hauling uranium ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine after a nearly six-month pause. In January, the mining company signed an agreement with the Navajo Nation to allow the trucks to pass through Navajo land. 

“The Navajo Nation is not the only Tribe or community affected by this activity,”  the Havasupai Tribe said in a statement sent to The Arizona Mirror. “This was a blatant disregard for others impacted by the hauling activity, which could have been avoided by allowing our voice to be heard.”

The transportation officially started on Feb.12. As part of the agreement, the mining company must give the Navajo Nation 14 days’ notice before any hauling occurs. The Havasupai Tribe receives no notice.

The Havasupai Tribe has complained that it should have been involved in the negotiations because the Pinyon Plain mine is located in the tribe’s ancestral homelands, and the route passes by Red Butte Mountain, a sacred site for its people.

“We are deeply disappointed in (Energy Fuels) and the Navajo Nation for not including us in their discussions that ultimately led to the dangerous decision to allow hauling of radioactive material across our aboriginal lands,” the Havasupai Tribe said in a statement. 

The tribe stated that despite the support and advocacy efforts from many allies, along with numerous letters, phone calls, and personal appeals, their urgent requests to halt this life-threatening action have been disregarded.

Energy Fuels owns and operates the Pinyon Plain uranium mine on U.S. Forest Service land in the Kaibab National Forest near the Grand Canyon. Numerous tribes, including the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe and the Havasupai Tribe, have ancestral lands there.

“As Guardians of the Grand Canyon, we, the Havsuw ‘Baaja, the Havasupai Tribe, have opposed uranium mining in and around our Reservation and the Grand Canyon since time immemorial,” the tribe said. “We do this to protect our people, our land, our water, our past, our present and our future.”

The Havasupai Tribe, which lives at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, has repeatedly said that the mine poses risks to its drinking water, natural wonders and sacred cultural sites.

“This is real for us. We live here,” the tribe said in a statement. “Our culture and traditions originate here and are knit together with who we are as individual tribal members and as a tribe.”

Since the company started mining, the Havasupai Tribe said that it has “been forced to witness the degradation of our aboriginal lands that include the mining site and surrounding areas.”

The company will transport uranium ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine near the Grand Canyon using 24-ton haul trucks and end dump trailers. Tarps will cover the uranium ore. 

The Navajo Nation reported that the mining company has confirmed it will send two trucks daily throughout February and aims to increase this number in the coming months. Eventually, up to 10 trucks will make the trek each day.

The trucks start from Pinyon Plain Mine, which is located at the end of Forest Service Road 305ab, about six miles from the main highway. They start their journey by traveling along the gravel road through the dense trees of the Kaibab Forest before reaching the main highway, State Route 64. 

Then the trucks pass Red Butte Mountain, where the main road sits about half a mile from the open area at the mountain’s base.

The Havasupai Tribe said that, despite the company’s promise that its mining is safe, it remains diligent in understanding the health risks of radioactive contamination and how it will impact its people. 

“We will not give up. We owe that to our ancestors, our children and the generations to come. We will fight on,” the tribe said.