Public comment opens for planned New Mexico uranium mine as firm pledges not to leave behind ‘mess’

Leaders of a Colorado company seeking to open a uranium mine in New Mexico promised lawmakers at a recent legislative hearing that they won’t leave a “mess” behind if they are granted federal and state permits to extract the mineral over the course of two decades near Mount Taylor. 

Energy Fuels, Inc. has sought for more than a decade to establish the Roca Honda Mine within the Cibola National Forest boundaries in McKinley County. After a years-long hiatus, the company in late May submitted a 273-page “reclamation” plan to officials at the state Mining and Minerals Division, marking a significant step forward in the state’s permitting process, environmentalist groups said at the time. 

Monday marked the first day of a 30-day public comment period as Energy Fuels seeks a federal permit for the mine from the United States Forest Service, which is preparing an environmental impact statement. The Forest Service’s announcement notes that the mine would operate, if approved, for approximately 21 years, of which 11 years would be mineral production and the rest would be spent reclaiming and monitoring the site.

Leaders of the company on Friday opened their presentation to lawmakers on the interim Radioactive and Hazardous Waste Committee with acknowledgments of uranium mining’s long-lasting impact on the environment and public health, as well as promises to do better than the companies that have left hundreds of abandoned uranium mines across the state.

“We understand why the history shapes the questions people are asking about Roca Honda today,” said Nick Martin, an environmental manager at Energy Fuels. “We’re not here to tell anyone that history didn’t happen, or those concerns aren’t legitimate. But you have our commitment that we’re not going to just stop at acknowledgment.”

Martin and other company officials said they are committed to adhering to all federal and state environmental requirements, as well as meaningfully listening to tribes about the potential cultural impacts of the mine on Mount Taylor, which several pueblos and the Navajo Nation deem sacred. 

Tribes and pueblos in the early 2000s successfully convinced the state to designate the mountain and outlying areas a “traditional cultural property,” an effort to protect it from mining.

Company representatives said they have already updated their proposed mine plans to avoid, as much as possible, drilling or other disturbances within the boundaries of the Mount Taylor Traditional Cultural Property designation. Nonetheless, the current plans include about 30 acres within the boundary for dewatering well pads and ventilation shafts. 

Sen. Crystal Brantley (R-Elephant Butte) said members of the public should be more open-minded to uranium production in the state, especially given the global energy demand and that mines in New Mexico and the rest of the country are preferable to mines that open in countries with fewer environmental regulations. 

Still, she said the concerns from communities historically impacted by uranium are “valid” and asked Energy Fuels to commit to cleaning up the mine site. 

“Do we have your commitment that you are going to participate in the reclamation, in the cleanup, to ensure that that doesn’t happen, what happened decades ago with mining projects?” she asked Misael Cabrera, the company’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs. 

“You have my absolute commitment that we will not leave a mess for the state of New Mexico,” Cabrera responded.