Documents - Centennial/Indian Springs Uranium Project - Weld County, Colorado
Updated September 10, 2011
Resolutions against in-situ leach uranium mining in northern Colorado
Proposed Section 33 aquifer pump test
Preliminary Economic Assessment - August 13, 2010
Colorado House Bill 08-1161 & Rulemaking
Editorials and letters to the editor
Lawsuit against Mike King and the Colorado Mined Land
Reclamation Board
Powertech submits application to EPA for permit to inject mining wastes into deep aquifer - Letter to landowners informing them of Powertech's intent to obtain a Class I Underground Injection Control permit from the EPA for the injection into deep disposal wells of waste streams from the proposed Centennial project - Terence P. Walsh, Project Manager, Powertech (USA) Inc. - November 23, 2010 (PDF 658 KB, 2 pages) In-situ leach uranium operations generate high volumes of liquid wastes. These wastes can contain uranium, radon, radium, polonium, bismuth, arsenic, molybdenum, selenium, lead, barium chloride, hydrogen sulfide, laboratory wastes, drilling fluids, and other chemicals and heavy metals. Powertech proposes to drill up to six disposal wells and inject the wastes 8,300-9,000 feet below the surface at pressures of up to 1,400 pounds per square inch. The wells will penetrate the Laramie Fox Hills aquifer. To prevent the wastes from migrating up the well borehole and contaminating the Laramie Fox Hills, the space between the well casing and borehole wall is filled with cement.
Explanation of need for "aquifer enhancement" before in-situ leaching can be conducted in majority of Centennial project - Excerpt from Section 17 Additional requirements for development properties and production properties - NI 43-101 Preliminary Assessment of Centennial Uranium Project - Prepared by SRK Consulting Engineers and Scientists - August 13, 2010 (PDF 105 KB, 6 pages) "The current ISR development plan for the Centennial project includes aquifer enhancement by raising the water table through fresh water injection on the well field perimeters of six mine units. Raising the water table will promote saturation of the ore bodies and sufficient hydraulic head above the mineral to maintain the dissolved oxygen at the levels required to recover uranium... Aquifer enhancement and control of mining solutions is proposed through development of a hydraulic fence that may be operated throughout mining and restoration of the well field. Preliminary design of the proposed hydraulic fence consists of a ring of freshwater injection wells located approximately half the distance between the mining patterns and the monitor well ring... The injection wells of the hydraulic fence will likely be supplied with Colorado-Big Thompson (CBT) water acquired through purchase... No modeling has been completed by Powertech to assess the effect of the hydraulic fence on the surrounding water resources during operation."
News Release - "Powertech to Submit Updated Technical Reports" - Powertech Uranium Corp. - May 7, 2009 (PDF 139 KB) Note: The British Columbia Securities Commission is reviewing Powertech's securities filings and press releases, and has determined that the company's 2008 Annual Information Form does not comply with regulations regarding disclosure. The BCSC also required Powertech to disclose that it has not conducted independent preliminary feasibility studies for either the Centennial or Dewey-Burdock projects.
Irrigation with Wastewater - Land application - Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction, www.nunnglow.com (undated) Note: This article discusses Powertech's plan to dispose of uranium mine wastewater by spraying it on fields near the mining area. It describes various ways that radionuclides and heavy metals could potentially escape the mine site and pose a health risk to humans, livestock, and wildlife.
Letter from Richard Blubaugh, VP of Environmental Health & Safety - Powertech (USA) Inc., to the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, asserting that Powertech is not required to submit their baseline characterization plan to review by an independent third party consultant as called for in House Bill 08-1161 and the DRMS' March 31, 2009 letter - April 16, 2009 (PDF 123 KB) See full text of HB 08-1161 here. See the March 31, 2009 DRMS letter here.
Letter from John Fognani, Fognani & Faught, PLLC, attorney for Powertech (USA) Inc., to Allen Sorenson, Reclamation Specialist - Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining & Safety, responding to the DRMS' March 31, 2009 letter and asserting that Weld County officials and Centennial Project opponents are not entitled to intervene in the DRMS review of Notice of Intent P-2008-043 and related modifications, claiming that Powertech's past and current drilling activities have nothing to do with baseline site characterization and therefore are not subject to third-party review provisions of House Bill 08-1161, and implying that Powertech has not yet decided whether to submit mine permit applications for the project - April 15, 2009 (PDF 428 KB) Note: Powertech has issued several news releases stating that its drilling activities include sampling for baseline site characterization to support mine permit applications for the Centennial Project. See here, here, here, here, and here.
Special Use Permit Application - Pinon Ridge Mill Facility, Montrose County, Colorado - Energy Fuels Resources Corporation - April 14, 2009 (PDF 429 KB) Note: Powertech CEO Richard Clement has asserted in several public forums that his company would never ship Colorado uranium overseas because transactions between U.S. operations and foreign entities are done using "book transfers", and the uranium never leaves the U.S. This land use application is for a proposed uranium mill in Montrose County. In Section 4.4.1, the company discusses trucking yellowcake to a Texas port and then transporting it by ship to conversion plants in Europe. Powertech has signed an option agreement to sell uranium to a Belgian firm, and Chairman Wallace Mays has a side agreement to sell uranium to the government of India.
See Powertech's application here.
Submittal by Powertech of $67,400 financial warranty to the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining & Safety to cover drilling reclamation, including sixteen boreholes and associated mud pits - March 23, 2009 (PDF 458 KB) See related prospecting notice P2008-043 MD1 (PDF 3,280 KB)
C.A.R.D. NEWSLETTER - February 10, 2009 - Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction (PDF 184 KB)
Domestic Well Permit Location Map - Centennial Uranium Project, Weld County, Colorado - CONFIDENTIAL, NOT FOR REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION - Powertech (USA) Inc. - March 26, 2008 (PDF 4,033 KB) Note: This map shows the location of uranium ore bodies and nearby domestic and agricultural wells.
PowerTech Uranium - Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division, Radiation Program - Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment
News Release - January 11, 2008 - Powertech Expands Management Team - Opens New Offices in Greenwood Village and Wellington
News Release - December 10, 2007 - Centennial Project - Drilling Update
News Release - October 30, 2007 - Centennial Project- Mine Permiting (sic) Update
Pre-Operational Sampling and Analysis Plan, Centennial and Indian Springs Uranium Projects, Weld County, Colorado - Prepared for Powertech (USA) Inc. by R Squared Incorporated - September 2007, obtained March 2009 under the Freedom of Information Act (PDF 7,279 KB) Note: Page 1-1 of this document refers to the use of open pit mining in the area closest to Fort Collins. Powertech officials deny that open pit mining is planned.
News Release - July 31, 2007 - Centennial Project - Operations Update
News Release - June 28, 2007 - Powertech Receives State Approval for Additional Monitor Wells at Centennial
News Release - May 24, 2007 - Powertech Completes NI 43-101 Compliant Resource Estimate On Centennial Project
News Release - May 22, 2007 - Powertech Appoints Project Managers
News Release - April 19, 2007 - Powertech Retains R Squared Incorporated for Centennial Project Permitting
StockInterview.com interview with Richard Blubaugh, Powertech environmental manager - April 2, 2007
Report on the Centennial Project, Weld County, Colorado - Prepared for Powertech Uranium Corp. by W. Cary Voss & Daniel E. Gorski - March 28, 2007 (PDF 1,458 KB) Note: This technical report is required by Canadian National Instrument 43-101.
Topo and Drill Hole Location Map - Indian Springs and Centennial Uranium Projects, Weld County, Colorado - Powertech (USA) Inc. (with annotations) - March 2007 (PDF 137 KB) Note: This map shows the 3,500 abandoned exploration boreholes drilled by Rocky Mountain Energy over 20 years ago. If in-situ leach uranium mining were to occur, boreholes that are not properly plugged could allow radioactive and toxic mining fluids to escape the mining zone and migrate into other aquifers.
Permitting Flowchart - Powertech Uranium Corp.
Request for Notification (Minerals) of Surface Development - February 13, 2007 (pdf)
News Release - October 3, 2006 - Powertech Purchases Historic Uranium Resources in Colorado
Purchase and Sale Agreement between Anadarko Land Corp. and Powertech Uranium Corp. transferring uranium ore rights - September 27, 2006 (pdf)