Uranium in Weld County?
by Paul James Poppe
Have you heard?
Maybe you haven’t yet
... either way, the presence of poor grade uranium ore in northeastern
Colorado, especially in Weld County, could dramatically affect rural life,
the economy, and the well-being of everyone who lives in the area.
Uranium is not new to
Weld County. It exists in extremely minute quantities throughout the county
in the form of low grade deposits that consist of an average of 0.28 percent
to as low as 0.05 percent concentration levels (less than 1/3 of 1 percent
average) of uranium oxide in the ore. It is low yield-per-ton ore and its
location makes it unprofitable to mine it using conventional methods such as
tunneling and open pit mining.
Some say, “What’s the
big deal?
How does this affect
us?” The uranium ore is found deposited as coatings on the grains of sand in
the host sandstone formations, known geologically as rollfront deposits.
These deposits are located within the Laramie/Fox Hills water aquifer. This
domestic water bearing aquifer is the sole source of water in northeastern
Colorado for tens of thousands of people, their families, and their
livestock.
The uranium ore, when
left undisturbed, is insoluble (cannot be dissolved) in the surrounding
water in which it is naturally located. However, mining technology is
available that can convert insoluble uranium oxide into a soluble form
(capable of passing into solution) and thereby lift most of it from its
resting place. This process is known as “in-situ leach mining.” The process
is somewhat comparable to the water spraying mining operations from the days
of the gold rush in California in the early 1800s, where the soil was
disturbed to expose gold nuggets. The in-situ mining process does all this
underground and pumps whatever comes loose up to the surface, after which it
is later returned back into the aquifer from which it came, over and over
again in the form of contaminated groundwater. It is an extremely invasive
process.
The demand for uranium
has increased lately and the price for its ore has sharply risen, making the
insitu leach mining method of low grade ores economically feasible for
would-be mining companies.
The in-situ leaching
process is said by some to be less hazardous than other conventional mining
processes such as open pit mining, tunneling, etc. A great deal of
publicity, effort
and money has
been spent by interested uranium mining companies (which includes
purchasing mineral right leases, buying mineral rights, purchasing land,
and more) to further progress their intentions of obtaining governmental
permits, construction facilities, and use the in-situ leach mining process
to extract the uranium oxide ore from within the domestic water bearing
aquifer in which the uranium ore is found.
Groundwater is supposed to
be restored to premining levels of quality following the mining process by
the company.
In the midst of all the
publicity, though, little has been disclosed regarding the problems,
hazards, potential for groundwater contamination and possible loss caused
by the disturbance, rearranging and altering of a naturally stable
groundwater system. The attached map shows the vast areas of potential
mining activities in the northeastern portions of Weld County.
An example of past activity
in Weld County with the in-situ leach mining process occurred in the late
1970s during a test pilot project that was initiated by the Wyoming Mineral
Corporation at a location outside of Grover, Colo. The test began in June
1977, and ended in February, 1979, and was situated in the east central
portion of sec within the domestic water bearing aquifer in which the
uranium ore is found.
Groundwater is supposed to
be restored to premining levels of quality following the mining process by
the company.
In the midst of all the
publicity, though, little has been disclosed regarding the problems,
hazards, potential for groundwater contamination and possible loss caused
by the disturbance, rearranging and altering of a naturally stable
groundwater system. The attached map shows the vast areas of potential
mining activities in the northeastern portions of Weld County.
An example of past activity
in Weld County with the in-situ leach mining process occurred in the late
1970s during a test pilot project that was initiated by the Wyoming Mineral
Corporation at a location outside of Grover, Colo. The test began in June
1977, and ended in February, 1979, and was situated in the east central
portion of sec 24T, 10N, R62W. The
test was conducted in the Grover Sandstone Aquifer, which is part of the
Laramie Formation.
Listed in the
observations and conclusions after groundwater restoration was completed:
increases of radionuclides, ammonia, nitrate, calcium, chloride, molybdenum,
selenium, and boron. Of special concern, though, is the large increase of
radionuclide activity. There was a 10-fold increase in gross alpha, 8 fold
increase in radium-226, three fold increase in gross beta.
The radionuclides
mobilized by the leach solutions may have been absorbed by the clays ...”
Several differing
leaching solutions were used, called lixivants. An ammonia based lixivant
is found to cause water restoration problems as well as other technical
problems. A sodium bicarbonate lixivant is more preferred as its
contamination effects are less severe. However, sodium bicarbonate causes
swelling of certain clays, and can cause other technical problems as well,
such as permeability problems affecting water flow in an aquifer, mineral
absorption (uranium, selenium, arsenic, etc.) onto its surfaces, etc.
It has been widely
stated that if in-situ uranium mining were allowed to take place in Weld
County, it would greatly benefit the local economy and even create local
jobs. Even if this is true and a few jobs would be made available, a
trade-off with the environment would be in place..
It is becoming more
and more apparent that our world is reaching what is termed “peak” oil
production, meaning that the future holds a finite availability of petroleum
to be had.
Likewise, as the
population increases, and as the demand for fresh water also increases,
“peak” fresh water will also soon be realized.
It would be unwise, to
say the least, to risk the future of a sustainable water aquifer that will
serve thousands more in the future as a renewable domestic water source by
allowing the use of an invasive toxic mining process to obtain a
non-renewable mineral such as uranium, which is in itself highly toxic.
For more information about uranium mining, please visit www.nunnglow.com, or Powertech’s own website at
www.powertechuranium.com/s/home.asp.
Editor’s Note: This article was written by an individual and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Fence Post staff members.