State leaders have nothing but praise for the Trump administration’s decision to significantly shorten the environmental review process of a southeastern Utah uranium project.
Earlier this week, the Department of the Interior announced it was fast-tracking the permitting process for Anfield Energy Inc.’s plans to reopen the Velvet-Wood uranium mine in San Juan County. The environmental assessment for the project must be completed by the Bureau of Land Management in just 14 days — as opposed to the prior timeline of months or years.
“We’re excited to see the Department of the Interior highlight a Utah project as one of the first to benefit from a faster, more efficient permitting process,” said Gov. Spencer Cox in a statement. “For years, we’ve called for commonsense reforms that make it easier to build without sacrificing environmental stewardship. There’s no reason permitting can’t be both timely and responsible — and we’re hopeful this project will prove just that.”
President Donald Trump in January issued an executive order announcing a “national energy emergency,” which was followed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s move to shorten environmental reviews.
The Velvet-Wood mine, near Utah’s Lisbon Valley, will produce both uranium and vanadium. The former can be processed into fuel for nuclear reactors, while the latter is commonly used in steel alloys.
The BLM reports the project will “result in only three acres of new surface disturbance given the underground mining plan and the existing surface disturbance from the old Velvet Mine.” The older mine shut down in the 1980s and produced 400,000 tons of ore between 1979 and 1984, according to Anfield Energy. The company said that the site currently boasts over 5 million pounds of uranium ore to be mined.
“As a past-producing uranium and vanadium mine with a small environmental footprint, Velvet-Wood is well-suited for this accelerated review,” said Anfield Energy CEO Corey Dias. “This marks a major milestone for Anfield as we look to play a meaningful role in rebuilding America’s domestic uranium and vanadium supply chain and reducing reliance on imports from Russia and China.”
Environmental advocates say the expedited review is cause for alarm.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
“We’re deeply concerned about the use of a bogus ‘emergency’ authority to gut a searching environmental review of a uranium mining project, and are watching this one closely,” said Taylor McKinnon, southwest director for the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity.
An environmental assessment, according to the BLM, “identifies environmental effects of a proposed action and determines their significance.” These assessments are mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for certain projects.
“The idea that you can do any NEPA review in 14 days is hard to believe,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director for the environmental nonprofit Center for Western Priorities.
“The idea that you could do a NEPA review in 14 days for a uranium mine,” he added, “beggars belief.”
A group of 15 states sued the Trump administration last week over his emergency declaration, arguing the president is violating environmental laws by fast-tracking energy projects nationwide.
Sen. John Curtis said in a statement that “the amount of time spent on environmental reviews doesn’t automatically determine their quality or thoroughness. We can streamline permitting without cutting corners or undermining public trust.”
“The Velvet-Wood uranium mine is a vital project — one that will reduce America’s reliance on adversarial nations like Russia for uranium, strengthen our national security and bolster domestic energy production,” Curtis continued. “It will also help advance a cleaner energy future through expanded nuclear power.”
The mine’s reopening comes as Utah’s leaders have increasingly touted nuclear power as a solution to soaring energy demands in the state and nationwide.
Last year, Cox proposed setting aside millions in funding for developing nuclear infrastructure as part of his “Operation Gigawatt.” Lawmakers also passed a sweeping bill aimed at preparing Utah for the construction of small modular reactors, which are still in development.
“Energy development is a national security issue, and I appreciate the Department of the Interior for acting responsibly and expeditiously to address one of the most significant challenges our country is facing,” Utah Senate President Stuart Adams said in a statement about the Velvet-Wood mine’s expedited permitting.
Emy Lesofski, director of the Utah Office of Energy Development, said “our citizens deserve adequate, reliable, affordable and clean energy, and nuclear helps us meet those goals.”
“If the United States is committed to securing its energy independence,” she continued, “the entire nuclear supply chain needs to be seriously considered.”
That supply chain starts with the mining of uranium ore. Then, the mined ore can be transported to a mill, which processes the rock into yellowcake, or “uranium concentrate.” The yellowcake is taken to other facilities for conversion into gas, which further concentrates the uranium, before it is enriched into a powder and compressed into the small pellets that power nuclear reactors.
Utah is home to the last conventional uranium mill in the U.S.: the White Mesa Mill just outside of Blanding, which is owned by Energy Fuels Inc. The company also owns uranium mines in Utah and Arizona.
Curtis Moore, Energy Fuels’ senior vice president of marketing and corporate development, said Anfield Energy has not reached out about processing ore at the mill.
“However, the White Mesa Mill is the only facility in the country able to safely process uranium ore into natural uranium concentrates, the first step in the production of fuel for clean, 24/7/365 nuclear energy,” Moore said. “When the time is right, we would be happy to discuss options for milling their ore to ensure that their operations adhere to the highest safety standards.”
Anfield Energy has plans to open its own mill, also in Utah, called the Shootaring Mill. That mill was built in 1980 and started producing yellowcake in 1982, but closed just six months later due to a sharp decline in the price of uranium.
The Shootaring Mill is not yet accepting or processing ore, Dias said, but Anfield Energy is working with the state to update the mill’s license. The company hopes to begin producing yellowcake there in 2027.
