Uravan Mill

The Uravan Mill is a uranium mine located in Montrose county, Colorado at an elevation of 4,902 feet.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

Name: Uravan Mill  

State:  Colorado

County:  Montrose

Elevation: 4,902 Feet (1,494 Meters)

Commodity: Uranium

Lat, Long: 38.37, -108.72390

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Satelite View

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Satelite image of the Uravan Mill

Uravan Mill MRDS details

Site Name

Primary: Uravan Mill


Commodity

Primary: Uranium


Location

State: Colorado
County: Montrose


Land Status

Land ownership: BLM Administrative Area
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.


Holdings

Not available


Workings

Not available


Ownership

Owner Name: Union Carbide Corp., Mining And Metals Division
Company ID: 501785
Info Year: 1980


Production

Not available


Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Processing Plant
Mining Method: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N


Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Intermontane Plateaus
Physiographic Province: Colorado Plateaus
Physiographic Section: Canyon Lands


Mineral Deposit Model

Not available


Orebody

Not available


Structure

Not available


Alterations

Not available


Rocks

Not available


Analytical Data

Not available


Materials

Not available


Comments

Comment (Deposit): CERCLA (SUPERFUND) SITE. LISTED ON NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL). ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS INCLUDE: 1) RELEASE OF RADON FROM TAILINGS PILES, 2) SEEPAGE OF CONTAMINATED LIQUIDS INTO SOILS AND GROUND WATER, AND 3) CONCENTRATIONS OF LARGE QUANTITIES OF WASTES.

Comment (General): From http://www.uravan.com/ (accessed 9/20/10) "Originally the site of the Joe Jr. Mill, the company town of Uravan was established in 1936 when U. S. Vanadium Corporation moved its plant there. At one time, over 800 people lived along the tree-lined streets enjoying housing, schools, medical facilities, tennis courts, a recreation center and pool provided by the company. Trucks took ore from mines of the surrounding area, rich in uranium and vanadium deposits, to the processing plant at Uravan. Between 1936 and 1984 the plant milled 42 million pounds of vanadium . The mildly radioactive tailings (byproducts of the extraction) were deposited in huge piles above the canyon next to the plant Since 1983, Umetco Minerals corporation has been involved in a 15 year, $70 million reclamation project. Tailings above the mill have been stabilized and covered and process wastes from the evaporative ponds have been removed. A groundwater cleanup program is also underway. When the project is completed you will see the canyon almost as it was before milling operations began."

Comment (General): Copied from http://www.uravan.com/ (accessed 9/20/10): * Uravan, Colorado was in Montrose County, US Zip Code of 81436, location is 38?22'6"N 108?44'9"W; elevation is 4,992 feet * Standard Chemical Company (SCC) was the original owner of the Joe Jr. Mill, named for Joseph Flannery, Junior, the owner. SCC also had a radium refinery at Cannonsberg, Ohio. * U.S. Vanadium (USV) was acquired by Union Carbide and Carbon in 1926. * In 1929 USV acquired the SCC holdings at what was then known as the Joe Jr. Camp. * Uravan received its name in 1936 as a result of a company-sponsored contest. * "uravan" comes from the first three letters of uranium and vanadium. * The Joe Jr. Mill was torn down and USV built a mill on the hillside that was operational until 1957. * 1936 is the date that the mill began production on the hillside. * The USV mill was part of the Manhattan project that produced uranium for the first atomic bomb.


References

Reference (Deposit): COLO DIV OF MINES SUMMARY MIN ACTIV IN COLO 1978

Reference (Deposit): MSHA DATA, REVISED BY MILS 3-80

Reference (General): http://www.uravan.com/
URL: http://www.uravan.com/


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