The public hearing was held today (5/27) regarding the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for Black Range Minerals (BRM).  BRM opened with a presentation that was followed by several hours of public comments.  For the most part, both sides were very civil and respectful of each other's viewpoints.  At the end of the public hearing, the Commisssioners posed several questions to BRM and decided to table a decision on the CUP until their next meeting on June 9th.  The Commissioners did not give an indication of how they would end up voting on this issue.

Thank you to all the members of TAC that particiapted in the public hearing.  They did an excellent job presenting our issues to the Commissioners.  Also, thanks to support of our many members that attended the  meeting.  It was a very long meeting for all involved.  If nothing else, we showed how much we care about the safety and welfare of our community!

Kevin Mendenhall

Several articles from the hearing (some that are very one-sided) are included below.

Fremont County board delays vote on uranium mining

 CAÑON CITY - An eighthour hearing Tuesday wasn't long enough for Fremont County commissioners to rule on a request to drill for uranium in the northwest part of the county.

    After hearing comments from more than 70 people, the board delayed a vote until June 9 on the permit request by Australia-based Black Range Minerals.

    "During the day, I've changed my mind several times from information we've had," said Commissioner Larry Lasha.

    The Tallahassee Creek area was drilled extensively for uranium through the early 1980s, until the price collapsed.

    Black Range Minerals wants to pick it back up and drill 800 holes on 8,169 acres.

    With a resurgence of nuclear power worldwide and uranium selling for about $70 a pound - up tenfold from five years ago - companies are racing to mine Colorado, which has the third-largest stores of uranium in the nation.

    Black Range, the first company in recent years to seek an exploration permit here, has spent $1 million on the project, and some ranch owners hope to turn a profit by allowing drilling on their land.

    Other residents, most of whom bought land for retirement homes in the mountains, see the drilling as a threat to their water, property values and rural way of life.

    "Everything I've acquired in my life, minus one divorce, is on that 3.1 acres and the house I built. Now it appears to be worthless," said resident Jeff Dewell.

    "Knowing mineral rights are important, we paid more for our property," said Richard Boyer, owner of one of the ranches where drilling is proposed. "Now, because of special interest groups, our mineral rights may be taken away without compensation."

    Black Range managing director Michael Haynes said the U.S. imports most of the uranium it uses for nuclear energy, and domestic production is the key to energy independence.

    "We can't pick and choose where uranium resources are found. The western U.S. is blessed and very fortunate to host these uranium resources," Haynes said.

Analysis: Drilling could give economic boom to area

If given the green light, uranium exploration drilling in the Tallahassee area eventually could lead to an economic boom in Fremont County.

Mike Haynes, managing director of Black Range Minerals, recently detailed potential benefits the county stands to reap, including improved roads, communication and emergency services, as well as increased employment, wages and property taxes to the county.

An Economic Impact Analysis of the Black Range Minerals Taylor Ranch Project by Rochette Consulting indicates if the project comes to fruition, as many as 437 jobs, more than $10 million in direct earnings and almost $105 million in total earnings could be realized annually from 2011 through 2018.

Added to smaller earnings between now and 2010, the Taylor Ranch Project eventually could have more than a $1 billion earnings impact.

The project also could add more than $4 million to the county’s coffers through sales tax and personal property tax revenues; almost $5 million in sales tax revenues to Cañon City and Florence; and $1.5 million to the Cañon City School District.

“This Conditional Use Permit goes well beyond the concerns of the local people,” Haynes told the Fremont County Commissioners during Tuesday’s public hearing. “We want to work with the local neighborhood. We don’t want to work against it.”

Black Range Minerals is seeking the CUP to determine the economic viability of the uranium deposits located in the county through an exploration drilling phase that could last between three and five years.

“Results will stack up during that time,” Haynes said during an informational gathering in March. “Our tests indicate there is considerable mineralization there. We will determine how consistent that mineralization is. The more information we get, the better decisions we can make.”

If exploration results were positive, Black Range then would apply for permission to mine and work its way through a complicated series of literally dozens of required state and county permits. If a separate mining permit eventually was issued, Black Range could move more than half a million tons of uranium ore per year.

If each step was successful, Haynes said BRM would invest time, money and effort to create the most technologically-advanced, state-of-the-art facilities possible, including its own mill to process the uranium.

Black Range hopes to take advantage of a “world class uranium district” in the Tallahassee area. The vicinity is rich with mining history and has been home to 16 uranium mines throughout the years, before the bottom dropped out of the uranium industry in the 1980s and prices plummeted.

Haynes said uranium prices have risen substantially since 2004, from $15 to $68 per pound, explaining the current resurgence in uranium exploration.

“If the Taylor Project is not viable now, it is highly unlikely we ever would return to the project,” Haynes said.

Even if that was the final result, Haynes said, Black Range Minerals would submit its exploration results to the county or any other company interested in uranium mining there.

“We want to minimize the impact on the community,” Haynes said.

No decision yet