Uranium mining in Colorado
Uranium mining in Colorado, United States, goes back to 1872, when pitchblende ore was taken from gold mines near Central City, Colorado. The Colorado uranium industry has seen booms and busts, but continues to this day. Not counting byproduct uranium from phosphate, Colorado is considered to have the third largest uranium reserves of any US state, behind Wyoming and New Mexico.
Uranium price increases from 2001 to 2007 prompted a number of companies to revive uranium mining in Colorado. However, price drops and financing problems in late 2008 have forced some companies to cancel or scale back uranium-mining projects. There are no currently producing uranium mines in Colorado.
Hydrothermal uranium deposits are present through a widely spaced area in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in Larimer, Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, and Jefferson counties.
The first uranium identified in the USA was pitchblende from the Wood gold mine at Central City, Colorado in 1871. Pitchblende orebodies were also discovered in the Calhoun mine, the Kirk mine, and some others. About 122,000 pounds (55 metric tons) of uranium oxide (U3O8) were shipped at irregular intervals from six gold mines in the Central City district from 1872 to about 1916.
The uranium boom of the late 1940s revived the search for uranium orebodies in the gold and silver mines of the Front Range. Again, uranium was produced from a number of mines, but the orebodies were small and discontinuous. Pitchblende was discovered in 1948 in the Caribou silver mine at the town of Caribou, Boulder County. A small amount of uranium ore was produced.
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