After blocking uranium ore transportation, the Navajo Nation and a mining company are negotiating

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren marched with protestors on Aug. 2, 2024, in Cameron, Arizona, to oppose the transportation of uranium across Navajo land. Courtesy Photo by the Navajo Nation Office of the President

Negotiations started last week between the Navajo Nation and Energy Fuels Resources, Inc., about transporting uranium ore through Navajo lands to a processing facility in Utah.

Gov. Katie Hobb’s office announced that both parties described the meeting as productive and committed to continued “good faith” conversations to reach an agreement.

The negotiations resulted from EFRI transporting uranium ore across the Navajo Nation at the end of July without making prior arrangements with the tribe or notifying it.

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EFRI, the owner of Pinyon Plain Mine, started transporting uranium ore from the mine near the Grand Canyon to the White Mesa Mill in Blanding, Utah, on July 30.

The transportation routes to move the uranium from the Pinyon Plain Mine pass through several tribal communities, including the lands of the Navajo, Hopi, Havasupai and Ute Mountain Ute.

In response, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren issued an executive order on July 31 that required an agreement be put in place before the transportation of radioactive material through the tribe’s land.

The executive order will be in place for six months.

Soon after, Hobbs announced that her office negotiated with EFRI to voluntarily pause transportation of any uranium ore from Pinyon Plain Mine.

As of Aug. 16, Hobbs said the agreement is still in place, and that communication between officials with the EFRI and the Navajo Nation has been ongoing.

“I’m glad that EFRI and Navajo Nation have begun conversations about their path forward and that EFRI has agreed to extend their voluntary pause on uranium ore transport through Navajo Nation lands while these good-faith negotiations continue,” Hobbs said in a written statement.

“My hope is that by continuing these negotiations, the parties can reach an acceptable solution,” Hobbs added. “This is an important first step, but the work is not done.”

The governor said her administration will continue to work with the Navajo Nation’s emergency management team and Coconino County to support any emergency response planning for road incidents that may occur.

Nygren thanked Hobbs for her quick action in putting EFRI’s transportation of uranium ore on hold while they work through the tribe’s concerns, and the mining company praised Hobbs for working to broker a deal with the Navajo Nation.

“Energy Fuels is grateful to the Navajo Nation for hosting what we believe was a very productive discussion on uranium ore transport,” EFRI President and CEO Mark Chalmers said in a press release.

“Based on these discussions, we believe the parties will be able to come to a reasonable agreement that ensures coordinated emergency management and the protection of public health and safety at all times,” Chalmers added.

Even though negotiations between the Navajo Nation and EFRI may be ongoing, several state officials, tribal leaders, environmental groups and community advocates have voiced their concerns about the operations of Pinyon Plain Mine.

Several environmental groups and community advocates have hosted protests along the company’s proposed route from the Pinyon Plain Mine to their facility in Utah.

The Havasupai Tribe has been vocal about its stance against the Pinyon Plain Mine and its impacts on its sacred sites near the Grand Canyon. At the end of July, it condemned EFRI’s actions when it started transporting uranium ore without adequately informing its community.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes recently submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture requesting that the Forest Service issue a supplemental Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for the Pinyon Plain Mine.

“The original EIS, completed 38 years ago, is based on an outdated, inaccurate understanding of the risks posed by the Mine to groundwater supplies across the Grand Canyon region,” Mayes said.

In her letter, she highlighted how Pinyon Plain Mine is located on the culturally, historically, and geologically significant lands of the Baa Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, which includes the Red Butte Traditional Cultural Property and the Kaibab National Forest.

Mayes said that the Forest Service is responsible for stewarding the land, and it is vital for them to do so effectively with a current, accurate understanding of the region’s complex hydrogeology.

“A supplemental EIS is now necessary because scientific advances in groundwater modeling unequivocally show that the 1986 EIS’s claim that the Mine is not a threat to regional water supplies is wrong,” she said. “Failure to supplement the EIS could result in devastating consequences for the region — especially for vulnerable communities like the Havasupai Tribe.”

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