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OSHOTO, WYO. — A uranium mining company is looking to shift operations at their mine north of Moorecroft, Wyoming. Strata Energy, the US subsidiary of Australian Peninsula Energy is looking to ramp up operations at the Lance Projects.Strata hopes to bolster domestic uranium production.
The Lance Projects lie in Crook County. Inside the area are the Ross, Barber, and Kendrick projects. At the Ross Project, Strata Energy is in the process of testing a different type of uranium mining.
In Situ uranium mining allows companies to extract the product from the ground without digging an open pit. Strata recently shut down their alkaline leaching mines, and are focusing on their experimental acid leaching operation. They’re currently in the process of demonstrating to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality that they can effectively conduct operations at the site without effecting the groundwater.
Experts say the method of mining all depends on the geologic makeup of the area. “The uranium deposits are very geology specific,” said Mark Bowron, a professor at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. “An alkaline lixivialnt, or lechant, is used in rocks that contain limestone and carbonates. As a result, its conducive to that environment.”
Across Wyoming, alkaline leaching has always been the norm. But Strata says acid leaching could be more effective at the Ross project.
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