The U.S. Forest Service, with minimal public notice and no formal environmental review, has approved a permit allowing a British mining company to explore for uranium just outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park, less than 3 miles from a popular lookout over the canyon’s southern rim.
If the exploration finds rich uranium deposits, it could lead to the first mines near the canyon since the price of uranium ore tumbled two decades ago.
To drill exploratory wells on the claims in the Kaibab National Forest, near the Grand Canyon, requires Forest Service approval. The U.K.’s Vane Minerals received such approval for seven sites in December.
The Forest Service ruled that the canyon could be “categorically excluded” from a full environmental review because exploration would last less than a year and might not lead to mining activity.
