CONGRESSIONAL FIELD HEARING ON "*Community Impacts of Proposed Uranium
Mining Near Grand Canyon National Park*" -- 28 MARCH 2008 -- FLAGSTAFF,
AZ.

Uranium Mining in Arizona Breccia Pipes --

**Environmental, Economic, and Human Impact**

# *Dr. Karen J. Wenrich, Geologist* 

CrystalUnlimited@aol.com

The race for military nuclear supremacy during and following World War
II resulted in the rapid development of a worldwide uranium production
industry. The adage, 'haste makes waste', created this legacy. The
frantic pursuit of these early military programs created environmental
hazards and health risks throughout the world that left a multi-billion
dollar Cold War uranium production legacy. Above ground military nuclear
testing at the Nevada Test Site before and during the Cold War resulted
in radioactive fallout in a trackway that runs across the Arizona Strip.
These manmade radioactive isotopes can still be found in the soil today
at levels far exceeding those of naturally occurring uranium or its
daughter products from mining.

Lessons learned from this legacy have had a profound influence on modern
uranium production, thereby minimizing long-term environmental impact
and health risks during uranium exploration, mining and milling. The
industry has come a long way from the time when tailings were left
unprotected and allowed to be transported by water and wind into nearby
streams and rivers. The mining industry has since learned to embrace the
philosophy that it is more effective to prevent pollution than to clean
it up. This can readily be seen by the reclamation of the Hack 1, 2, 3
mines, the Pigeon Mine and the Hermit Mine, where not only can one no
longer tell there was ever a mine present, but in the case of the Hack 1
mine the former mining company actually cleaned up the sprawling mine
debris left over from the late 1800s through the 1940s.

# Geological & Historical Background

Mining activity in the Grand Canyon breccia pipes began during the
nineteenth century, although at that time production was primarily for
copper with minor production of silver, lead, and zinc. It was not until
1951 that uranium was first recognized in the breccia pipes. Despite
periods of depressed uranium prices, the breccia pipes commanded
considerable exploration activity in the 1980's because of the
high-grade nature of their uranium ore. During the period 1956-69, the
Orphan Mine produced 4.26 million lb of U~3~O~8~ with an average grade
of 0.42% U~3~O~8~ (Chenoweth, 1986). The Orphan Mine is located within
Grand Canyon National Park where the head frame projects above Powell
Point commemorating our US heritage through mining history. This history
includes one of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders packing his burro down
the trails of the Grand Canyon to his Orphan mine where he dug for
copper and silver during the end of the 19^th^ century. In addition to
uranium, 6.68 million lb of copper, 107 oz of silver, and 3400 lb of
V~2~O~5~ (vanadium oxide) were recovered from the ore (Chenoweth, 1986).
Between 1980 and 1988 four breccia pipes (Pigeon, Hack 1, Hack 2, Hack
3) were mined for uranium in northern Arizona with grades averaging
0.65% U~3~O~8~ and total production of 13 million lbs of U~3~O~8~
(Mathisen, 1987). During the end of the period of breccia pipe mining by
Energy Fuels Nuclear, they had refined their mining methods and the
average grade of ore production approached 1% (I.W. Mathisen, oral
commun., 1990).

These breccia pipes are vertical pipe-like columns of broken rock
**(fig. 1)**; the breccia formed when layers of sandstone, shale and
limestone collapsed downward into underlying caverns. Brecciation of
overlying sedimentary strata formed thousands of pipe-shaped columns of
breccia (**fig. 2**). Upward stoping through the upper Paleozoic and
lower Mesozoic strata, involving units as high in the section as the
Triassic Chinle Formation, produced vertical, rubble-filled, pipe-like
structures (fig. 1). A typical pipe is approximately 300 ft in diameter
and extends upward as much as 3000 ft (Wenrich and Sutphin, 1989).

Breccia pipes extend across most of the Colorado Plateau in northwestern
Arizona and into the Basin and Range Province (Wenrich and others,
1989). The potential for additional economic uranium mineralized breccia
pipes is greatest beneath the flat plateaus where erosion and oxidation
of the ore have been minimized. It is only on the Colorado Plateau, with
its history of tectonic stability, that the uraninite has been preserved
(**fig. 3**). Along the edges of the plateau and in the canyons, the
ore-bearing minerals are usually oxidized to colorful secondary minerals
(**fig. 4)** that are popular with mineral collectors. These mineral
specimens lie in homes of mineral collectors and in most museums across
the country and pose little threat to the casual viewer.

# Human Impact

The mining ventures of the Navajo Reservations of the 1940s through
1960s are not relevant to the breccia pipe province, because the Navajo
mines were surface mines into an entirely different geological and
hydrological environment, and because mining technology and
environmental practices used in the breccia pipe province are 21^st^
century technology. Even if one does not trust the mining companies to
self regulate, they are under strict control and monitoring by Arizona
regulators governed by modern legislation and laws.

Mine safety for employees was strictly enforced in the breccia pipe
mines of the Arizona Strip. During the previous mining operations of the
1980s and 1990s there were never any mine fatalities. In fact, the MSHA
records show that for one of the 5 reclaimed mine about the worst
accident was an employee smashing his thumb with a hammer. Ventilation
within the mines was excellent, so there was minimal exposure of miners
to radon gas and its daughter products. Smoking was strictly prohibited
within the mines. Radon in itself is not the problem with its 3.8-day
half-life; the miner breathes it in and breathes it out. It is actually
the radon alpha emitting progeny (lead and polonium) in the form of
aerosols that are the nasty devils. They attach themselves to various
areas of the respiratory system. Epidemiological studies have shown that
the lung cancer risk to smokers is 10-20 times greater than "never"
smokers at exposures to environmental levels of radon (such as 20-150
Bq/m3). The uranium industry now understands this increased risk that
smoking miners have, and have adjusted their operations accordingly.

It is interesting that the University of New Mexico Cancer Research
Center records confirm that the cancer incidence rate among American
Indians for McKinley and San Juan counties (with uranium mines) is far
lower than the average rate among American Indians in other New Mexico
counties where there is no known occurrence of uranium or history of
uranium mining. This does not support the claim of increased cancer due
to uranium mining. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Indian Health Service (IHS) 2006 report "Facts on Indian Health
Disparities" states "The American Indian and Alaska Native People have
long experienced lower health status when compared with other Americans.
Lower life expectancy and the disproportionate disease burden exist
perhaps because of inadequate education, disproportionate poverty,
discrimination in the delivery of health services and cultural
differences. These are broad quality of life issues rooted in economic
adversity and poor social conditions." Breccia pipe mining would offer
Indians a chance at improved economic status just as uranium mining has
in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada, where 50% of the staff for
Cogema's uranium mines is native people.

# Economic Impact

Uranium mines have a significant impact on the economic condition of
Northern Arizona. The opportunity for employment in economically ravaged
towns such as Colorado City is enormous. During the 1980s and 1990s this
town as well as Fredonia, Arizona and Kanab, Utah saw reduction in
poverty and welfare from wages earned by their citizens from the mines
and associated jobs. The royalties that the State of Arizona receives
from these mines should not be dismissed by a state that is in financial
strife. Previous uranium mining in 10 separate mines has had absolutely
no detectable negative impact on tourism. Quite the contrary -- the old
head frame of the Orphan Mine, located within Grand Canyon National
Park, is a tourist attraction, a symbol of the powerful attraction that
brought early settlers westward. The Orphan mining claim was first
located in 1893 by a prospector named Dan Hogan who discovered copper on
the south wall of the Grand Canyon, 1100 feet below the rim. After
serving as a Rough Rider during the Spanish American War, Dan Hogan
returned to prospecting. In 1906 he filed for a mining claim patent on
the Orphan Mine and his old Commandant, Theodore Roosevelt, signed it
himself. From this it might be construed that Teddy Roosevelt believed
in multiple land use, and that the beauties of the Grand Canyon could
coexist with mining. The Orphan Mine was mined for uranium within Grand
Canyon National Park from 1953 to 1969. The mine was situated off the
scenic and well-traveled routes, resulting in most park visitors being
unaware of the mine's existence. Similarly, the other 9 mines, 8 on the
North Rim, are far from the view of most tourists. Mining has occurred
for over 4 decades in the breccia pipe province, with only a positive
financial impact on the economy of Arizona.

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The highest-grade uranium deposits in the United States, and some of the
highest in the world, occur in a breccia pipe environment in
northwestern Arizona. Electricity generation in the US is 19% nuclear
power; providing domestic US uranium to those plants would provide more
jobs and cash flow for US citizens. Such deposits give the US a unique
opportunity for energy self-sufficiency with fuel that is clean and
emits no CO~2~ gases. This is critical at a time when (1) there is
intense global pressure for the US to reduce its greenhouse gases, and
(2) we are being held financially hostage by dependence on imported oil.
Such dependence jeopardizes our national security, and if the trade
routes are severed our country's economy could shut down. We send off
our youth to fight patriotically in wars in foreign countries to defend
our access to oil. Would it not be best to save thousands of their lives
by demonstrating patriotism at home through support for uranium mining
that is clean, safe and will put us on the path to energy independence?
There would be no more need to find oil or to fight for oil in the
Middle East, supporting regimes that we would not normally support. True
patriotism is the ability to use our own resources to become free of
foreign economies whose goal is to dominate our own.

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# 

# Environmental Impact

These deposits are higher grade than most uranium deposits elsewhere in
the world, with the exception of the Canadian deposits (with an average
grade around 20% uranium). However, the word uranium brings fear to many
who live in Arizona because of the uranium legacy that was left behind
on the Colorado Plateau over 50 years ago. Yet, these breccia pipe mines
are different---the uranium is deep beneath the plateau surface, the
mines are underground, and nothing extraneous is left on the surface
after mine closure. The breccia pipe deposits were so successfully mined
and reclaimed in the 1980s and early 1990s that few people even realize
that there were eight producing mines in the Arizona Strip near the end
of the 20^th^ century. Today even uranium geologists can no longer find
the location of the three former producing uranium mines that are
located in Hack Canyon (**figs. 6-7).**

**[Watershed Impact]{.underline}:** The major aquifers in the Grand
Canyon are the Mississippian-age Redwall and Cambrian-age Muav
Limestones. The breccia pipe orebodies extend no deeper than the
Esplanade Sandstone of upper Pennsylvanian age (**fig. 5**). On the
Kanab Plateau (where 8 of the producing mines are located) down hole
data (Titan Environmental, 1994) indicate that the Redwall-Muav aquifer
(fig 5) is the only significant source of ground water within the area.
No other continuous ground water sources were encountered on the Plateau
in the overlying formations because these strata have been intersected
and drained by the deep canyons and the large-scale faults associated
with the formation of the plateaus (USGS, 1979). Additionally, on the
Kanab Plateau, the only other aquifer in the Grand Canyon region of any
significance above the Redwall Limestone is the Permian Coconino
Sandstone, which pinches out in this area to a thickness of 0 north of
the Hack Canyon Mine, where dissection is less. Within the Kanab Plateau
area, the Redwall-Muav aquifer is under significant artesian pressure.
This high artesian pressure is an excellent safeguard preventing seepage
from the mines on the Kanab Plateau from entering the Redwall-Muav
aquifer. Additionally, a 1,089-foot thick unsaturated, practically
impermeable, layer of Supai Group Sandstone protects the aquifer (**fig.
5**). "Therefore, it is inconceivable that mine seepage of substantially
lower hydraulic head (20 ft) will ever seep through the Supai Group,
even when geologic time is considered" (Titan Environmental, 1994).
Similarly on the south rim in Kaibab National Forest, the Environmental
Impact Statement (1986, US Dept of Agriculture) on the Canyon Uranium
Mine concluded that "construction and operation of the Canyon Mine will
not impact the Redwall-Muav aquifer, which is well below the shaft
depth."

Water analyses taken between April 29, 1991 and May 15, 1991 in a water
supply well into the Redwall-Muav aquifer adjacent to the producing
Kanab North Mine shows uranium concentrations varying between 0.8-5.9
ppb (µg/l). This is lower than the uranium concentration in much of this
nations public drinking water and 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than the
EPA safe drinking level of 33 ppb.

Despite the good aquifer of the Redwall-Muav Fms they provide an almost
imperceptible contribution, even when the entire Grand Canyon is
considered in total, to the mighty Colorado River itself. The surface
water impact of the mines is negligible even at Kanab Creek, because the
level of the mine workings, at such mines as Kanab North that sits at
the edge of Kanab Creek, is below the Kanab Canyon floor. All ore is
trucked 300 miles into Utah, so little uranium-mineralized rock will
remain on the surface even during the mining operation.

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The uranium production industry is well aware that they are faced with
the environmental legacy of early uranium production. The uranium
industry has undergone a significant evolution in the level of
environmental understanding and management practices over the past 30
years. Experience has shown that there has been, and continues to be,
ongoing development of enhanced environmental management practices in
order to the meet the call from the public and the regulatory agencies
for long-term environmental protection, and socio-economic benefits
sharing with communities adjacent to the operations. Failure to
incorporate best environmental practices in initial mining and milling
plans can lead to such uranium legacies as we have witnessed in the
past. The nuclear industry knows they cannot afford any more
environment-damaging legacies.

Higher-grade deposits, such as the breccia pipes, produce more uranium
with less environmental footprint. The environmental footprint duration
for each mine is short as the life for each mine in the past was only
5-7 years. There is only a temporary disturbance of three or four acres
per mine, as the mines are underground. The water table is deep, well
below the level of mining. The mines are dry. There is no circulation of
major northern Arizona aquifers within any of the mining levels so there
is essentially little chance of any contamination to the ground water.
There is no on-site processing, no chemicals and all mining is above the
water table. Underground mining emits very little dust. Waste rock and
tailings can always be, and have been, back-filled into the abandoned
mine shafts and tunnels. Even the concrete from the former mining
structures was broken up and backfilled into the old mine workings. As
in the past the area to be disturbed would be searched by an
archeologist and any cultural features found will be either avoided or
mitigated by detailed study. The area will also be studied by a
biologist to see if there are threatened, endangered, protected, or
other special status species or critical habitat present. There is no
greater testimony to the mining and environmental success of these
breccia pipe operations than a view of the previous operations in
comparison to the current environment of the terrain **(figs 6-9**).
This former mining company followed the modern mining philosophy: "It is
more effective to prevent pollution during mining operations than to
clean it up later"

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**Summary**

## 

1\. Uranium mining in the region around the Grand Canyon has clearly
demonstrated that it can be done with NO impact on the Grand Canyon
watershed. Hence, there is no mining to protect the Grand Canyon
watershed from, and the "Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act of 2008"
is frivolous legislation. Mining was done for 15 years followed by a
13-year hiatus of no mining. During this hiatus no water analyses from
in and around the Grand Canyon have detected any contamination with
elevated radionuclides concentrations.

2\. Mining uranium from the breccia pipe district gives the US a unique
opportunity for energy self-sufficiency with fuel that is clean and
emits no CO~2~ gases. This is critical at a time when (1) there is
intense global pressure for the US to reduce its greenhouse gases, and
(2) we are being held hostage by dependence on imported oil. This
dependence has created wars. If we are truly patriotic we will look away
from the "not in my backyard" approach, and salute mining to promote
clean energy and independence from other nations who currently supply
our fuel. With energy independence we might not be caught in
international wars.

## 

3\. We learn history in school so we learn from mistakes and can benefit
from positive experiences. From 1980 to 1995 there were 15 years of
uranium mining from the region around the Grand Canyon with positive
economic gains for the northern Arizona communities and the State of
Arizona. There was NO negative impact to water, land, vegetation, air,
or humans. The spots that were mined and reclaimed show no visible sign
of where the mine was located. The history lesson here is that mining
can be positive.

4\. Figure. 9 shows our dependence on mining. There is no indication
that with our ever increasing population that there will be any
reduction in stresses on the land for mining. Each person in the US will
use 9383 pounds of uranium in their lifetime (Minerals Management
Institute).

5\. To use the sins of a 60-year old uranium mining legacy to punish
mining in a different district, which has clearly demonstrated safe
clean mining practices, is like the past punishing of the Navajo Tribe
by moving them eastward to Texas because of the sins of a few renegade
Apaches.

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## References

1\. Chenoweth, W.L., 1986, The Orphan Lode mine, Grand Canyon, Arizona,
a case history of a mineralized, collapse‑breccia pipe: U.S. Geological
Survey Open‑File Report 86‑510, 126 p.

2\. Mathisen, I.W., Jr., 1987, Arizona Strip breccia pipe program:
Exploration, development, and production \[abs.\]: American Association
of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 71/5, p. 590.

3\. Wenrich, K.J., Billingsley, G.H., and Huntoon, P.W., 1996, Breccia
pipe and geologic map of the northeastern Hualapai Indian Reservation
and vicinity, Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous
Investigations Series Map I‑2522 (2 plates, scale 1:48,000, 16 p text).

4\. Wenrich, K.J. and Sutphin, H.B., 1994, Grand Canyon caves, breccia
pipes and mineral deposits: Geology Today, v. 10, no. 3, p. 97-104.

5\. Wenrich, K.J., Chenoweth, W.L., Finch, W.I., and Scarborough, R.B.,
1989, Uranium in Arizona, in Jenney, J.P., and Reynolds, S.J., eds.,
Geologic evolution of Arizona: Arizona Geological Society Digest 17, p.
759-794.

6\. Wenrich, K.J. and Sutphin, H.B., 1989, Lithotectonic setting
necessary for formation of a uranium rich, solution collapse breccia
pipe province, Grand Canyon region, Arizona, in Metallogenesis of
uranium deposits, Proceedings of a technical committee meeting on
metallogenesis of uranium deposits organized by the International Atomic
Energy Agency and held in Vienna, 9-12 March 1987: Vienna, Austria,
International Atomic Energy Agency, p. 307-344.

#### Author's Background

Karen Wenrich received her Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University
in Geology. She retired from the U.S. Geological Survey after 25 years
of experience working on mining related and environmental projects.
Following her retirement from the USGS she worked as a senior uranium
geologist for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in peaceful
uses of atomic energy. While at the IAEA she was a recipient of the 2005
Nobel Peace Price. She is the author of over 150 published papers.