Mining operations at the controversial Pinyon Plain uranium mine south of Grand Canyon National Park have begun, according to the company that owns the mine.
Canadian company Energy Fuels Inc. announced in late December that it has “commenced uranium production at three of its permitted and developed uranium mines located in Arizona and Utah.”
The mine has long been opposed by local tribes, most prominently the Havasupai Tribe, and conservation groups, over the threat the mine could pose to groundwater.
The Pinyon Plain Mine, previously known as the Canyon Mine, sits above the Redwall-Muav aquifer. That aquifer acts as a source of water for countless seeps and springs throughout the Grand Canyon, and is also the sole source of drinking water for the Havasupai Tribe.