Energy Fuels executives are touting the potential of their uranium mill in San Juan County to process ore for rare earth elements, which are used in everything from iPhones to electric vehicles.
But that’s not likely to create many jobs, according to Curtis Moore, the company’s spokesman.
“We’re trying to crawl before we walk in this rare earth stuff,” he said. “And we aren’t going to make promises we can’t keep.”
Moore said the company plans to process 2,500 tons of uranium ore for rare earth elements this year, which is only a tiny fraction of the mill’s capacity. The mill currently employs around 50 people, down from around 75 last year...