Old  &  New  Uranium  Mining  in  the  Upper  Midwest

By Charmaine Whiteface

1. Uranium mining in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota began in the middle of  the 1950s. World War II, which had ended the previous decade with the nuclear bomb, and the advent of nuclear energy for the production of electricity for use in homes and businesses, caused the price of uranium to rise. As the economy of the foregoing states depends primarily on agriculture, many get-rich schemes were quick to be adopted when uranium was discovered in the region. Not only were large mining companies chopping off the tops of bluffs and tables, but small individual ranchers were also digging in their pastures for the radioactive metal. Mining occurred on both public and private land, although the Great Sioux Nation still maintains a claim to the area through the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868.

2. In northwestern South Dakota, the Sioux Ranger District, as an example, is managed by Custer National Forest and currently contains 89 abandoned open-pit uranium mines. Studies show that one mine alone has 1800 mR of exposed radiation with no warning signs posted for the general public at the entrance. More than 1,000 open-pit uranium mines and prospects can be found in the four state region according to a map by the US Forest Service.

3. The following agencies are aware of these abandoned uranium mines and prospects: US Forest Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Bureau of Land Management, SD Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the US Indian Health Service, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

4. The water runoff from the (Sioux Ranger District) Cave Hills abandoned uranium mines empties into the Grand River which flows through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Three villages are located on the Grand River and their residents have used the water for drinking and other domestic purposes. One village still uses the water for drinking and domestic purposes. The water runoff from the (Sioux Ranger District) Slim Buttes abandoned uranium mines empty into the Morreau River which flows through the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Four villages are located on the Morreau River. No data is currently available about their use of the Morreau River water.

5. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed an Executive Order in secret declaring this four-state region of the country to be a 'National Sacrifice Area? for the mining and production of uranium and
nuclear energy.

6. In southwestern South Dakota, the southern Black Hills contain many abandoned uranium mines. Nuclear radiation near Edgemont, SD, polluted the underground water of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation according to a study completed in the 1980s by Women of All Red Nations.
 
7. In 2006, the South Dakota legislature passed two laws to allow: 'In Situ Leaching' for uranium in which a liquid is forced into the earth to bring up the uranium. Accidents, or breaks in the pipe create nuclear pollution of aquifers. The second law that was passed without public comment, input, or hearings allows the building of nuclear power plants anyplace in South Dakota.


8.  To view pictures of the Cave Hills and Slim Buttes abandoned uranium mines go to http://spaces.msn.com/uraniummine


Phone: (605) 399 1868                                               www.defendblackhills.org

Old  &  New  Uranium  Mining  in  the  Upper  Midwest By Charmaine Whiteface

1. Uranium mining in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota began in the middle of  the 1950s. World War II, which had ended the previous decade with the nuclear bomb, and the advent of nuclear energy for the production of electricity for use in homes and businesses, caused the price of uranium to rise. As the economy of the foregoing states depends primarily on agriculture, many get-rich schemes were quick to be adopted when uranium was discovered in the region. Not only were large mining companies chopping off the tops of bluffs and tables, but small individual ranchers were also digging in their pastures for the radioactive metal. Mining occurred on both public and private land, although the Great Sioux Nation still maintains a claim to the area through the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868.

2. In northwestern South Dakota, the Sioux Ranger District, as an example, is managed by Custer National Forest and currently contains 89 abandoned open-pit uranium mines. Studies show that one mine alone has 1800 mR of exposed radiation with no warning signs posted for the general public at the entrance. More than 1,000 open-pit uranium mines and prospects can be found in the four state region according to a map by the US Forest Service.

3. The following agencies are aware of these abandoned uranium mines and prospects: US Forest Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Bureau of Land Management, SD Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the US Indian Health Service, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

4. The water runoff from the (Sioux Ranger District) Cave Hills abandoned uranium mines empties into the Grand River which flows through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Three villages are located on the Grand River and their residents have used the water for drinking and other domestic purposes. One village still uses the water for drinking and domestic purposes. The water runoff from the (Sioux Ranger District) Slim Buttes abandoned uranium mines empty into the Morreau River which flows through the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Four villages are located on the Morreau River. No data is currently available about their use of the Morreau River water.

5. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed an Executive Order in secret declaring this four-state region of the country to be a 'National Sacrifice Area? for the mining and production of uranium and
nuclear energy.

6. In southwestern South Dakota, the southern Black Hills contain many abandoned uranium mines. Nuclear radiation near Edgemont, SD, polluted the underground water of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation according to a study completed in the 1980s by Women of All Red Nations.
 
7. In 2006, the South Dakota legislature passed two laws to allow: 'In Situ Leaching' for uranium in which a liquid is forced into the earth to bring up the uranium. Accidents, or breaks in the pipe create nuclear pollution of aquifers. The second law that was passed without public comment, input, or hearings allows the building of nuclear power plants anyplace in South Dakota.


8.  To view pictures of the Cave Hills and Slim Buttes abandoned uranium mines go to http://spaces.msn.com/uraniummine


Phone: (605) 399 1868                                               www.defendblackhills.org