Uranium Resources Gets Exploratory Drilling Permit

GRANTS, N.M. (AP) – A Texas mining company has received a state permit to conduct exploratory uranium drilling about 20 miles north of Grants.

Uranium Resources Inc. announced Monday that the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division had granted the permit for a site of less than five acres that contains about 1 million pounds of mineralized uranium.

URI executive vice president, Richard Van Horn, says the exploratory holes will allow the company to determine if the uranium in the area could be mined using a process called in situ recovery.

The Lewisville, Texas-based company says the method would result in less surface disturbance and fewer health risks to workers, and uranium extracted this way would not require a conventional mill.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)