GREEN RIVER, Emery County — Helicopters and pack horses navigating the steep cliff faces of the San Rafael Swell were part of an ambitious effort carried out by state mining authorities to close more than 170 Cold War-era uranium mines.
The effort by the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining earned it the nation’s highest achievement award for eliminating physical safety hazards, recognition given by the National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs.
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“Old mining sites can be intriguing to unsuspecting explorers but can contain dangerous gases, unstable structures and explosives,” she said.
The project was carried out over the course of two years and closed all known uranium mines in the area with walls, grates, gates and backfills.
In addition to the mine closures, the division used the project as an opportunitiy to collect oral histories who knew the work in the mines first hand. The division produced a video and also made transcripts of the interviews. The transcripts are available on the division’s website.
Read more at Lambing bighorns, radiation and rocky terrain part of mine closure project
