Uranium mining ban enacted for New Mexico lands

[Marlin]

Uranium mining ban enacted for New Mexico lands

https://www.ans.org/news/2026-09-11/article-8382/uranium-mining-ban-enacted-for-new-mexico-lands/

[Core Content]

New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard signed an executive order prohibiting the issuance of new extraction permits for state trust properties. The directive instructs the State Land Office to prioritize the remediation of legacy sites. Currently, the state contains hundreds of abandoned mines without viable responsible parties.

The action pushes back against federal efforts to expand domestic fuel production. Indigenous communities and local environmental advocates have long raised health and water safety concerns regarding historical extraction in the Grants mineral district. Meanwhile, regional stakeholders remain divided as new advocacy groups organize to support future nuclear fuel development in the state.

On September 4, New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard issued an executive order that bans the leasing of state lands for new uranium mining and associated activities. The executive order also directs the State Land Office to focus on cleaning up legacy uranium sites and urges the uranium industry and federal government to...

According to the State Land Office's announcement, "New Mexico has a painful history as the largest producer of uranium ore in the United States, which has left a legacy of over 1,000 former uranium mining, milling, and exploratory drilling sites in the state, of which 250 are considered abandoned because they are not associated with a viable responsible party (at least 50 of the sites involve state trust lands)."

Read the full article at ans.org:
https://www.ans.org/news/2026-09-11/article-8382/uranium-mining-ban-enacted-for-new-mexico-lands/

[Mounder]

Just go dig up other completed UMTRA burial tombs like Crescent Junction (Moab, UT's disposal cell for uranium ore). Easy pickings and the feds don't care.