Metals One plc and DISA Technologies signed an agreement Friday to evaluate and potentially treat abandoned uranium mine waste dumps in Colorado.
The partnership aims to recover saleable uranium and other critical mineral concentrates from legacy sites while addressing environmental contamination. This effort targets the Uravan Belt uranium/vanadium project, which is 100% owned by Metals One and located near the historic Buckhorn mine.
Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will assess whether the waste materials can be processed to extract valuable minerals. If the evaluation is successful, DISA Technologies will implement treatment processes to liberate these materials from the abandoned dumps [1, 2].
The project area includes eight abandoned uranium waste dumps [3]. These sites are part of a larger land holding that consists of 59 unpatented mining claims [3]. These claims cover a total area of 490 hectares [3].
Metals One is a developer of critical and precious metals, while DISA Technologies specializes in materials liberation [1, 2]. The recovery of uranium and other critical minerals from waste is intended to provide a sustainable source of raw materials, reducing the need for new primary mining in some instances [1, 2].
The companies did not specify the exact timeline for the evaluation phase or the projected volume of minerals they expect to recover from the Colorado sites [1, 2].
“The partnership aims to recover saleable uranium and other critical mineral concentrates from legacy sites.”
This agreement reflects a growing industry trend toward 'circular mining,' where legacy waste is treated as a resource. By extracting critical minerals from abandoned dumps, companies can generate revenue while simultaneously performing environmental remediation of hazardous sites. The success of the Uravan Belt project could serve as a model for treating other historic uranium contamination sites across the U.S.
