A recent letter in the Deseret News from a Salt Lake City resident portrayed the restart of the Velvet-Wood uranium-vanadium mine in San Juan County as a dangerous, hastily approved project that threatens water, wildlife, livestock and the Navajo Aquifer. The author claims the Bureau of Land Management rubber-stamped the mine after a mere “11-day” review that ignored public input and science. Residents of southeastern Utah who actually live near the project know better.
The facts, drawn from Anfield Energy filings; Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (DOGM) records; BLM documents; and decades of site history, tell a very different story. The “11-day” or “14-day” permitting myth refers only to the final federal environmental assessment completed in May 2025. That short window was possible because Anfield had already completed the required groundwork. In May 2024, the company submitted a lengthy Plan of Operations to both DOGM and the BLM, incorporating years of engineering studies, baseline environmental data, groundwater modeling, wildlife surveys and cultural resource reviews.
Far from bypassing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the BLM’s accelerated review under the Department of the Interior’s critical minerals procedures explicitly relied on that prior work, public scoping periods and formal tribal consultation that had already occurred. Utah regulators issued construction approval in October 2025, county permits followed, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) completed its safety certification before the ceremonial groundbreaking on Nov. 6, 2025. In short, the final 14-day “fast track” capped a multi-year regulatory marathon. regulatory marathon.
This is not a new mine carved out of untouched wilderness. The Velvet-Wood complex operated safely from 1979 to 1984, producing roughly 4 million pounds of uranium and 5 million pounds of vanadium from 400,000 tons of ore. According to DOGM records, no groundwater contamination was ever documented during that period. When production ended, previous owners Umetco and later Uranium One performed extensive reclamation. Anfield acquired the project in August 2015, inheriting an existing large mine permit that simply needed updating.
The new operation will add three additional acres beyond the original 25-acre footprint — mostly road improvements — for a total surface impact of 28 acres, a fraction of what a greenfield mine would require. Water quality fears are equally unfounded. Mine dewatering will pump less than 500,000 gallons per day, all of which will be treated by reverse osmosis or ion-exchange to standards stricter than the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act before any discharge. BLM modeling shows negligible drawdown in the Burro Canyon aquifer and zero measurable effect on the deeper Navajo Aquifer or the Colorado River system. EPA monitoring data from comparable modern Utah uranium operations confirm that treated discharges do not raise downstream radium or uranium levels. It also holds a substantial monetary bond that will cover all of the reclamation costs, which guarantees full restoration to pre-mining contours when work is complete.
Wildlife, livestock and recreation will see minimal impact. Operations are almost entirely underground in previously mined areas, and the site already hosts raptors and other species that have always existed there.
Over its 10-year life, Velvet-Wood is expected to produce another 5 million pounds of uranium and 7 million pounds of vanadium — critical materials for nuclear fuel and next-generation batteries — while directly employing 40 to 60 people and bolstering local economies with hundreds of millions of dollars.
San Juan County was once the second wealthiest county in Utah thanks to responsible mineral development. Today it ranks near the bottom in wealth. Projects like Velvet-Wood prove we can revive that prosperity without repeating the mistakes of the past. Modern regulation, rigorous bonding, advanced water treatment and a small surface footprint make this low-risk mining operation a reality.
Some from afar are easily duped by falsities and fear, but those of us who call southeastern Utah home welcome the jobs, tax revenue and domestic supply of clean-energy minerals that Velvet-Wood promises. The last uranium boom in southeastern Utah delivered national security, high-paying jobs and high tax revenues that fueled local governments. We are on the cusp of a new boom that will be crucial to our clean energy future.