Companies interested in uranium in western North Dakota

(Dave Thompson, Prairie Public) Bismarck, N.D. (AP) There's rekindled interest in uranium mining in western North Dakota.

coal deposits in southwestern North Dakota also held uranium, and companies burned the coal to get it in the 1960s. That left an environmental mess, and the state has been trying to reclaim those sites.

The director of the state Geological Survey, Ed Murphy, says he's had a number of inquiries about uranium deposits. He says it's because of a worldwide shortage of the mineral used in nuclear power plants.

Murphy says some companies might drill test holes this summer.

And he says if there is mining, it will be much more friendly to the environment.

Murphy says leaching uses a water process to remove uranium from the coal and sand. He says the survey has a map of known uranium deposits, but he's not sure how much is out there.


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