The EZ Mine Complex is in the Arizona Strip (the area of Arizona north of the Colorado River), approximately 30 miles southwest of Fredonia, and 15 miles west of Kanab Creek in Mohave County. Discovered in the early 1980s, the complex is comprised of two breccia pipes, EZ1 and EZ21. Only recently has the complex started the permitting process to begin extraction of an estimated 224,200 tons of ore yielding approximately 2,105,000 pounds of uranium oxide1. Ore extraction is expected not to exceed 3 years.
No ore processing will be conducted on site, rather the ore will be shipped to a mill near Blanding, Utah2. Soil and vegetation samples and gamma radiation measurements were collected at EZ2 in 2015/2016 to characterize pre-mining chemical concentrations and distribution of surface radiation. Soil samples were collected in 2018 to characterize pre-mining infiltration and chemical characteristics of the shallow subsurface (the unsaturated zone). Additional abiotic and biotic samples may be collected in the future if the mine is developed.
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Click on image for a larger version.
Base map images are the intellectual property of Esri and are used herein under license. Copyright © 2016 Esri and its licensors. All rights reserved.
Activities listed below are scientific research studies occurring at this site. Studies within the Grand Canyon region are grouped by theme and each theme has specific tasks (referenced by task number).
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Sources:
1 Ross, D.A., and Moreton, Christopher, 2012, Technical report on the EZ1 and EZ2 breccia pipes, Arizona Strip district, U.S.A.: NI 43-101 Report prepared by Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. for Energy Fuels Inc., 92 p.
2 Alpine, Andrea E., ed., 2010, Hydrological, geological, and biological site characterization of breccia pipe uranium deposits in northern Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010—5025, 353 p., 1 pl., scale 1:375,000
