The Quivira Mining Corporation (sometimes spelled Quivera) was a uranium mining company owned by Kerr-McGee. It was established in 1983. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
In 1983 Quivira became operator of Kerr-McGee's old 1958 uranium mill at Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico. [2] The mill operated until 2002. From 1966 to 2002, the mill processed uranium ore and recovered mine water from mines in the area. [2] Tailings disposal cells and evaporation ponds constructed in the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and 00s were used for byproduct materials, process water, uranium tailings, and rad waste while maintaining environmental safety and regulatory compliance. [8]
In 1989 Quivira was bought by Rio Algom Mining, [4] which was then bought by Billiton in 2000. [6] Billiton then merged with BHP to form BHP Billiton in 2001. [7] Rio Algom was then bought from BHP Billiton by Uranium Resources in 2007. [5] In June, 2008 Uranium Resources announced it would terminate the agreement to purchase Rio Algom Mining from BHP Billiton. [9]
Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium capital of the world," Elliot Lake has since diversified to a hub for forest harvesting, mine reclamation expertise, exporting glass awards and telescoping equipment for mining. Elliot Lake is now known as a place for affordable retirement living, waterfront cottage lots and as a four-season destination.
BHP, formerly known as BHP Billiton, is the trading entity of BHP Group Limited and BHP Group plc, an Anglo-Australian multinational mining, metals and petroleum dual-listed public company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an American energy company involved in oil exploration, production of crude oil, natural gas, perchlorate and uranium mining and milling in various countries. On June 23, 2006, Anadarko Petroleum acquired Kerr-McGee in an all-cash transaction totaling $16.5 billion plus $2.6 billion in debt and all operations moved from their base in Oklahoma, United States.
Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational and the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation, behind BHP, producing iron ore, copper, diamonds, gold and uranium. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto, in Huelva, Spain, from the Spanish government. Since then, the company has grown through a long series of mergers and acquisitions to place itself among the world leaders in the production of many commodities, including aluminium, iron ore, copper, uranium and diamonds. Although primarily focused on extraction of minerals, Rio Tinto also has significant operations in refining, particularly for refining bauxite and iron ore. Rio Tinto has joint head offices in London and Melbourne.
WMC Resources Limited was an Australian diversified mining company.
The Ok Tedi Mine is an open-pit copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea located near the headwaters of the Ok Tedi River, in the Star Mountains Rural LLG of the North Fly District of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea.
Rio Algom was a mining corporation that was purchased by Billiton in 2000 and is now part of BHP.
Paladin Energy Ltd is a Western Australian based uranium production company.
Uranium mining in New Mexico was a significant industry from the early 1950s until the early 1980s. Although New Mexico has the second largest identified uranium ore reserves of any state in the United States, no uranium ore has been mined in New Mexico since 1998.
The Milliken Mine is an abandoned uranium mine located approximately 2.5 km northeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and its tailings facility is currently undergoing environmental monitoring by Denison Environmental Services as part of the monitoring of the Stanleigh Mine and tailings facility.
The Pronto Mine is an historical uranium mine located approximately 20 km south of Elliot Lake, Ontario near Spragge. The site is owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd, has been rehabilitated and is currently undergoing environmental monitoring.
The Buckles Mine is an historical uranium mine located approximately 4.5 km southeast of Elliot Lake, Ontario, owned and operated by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated. Environmental monitoring is ongoing as part of the monitoring for the nearby Nordic Mine.
The Nordic Mine, is an abandoned uranium mine in the Elliot Lake area of Ontario, owned by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and its tailings facility is currently undergoing environmental monitoring by Denison Environmental Services.
The Lacnor Mine, is an abandoned uranium mine in the Elliot Lake area of Ontario, owned by Rio Algom Ltd. The site has been rehabilitated and its tailings facility is currently undergoing environmental monitoring by Denison Environmental Services.
Radioactive ores were first extracted in South Australia at Radium Hill in 1906 and Mount Painter in 1911. 2,000 tons of ore were treated to recover radium for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of uranium were also produced for use in ceramic glazes.
The Church Rock uranium mill spill occurred in the U.S. state of New Mexico on July 16, 1979, when United Nuclear Corporation's tailings disposal pond at its uranium mill in Church Rock breached its dam. The accident remains the largest release of radioactive material in U.S. history, having released more radioactivity than the Three Mile Island accident four months earlier.
Sequoyah Fuels Corporation owned and operated a uranium processing plant near Gore, Oklahoma. The company was created in 1983 as a subsidiary of Kerr-McGee. In 1988 it was sold to General Atomics.
Ambrosia Lake is a uranium mining district in McKinley and Cibola counties in New Mexico north of Grants that was heavily mined for uranium starting in the 1950s. It is in an anticlinal dome.
The Yeelirrie uranium project is a uranium deposit located approximately 70 km southwest of Wiluna, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The name Yeelirrie is taken from the local sheep station.
The Olympic Dam mine is a large poly-metallic underground mine located in South Australia, 550 km (341.75 mi) NNW of Adelaide. It is the fourth largest copper deposit and the largest known single deposit of uranium in the world. Copper is the largest contributor to total revenue, accounting for approximately 70% of the mine's revenue, with the remaining 25% from uranium, and around 5% from silver and gold. BHP has owned and operated the mine since 2005. The mine was previously owned by Western Mining Corporation.