Location
The Section 12 Mine is located in the southwest quarter of Section 12, Township 14 North, Range 10 West, and the Northeast quarter of Section 11, Township 14 North, Range 10 West, in McKinley County, New Mexico. The site is adjacent to the ephemeral Ambrosia Lake in the Ambrosia Lake mining district and 27 miles north of the nearest town of Milan, New Mexico.
Ownership and History
Cobb Resources Corporation operated this underground uranium mine intermittently in 1959 and 1962, and from 1974 to early 1982. The mine is currently inactive and is owned by Empire Trust, Inc., on behalf of Southwest Resources, Inc. (SRI). The financial interests, including reclamation of the Section 12 Mine, are being managed by Empire Trust, Inc. The mine property includes a mine building, hoist house, a main shaft, and two subsidiary vent shafts without headframes; piles of waste rock that contain low-grade uranium mineralization; piles of rock mineralized with uranium that were intended for milling; and soils contaminated by uranium mineralization. The mine property also contains roads, drainage ditches, and miscellaneous mining equipment. The Section 12 Mine is under the jurisdiction of New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) Mining and Mineral Division (MMD) with Mining Act Permit No. MK046RE that is discussed below.
Reclamation & Regulatory Jurisdiction
NMED
All Section 12 site cleanup activities are regulated under EMNRD-MMD with review of the Reclamation Plan by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). Although the site is adjacent to the ephemeral Ambrosia Lake, the mine was operated as a dry mine, and encountered no groundwater during operations, so no discharge permit was issued for the mine.
Regulatory Tracks
- No discharge permits or abatement plans are registered with NMED.
- The Section 12 Mine site holds a Mining Act Permit No. MK046RE (Director’s Order).
EMNRD-MMD
SRI applied for a minimal-impact mine permit from EMNRD-MMD in January 2014. The application was denied, and under the New Mexico Mining Act (Title 19, Chapter 10, New Mexico Administrative Code [NMAC] 19.10.5), the mine was classified as a regular existing mine, subject to the requirements in Part 5 of the act. Subsequently, SRI performed an economic analysis of the mine and determined that, considering the current uranium market and the limited remaining uranium resources, the mine owner would not be operating in the future, would not seek a mine permit, and is currently undertaking reclamation of the Section 12 Mine.
Following SRI’s decision not to seek a mine permit under 19.10.5 NMAC, MMD issued a draft Order of Abatement on Consent that SRI prepare a Conceptual Reclamation Plan (CRP). The CRP was submitted in July 2019 and MMD provided comments on the CRP to SRI in August 2019, which required SRI to prepare a Final Reclamation Plan (FRP). The FRP was submitted in compliance with the MMD Director’s Order of Abatement on Consent (AOC) issued in December 2019 by MMD and signed by Empire Trust, Inc., in January 2020. The order requires the FRP to satisfy requirements for a closeout plan under NMAC 19.10.5.506 and responds to the environmental standards of the MMD/NMED Joint Guidance for the Cleanup and Reclamation of Existing Uranium Mining Operations in New Mexico. The goal is for the site to be fully reclaimed. Currently, this site has an approved FRP associated with the draft order.
The Section 12 Mine reclamation objectives are:
- Satisfaction of the State of New Mexico Radiation Cleanup Criteria in Section 2 of the Joint Guidance for the Cleanup and Reclamation of Existing Uranium Mining Operations in New Mexico (MMD/NMED, 2016).
- Satisfaction of the requirements under NMAC 19.10.5.506A & B, 507A.
- Satisfaction of the requirements under paragraph 32 of the AOC.
Some removal actions have occurred in accordance with the AOC issued in January 2020, but no reclamation has occurred to date. Lack of funds and the Empire Trust being tied up in litigation with the estate has slowed reclamation actions. The Section 12 Mine site holds a Mining Act Permit No. MK046RE (Director’s Order). The next step in the Mining Act Permit regulatory track for Section 12 Mine is step 13, where the site is under reclamation.
Timelines for the Completion of Cleanup Activities
The estimated timeline for cleanup per the regulating agency (EMNRD-NMD) is estimated to be approximately five years.
Coordination Between State and Federal Agencies
The Section 12 Mine site is regulated by EMNRD-MMD with NMED in a supporting role. Section 12 Mine is not regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission nor the Department of Energy. There are no federal agencies regulating this site. Coordination with federal agencies is not anticipated due to unconnected regulatory jurisdiction at this site.
Anticipated Funding Requirements
Funding for all site reclamation, abatement, remediation, and long-term monitoring actions regulated by EMNRD-MMD are covered by Empire Trust on behalf of SRI, the responsible party for the Section 12 Mine.
There is no anticipated funding needed from the state or other entity for Section 12 Mine. Empire Trust on behalf of SRI is responsible for all costs associated with closure and abatement but there is no Financial Assurance currently held by EMNRD-MMD or NMED.
It is worth noting that Empire Trust may run out of money in the SRI Trust Fund before all reclamation is complete for this site.
Disclaimer
Site reviews in this report provide the reader with a general history and status of permitted mines and mills. For brevity, they may not provide all relevant details or agency actions related to each site.