For well over three decades, the Navajo Nation and other Native American nations have been trying to combat Uranium mining, waste, and transportation across their protected lands. This mining and transportation of this mineral has been linked to environmental contamination, health concerns, and issues with justice for those living on the land and along the transportation route.
Historically, uranium mining took place in the Colorado plateau, which stretches across Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.[1] This mining took place during World War II and the Cold War when uranium was needed for military weapons.[2] Between the 1940s and the 1980s, as much as 50,000 metric tons of uranium was extracted from mines located in the Navajo nation.[3] However, by 1986, much of that mining activity ended, leaving behind uranium mines, equipment, and waste on a majority the Navajo land.[4] The radioactive contaminates of uranium spread throughout the air, water, and soil of the Navajo nation contributing to poor health in this region.[5] Radioactive contaminants spread through things such as drinking water, local food products, and even simple inhalation, causing a myriad of diseases and health concerns.[6] Lung diseases and kidney necrosis are the most common health effects linked to exposure to uranium.[7] Hundreds of former uranium mines were left as-is and continue to pollute the area where many Navajo natives live and harm western United States residents.[8]
Recently, the Navajo Nation created a contract with Energy Fuels Inc. allowing them to transport uranium from the Pinyon Plains Mine in Arizona to Energy Fuels’ own mill in Utah.[9] Energy Fuels voluntarily halted its previous transportation attempts across the Navajo Nation without notifying the tribe, and negotiated this agreement with the tribe for six months.[10] Transportation began on February 12, 2025, following a 14-day notice period as part of the agreement between the two parties.[11] This first transportation included between 2 to 4 truckloads, carrying several tons of uranium ore.[12] In exchange for this transportation, Energy Fuels has agreed to pay out the Navajo Nation $1.2 million and assist in the clean-up of around “10,000 tons of material from old uranium mines” at no cost to the Navajo Nation.[13] Further, Energy Fuels is expected to pay the Navajo Nation around "50 cents per pound of uranium processed" at its Utah mill.[14] And, Energy Fuels and its mining process follows "the U.S. DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), which regulates and ensures the safe and secure movement of hazardous materials.”[15]
The entire uranium transportation route covers around 320 miles and “passes through several communities in Arizona — many of which are within the Navajo Nation.”[16] As many as ten 24-ton haul trucks are expected to make the described route daily as their operations increase in the area.[17] However, this route has experienced recent accidents.[18] There have been recent accidents with trucks hauling uranium across Arizona, though no leaks have been detected.[19] It does raise safety concerns, however, because while the Navajo Nation does not control transportation on state highways, the haulers have a responsibility to operate their vehicles safely.[20] This sparks opposition from the Navajo Nation over ore transport.[21] According to Utah News Dispatch, “the mining company legally does not need the tribes’ permission to transport uranium ore through their tribal lands because it is transported along state routes.”[22] While there is protest over the new mining activity from the Navajo Nation, the United States’ needs grow for resources such as uranium. Generally, the new mining activity comes as the United States remains the world's largest producer of nuclear energy with over 94 nuclear reactors.[23] The U.S. is looking for reliable energy sources as the energy depends on growth to feed new data centers and artificial intelligence.[24]
The agreement between the Navajo Nation and Energy Fuels concerning uranium mining comes after decades of abandoned uranium mines across Native American land, and the agreement is not met with open arms by many.[25] Communities with a history of uranium rich land and once-successful mining operations continue to face economic dependency, political subordination, and health risks.[26] According to people within the communities that this transport route cuts through, there has been a lack of public education about contamination and safety protocols, raising many concerns for these citizens.[27] Further, there has been an increase in demand for more community involvement in negotiations with mining transportation.[28]
While the revival of uranium ore mining and transportation may be helpful in supporting the growing need for reliable energy sources and a movement away from fossil fuels, these sorts of agreements about transportation through indigenous land bypass community consent and Indigenous authority.[29]
[1] Malynndra Tome & Gregory Möller, Arsenic and Uranium Contamination on Navajo Nation Tribal Lands, USA: A State-of-the-Science Review of a Toxic Mining Legacy and Its Socio-Environmental Impacts, 12 ENVIRONMENTS 394 (2005), https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/12/10/394.
[2] Nadine Padilla, Abandoned Mines, Abandoned Treaties: The Federal Government's Failure to Remediate Abandoned Uranium Mines on the Navajo Nation, 96 COLO. L. REV. 675, 677 (2025).
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