Historical uranium mines are now federally prioritized critical mineral assets.
Executive Order 14241 designated uranium a critical mineral. The BLM conservation rule is gone. FAST-41 permitting has proven it works. A decade of regulatory friction has been removed in under 18 months. MotherLode CMI is the intelligence layer that tells you which sites are worth pursuing and which federal programs fund the work.
Two federally designated critical minerals. One formation. One scan.
The Colorado Plateau carnotite belt is the most concentrated intersection of uranium and vanadium in the United States. The federal record documents uranium extraction at these sites. It largely does not document vanadium. MotherLode CMI surfaces both, along with any additional critical mineral bycatch, from the same integrated data pass.
The Carnotite Belt
The Uravan Mineral Belt in western Colorado and eastern Utah is the densest concentration of historical uranium and vanadium mining in the United States. Carnotite ore contains both minerals in the same sandstone formation. Sites mined for uranium in the 1940s through 1980s left vanadium as a partially recovered byproduct. Modern extraction technology recovers both at commercially viable grades. CMI scores these sites for both commodity streams simultaneously.
Vanadium as the Primary Play
In many carnotite deposits, vanadium content by weight exceeds uranium content. Energy Fuels at the White Mesa Mill in Utah already processes both. The vanadium redox flow battery market is expanding rapidly as utilities adopt long-duration storage to pair with wind and solar. Vanadium demand forecasts through 2030 show sustained supply gaps. Historical uranium mines in carnotite-bearing formations carry vanadium potential that was never characterized in the original survey record.
BLM Land Access Has Changed
The Biden-era Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, which elevated conservation to a co-equal use of BLM land alongside mining, was rescinded on June 11, 2026. Combined with the FAST-41 permitting program and the uranium critical mineral designation, BLM land that was effectively locked for mining development is now accessible under a materially different regulatory posture.
The Bycatch Gap in the Federal Record
Most historical uranium mine records document uranium extraction only. The federal MRDS database, state geological surveys, and DOE DRUM program catalogues all reflect the commodity priorities of the era when sites were active. REE co-occurrence, vanadium grade, and other critical mineral bycatch potential at these sites is either absent from the record or buried in unparsed historical assay documents. MotherLode CMI's AI integration surfaces this data across every site in the corpus.
Five active federal programs directly applicable to uranium and vanadium site intelligence.
MotherLode CMI Grant-Ready Reports are pre-formatted for each of these programs. The site intelligence output includes program-specific documentation sections, citation-ready data, and direct submission alignment.
Uranium Leasing Program
Uranium · Federal Land · Active Leases
The Department of Energy's Uranium Leasing Program manages active mining leases on federal land in the Uravan Mineral Belt, primarily in Colorado and Utah. Lessees pay annual royalties and are required to maintain reclamation bonds. MotherLode CMI integrates ULP lease tract data as a priority data layer for sites in uranium-bearing formations.
CMI Relevance: Colorado Plateau sites in Mesa, Montrose, and San Miguel counties. Carnotite-bearing sandstone formations where vanadium and uranium co-occur.
Defense Related Uranium Mines (DRUM)
Uranium · DOE Database · Abandoned Sites
DOE's DRUM program has catalogued hundreds of abandoned uranium mines across the western United States that were active during the Cold War defense production period. These sites hold historical extraction data and are subject to ongoing reclamation requirements. The majority have never been scored for co-located critical mineral bycatch.
CMI Relevance: Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and South Dakota. Sites documented for uranium only. Vanadium, REE, and other bycatch uncharacterized at most locations.
Abandoned Mine Lands Program
AML · Remediation · Federal Land
BLM's Abandoned Mine Lands program targets public safety hazards and environmental cleanup at legacy mining sites on federal land. With uranium now designated a critical mineral under EO 14241, AML sites with uranium extraction history qualify for the same federal program alignment as conventional critical mineral sites.
CMI Relevance: BLM AML site inventory includes thousands of sites in uranium-active districts. CMI scoring identifies which sites carry bycatch value before cleanup commitments are finalized.
EO 14241 - Critical Mineral Designation
Uranium · Critical Mineral · FAST-41
Executive Order 14241 explicitly designates uranium as a critical mineral and authorizes the National Energy Dominance Council to expand the list further. Combined with the FAST-41 permitting acceleration program, uranium mine projects now qualify for streamlined federal review timelines. Dewey Burdock ISR in South Dakota received all federal permits within weeks under FAST-41 coverage in June 2026.
CMI Relevance: Any site producing or likely to produce uranium qualifies for FAST-41 expedited review. CMI Grant-Ready Reports include FAST-41 program alignment documentation.
Defense Production Act Title III
Critical Minerals · National Security · Procurement
DPA Title III authorizes domestic production investment for materials critical to national security. Uranium and vanadium are both named targets. Vanadium is used in high-strength steel alloys for defense applications and in vanadium redox flow batteries for grid-scale storage. Sites with documented vanadium co-production history qualify for DPA sourcing documentation.
CMI Relevance: Carnotite-bearing formations in the Colorado Plateau produce vanadium and uranium together. CMI provenance-grade output satisfies DPA Title III documentation requirements.
What changed in 18 months.
Trump EO "Unleashing American Energy" directs USGS to evaluate uranium for critical mineral designation. FAST-41 permitting program scope expanded to include critical mineral projects.
USGS adds uranium to the official critical minerals list. EO 14241 names uranium alongside copper, gold, and potash explicitly. Velvet-Wood uranium mine in Utah permitted in 11 days under FAST-41. BLM announces Sweetwater ISR Mine Plan of Operations in Wyoming covering 8,414 acres of federally administered minerals.
BLM rescinds the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule. enCore Energy receives BLM authorization to begin construction at Dewey Burdock ISR in South Dakota. All federal permits received. DOE awards $2.7 billion for domestic uranium enrichment to create domestic ore demand. DOI announces critical mineral recovery initiative targeting abandoned uranium mine sites specifically.
Most historical uranium mine sites have never been scored for vanadium, REE bycatch, or current federal program eligibility.
MotherLode CMI produces that assessment in hours. Every site. Every data source. Grant-ready output aligned to DOE ULP, DRUM, AML, DPA Title III, and FAST-41.