Company Cameco | Country United States Financial year 2015 Opened 1991 | |
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Production 0.4 million pounds U3O8 Similar Fort Robinson, Legend Buttes Golf Course, Hudson‑Meng Bison Kill, Wildcat Hills, Fort Laramie National | ||
Crow Butte is a uranium mining operation located 4 miles southeast of the city of Crawford in Dawes County, Nebraska, United States. Cameco Corporation holds a 100% interest in Crow Butte through its wholly owned subsidiary, Crow Butte Resources, Inc.
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Map of Crow Butte, Nebraska 69339, USA
Crow Butte was the first uranium mine developed in Nebraska, and the only one in current operation. It was discovered in 1980 and begin production in April 1991. It is a roll-front uranium deposit, mined using in-situ recovery (ISR).
During 2015 Crow Butte produced 0.4 million pounds U3O8, 33% less than 2014, due to a declining head grade. Between 2002 and 2015, the Crow Butte operation produced 10.1 million pounds U3O8.
Reserves
As of December 31, 2015, proven and probable reserves were 412,500 metric tons at an average grade of 0.08% U3O8 (0.7 million pounds) with a further measured and indicated resource of 2.77 million tonnes of 0.25% U3O8 (15.2 million pounds). The developed uranium deposit at Crow Butte is being progressively depleted by production. To allow the mine plant to continue operating, three new expansion sites are under permit review by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, all within several miles of the plant. Material from the three sites will be transported to the central plant at Crow Butte for final processing.
Ownership
The Crow Butte facility was originally developed by Wyoming Fuel Corporation in 1986 and subsequently acquired and operated by Ferret Exploration Company of Nebraska. In 1994, Ferret Exploration Company changed its name to Crow Butte Resources, Inc. In 1998 Crow Butte Resources was acquired by Cameco Resources Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of the Canadian company, Cameco Corporation. Cameco is the largest producer of uranium in the USA, and accounts for 18% of global uranium production from its mines in Canada, the USA and Kazakhstan.