BICKNELL, Wayne County — The Bureau of Land Management has granted Denison Mines Corp. an operating permit for a uranium mine in Ticaboo, Garfield County, the mine company president said Wednesday.

"This will be one of the largest underground uranium mines in North America," said Denison president Ron Hochstein, speaking to about 50 federal and state employees and lawmakers traveling in southern Utah on a bus trip for the Natural Resource and Development Coordinating Council.

The Henry Mountains Mine — called the Tony M Mine — was developed from 1977 to 1984 and, under the new permit will operate for at least 10 years. Denison has been operating the mine since May with an exploratory permit, Hochstein said.

About 50 people currently work at the site. About 150 people are anticipated to work at the mine in coming years.

"We currently have 40 homes being moved to Ticaboo," Hochstein said, and the homes will be ready in the next six to eight weeks.

Denison Mines was formed last December through the combination of the business and operations of Denison Mines Inc. and International Uranium Corp. Denison's holdings include full ownership of the White Mesa uranium mill near Blanding, in San Juan County.

Currently, about 50 percent of the Tony M Mine is flooded, and Denison is working on removing the water.

"It's a random room and pillar operation," Hochstein said, adding that the pillars will not be collapsed.

If there were an accident at the Tony M Mine, Hochstein said, the company has an on-site mine rescue team. The mine also can get additional rescuers within two hours, which meets federal requirements.

About 320 ore trucks will transport ore from the mine to the White Mesa mill. International Uranium, now Denison, has been on the hot seat with environmental groups since its request last year for the mill to be able to accept and process a new batch of "alternate feed" material, which the company describes as "uranium-bearing materials other than conventional ores."

The state Division of Radiation Control granted the permit to allow the material to be shipped to the White Mesa mill. The Sierra Club could have appealed the decision in federal court, but lack of money prohibited pursuing the decision further, chapter manager Mark Clemens said Wednesday evening.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board turned oversight of uranium mills to the state in 2004.

The company has received hundreds of thousands of tons of radioactive waste from at least four states and parts of Canada in the past 11 years. Out of the 18 previous company requests for amendments to the mill's license to expand waste processing, four out of 23 requested public hearings to discuss health and safety concerns have been held, and every amendment has been granted.