In 2001 the price for a pound of uranium cost less than eight items at the Dollar Store. By last year, however, uranium soared to $138 per pound, which has renewed interests from prospectors with an eye on Utah's cache of yellowcake.

Last May Mancos Resources Inc. presented the Utah Radiation Control Board with a plan to operate a mine that will produce about 1,200 tons of uranium per day. It's unknown at this point where the uranium would be enriched or even if the neighboring plant would use it or rely on sources outside Utah.

Canada-based Bluerock Resources Ltd. owns Mancos, which now has an office in Green River, and it has 12 "uranium properties" in Utah and Colorado. The Mancos mill would employ more than 40 people, last about 50 years and result in a $125 million investment in Utah, with an "optimistic" start date of three years from now.

The group Uranium Watch is keeping an eye on how the mill might impact water resources. The mill would need licensing from three state regulatory agencies, including the Division of Water Quality. A hearing on water rights protests is set for Aug. 27 in Green River.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com