Meanwhile, Uranium One's Shootaring Canyon mill, capable of milling 750 tons daily, was listed in "reclamation and standby" status as of the third quarter of 2007.

Utah Uranium Corp., Moab, announced in October that it had signed a joint venture agreement with Consolidated Abaddon to drill up to 50 uranium exploratory holes in the Henry Mountains near Hanksville. By Dec. 7, Utah Uranium said it had completed the first 10 drill holes in the project, known as the Pinto Project, and had sent material to a laboratory in Elko, Nev., for analysis.

Consolidated Abaddon Resources' Web site says it is earning a 50 percent interest "in the drill-ready Pinto Uranium project ... consisting of 6,800 acres in the Henry Mountain Syncline of east-central Utah."

The Web page adds: "Utah Uranium Corp. acquired the Pinto Claims from Ted Murer, PGeo (Professional Geoscientist), who discovered the nearby Tony M Mine, which contains 10,898,000 pounds of U308 (uranium). The Bullfrog Mine was discovered adjacent and north of the Tony M Mine and contains an additional 12,924,000 pounds of U308. These mines are now owned by Denison Mines Corp. and are collectively known as the Henry Mountains complex."

Don Houston, an Abaddon director and the manager for the company's part of the Pinto Project, said, "Our main focus has been to date northern Canada." The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission notes on its Web site that Northern Saskatchewan is the world's leader in uranium production.

Utah has had uranium production in the past. But what about today? "How significant is it in the world market? Small player, I suggest," said Houston, reached by telephone in British Columbia.

Still, he believes the Moab and Henry Mountains regions may present an opportunity. "It's dependent on the price of uranium, isn't it?" he said.

Many uranium properties are getting a second or third look because price increases make it economical to produce at a lower grade of ore. "If there's enough pounds in the ground to make it viable, somebody's going to do it, whether it be Denison or a small company like myself," Houston said.

Don Myers, another director of Consolidated Abaddon, said Utah's uranium reserves are not as rich per ton as Canada's but the low-grade ore is at or near the surface of the ground. Canada's uranium may be 2,400 feet underground, much more costly to extract, "but because the grades are so spectacular, it's definitely worth going after it."

Utah is starting to become "the next hot place" for Canadian miners and junior miners, he said. "Utah seems to be the next big play area."

According to Myers, many Canadian corporations are going into Utah and negotiating with "mom and pop shops."

Smaller operations need equipment, he said, and "there's opportunity for corporations like ours to go in there, help fund them for equipment" and split the profit. Meyers said Denison Mines is starting to accept uranium from such operations.

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E-mail: bau@desnews.com