CEDAR CITY — Roy "Pug" Urie may call himself an "old buzzard," but he's really an accomplished mining engineer, surveyor, local politician, loving husband and father of seven.

Urie worked at the Iron Bull Mine, located about 16 miles west of Cedar City, from 1948 to 1976. When it closed down, Urie started his own survey company. But he never forgot his experiences working at the iron mine.

"Working there was a lot of fun," said Urie, who at 88 says his buddies who worked at the old mine with him are "in their 80s now or a little better."

Urie's responsibilities included locating the iron-ore claims, laying out exploration drilling plans, determining the amount of explosives to use and designing the mine pits based on information gleaned from the drilling.

"It was the best job in the county, as far as payday goes," he said, adding the fact that he's colorblind didn't cause him any grief on this particular job. "Something different happened every day."

Although the mine reopened for several years under Geneva Steel, it was closed for good in 1996. The resulting economic ripple effect radiated throughout the county, said Bryan Dangerfield, Iron County's economic-development director, depressing the region and its residents.

The mine's new owners, Salt Lake City-based Palladon Ventures Ltd., purchased the idled 6,600-acre open-pit mine a little more than a year ago and resumed operations last month. About 25 people were hired initially, but up to 120 employees could be hired within a year, according to a company news release.

"This is a historic day as we have resumed the mining of ore at Iron Mountain," said Donald G. Foot Jr., Palladon's president and chief executive officer. "After spending the last few years working to get to this point, it is wonderful to see the production of iron ore once again come from the mine. We truly have helped to put the iron back into Iron County, Utah."

A "grand blast" ceremony is scheduled at the mine on Thursday to celebrate the return of iron-ore mining to Iron County. Community members who want to attend must call 435-586-2770 to secure a spot at the event and meet mine-safety regulations.

The mine "was a big part of the psyche of the people living and working in Iron County," said Dangerfield. "The fact that the iron mine is coming back now is a very positive thing. There's a psychological component to having the iron mine reopened."

According to company officials, Palladon's plans include mining, processing and shipping approximately 2 million tons of iron-ore concentrate each year and sending it by rail to the West Coast. From there, the iron ore will be shipped to China, where a Chinese firm has agreed to purchase more than $1 billion in high-grade ore over the next five years.

Urie, who still wears his hard hat, plans on heading over to his old digging grounds Thursday to celebrate the mine's reopening.

"That mine was the whole economic body of the county," Urie said. "If it hadn't been for the iron mines, we wouldn't have had our schools and other businesses. It was a god-send."

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com