Source: Buffalo Bulletin

By: Alex Hargrave

Date: Sept 05, 2025

As the Trump administration seeks to bolster nuclear power generation in the U.S., uranium producers see opportunity in mineral-rich Johnson County. 

Colin Healey, CEO of Premier American Uranium, which is in the process of purchasing a local uranium operation, called the current landscape a “nuclear renaissance.” 

An executive order issued in May by President Donald Trump cites a growing need for energy independence and access to uninterruptible power supplies for national security in its directive to revamp the nuclear fuel industry. In it, the Department of Energy is tasked with collaborating with the industry to construct 10 new large reactors by 2030. 

“That represents 10 million pounds of demand,” Healey said. “We haven’t seen a setup like this in the uranium space since I’ve been an analyst, where supply is tight and demand is growing.”

There is also growing demand in the private sector, primarily among technology companies with growing energy needs to power cloud storage and artificial intelligence, he noted. 

The first step in nuclear production sits abundantly beneath Johnson County’s surface – uranium. 

In situ uranium mining – an extraction process that leaves ore in the ground and extracts it using fluid, resembling an oil well – has long been a contributor to Johnson County’s economy. Like other minerals, it has been subject to boom and bust cycles. 

The Willow Creek Project, which includes the Christensen Ranch mine and Irigaray Processing Plant, has long been a productive uranium source in the county. The Energy Information Administration lists the mine’s production capacity at 1.3 million pounds a year. 

The operation sat idle for six years until it reopened in August 2024 under Uranium Energy Corporation, which purchased the assets in December 2021. The decision to revamp production a little more than a year ago was driven by several factors, including a rising uranium price, demand, nuclear development and political shifts in favor of domestic uranium production. The spot price of uranium is $74 per pound as of press time Tuesday. 

“The spot price is where we need it to be to keep moving forward, keep developing new wellfields and bringing on fresh production,” said Brent Berg, senior vice president of U.S. operations at UEC. “Obviously, we’d love for it to go higher and we believe it will in time, given the supply and demand dynamics for nuclear power. It’s certainly in a positive place for us.”

Recently, the company commissioned its first new mine unit at Christensen Ranch since it’s been back in production, Berg said. 

“That’s kind of a key milestone,” he said. “We’ve got fresh production now, and we’ve got fresh production feeding the plant.”

On top of that, the corporation’s workforce in Wyoming has grown to 65 employees, including 40 on-site in Johnson County. 

Searching for minerals

Exploration is well underway on additional uranium deposits in southern Johnson County. 

Energy Fuels Inc. is also drilling its Johnson County-based Nichols Ranch project and preparing for production as market conditions warrant, according to a quarterly report released on Aug. 6. The mine’s licensed production capacity is 2 million pounds per year, according to the Energy Information Administration’s annual uranium production report. 

Near both the Willow Creek and Nichols Ranch projects is the Kaycee project, which is owned by Nuclear Fuels Inc. Premier American Uranium is in the process of purchasing Nuclear Fuels Inc. and its flagship project.

Greg Huffman, CEO of Nuclear Fuels, said that the project is where the company currently spends most of its time, energy and money. Historical mineral deposits there measure 1.7 million pounds, he said. 

“But we think the potential is much bigger than that,” Huffman said. “We’ve got a real opportunity to make a new discovery, advance it, bring it through permitting and get it into production here.”

The company maintains a field office in the Red Wall Community Building in Kaycee.

“It’s really important for us to be part of the community,” which Premier American Uranium plans to continue after the purchase, Huffman said.

West of the Kaycee project, Nuclear Fuels also owns the TenSleep Project, which it expects to drill in late 2025 or early 2026, according to its website. 

County, state attract producers

What brings these companies to Johnson County is both the geology and the fact that Wyoming’s regulatory landscape is favorable for uranium producers, Huffman said. 

As an agreement state, Wyoming is the regulatory authority for uranium milling and mining, which means projects are permitted at the state level, according to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. 

Berg and Huffman each said that operating in the Cowboy State is advantageous. In Congress, both Republicans and Democrats have criticized onerous federal permitting requirements for holding up necessary infrastructure projects and introduced bills intended to reform the process. 

“Federal policies on permitting may not be as important in Wyoming as some of the other states,” Premier American Uranium’s Healey said. “What’s important is the federal-level prioritization of self-sufficiency and critical minerals.”

Another factor that makes Wyoming an attractive place to mine is the history of uranium production in the state, he said. Not only is there a workforce familiar with the industry, there are also other projects in proximity. 

“Being 12 to 15 miles away from an existing producer does offer you the potential to move into production much, much quicker, if you could collaborate and come to some sort of agreement for processing,” Healey said. “And if you could do that, it would come with substantial cost savings.”

Domestic uranium production is trending upward. A recently released report on domestic uranium production from the U.S. Energy Information Administration notes that uranium mines in the U.S. produced 677,000 pounds of uranium concentrate in 2024, up from 50,000 pounds in 2023. Last year, Congress passed legislation that bans Russian uranium imports into the U.S. 

“The U.S. used to be self-sufficient from a uranium production perspective,” Huffman said. “We’ve got a really long way to go. But under the right price environment with the right sort of government incentive, you can absolutely grow that domestic production. And we really want to be at the sharp end of the point in terms of finding new resources to be able to help.”

Thumbnail image: John Rupp operates a drill rig in the process of drilling and casing a new well on July 16 at the UEC Christensen Ranch wellfield. Several companies are exploring uranium deposits in the county.

Cara Penquite