Uranium project may gain momentum in Datil Mountains with new owner

A uranium claim west of Datil has a new owner who says the Red Basin mining project is estimated to have a million pounds of the radioactive metal.

Canadian-based Myriad Uranium purchased the 86 load claim in November 2025. The claim spans 1,779 acres about nine miles west of Datil, 12 miles east of Pie Town on Hwy 60 and an estimated 10-14 miles from the Alamo Navajo reservation.

“We bought it for a good price and now we are going to advance the project,” Myriad Uranium CEO Thomas Lamb said. “It's a lovely project with half a million pounds of indicated uranium, and 1.5 to 6.5 million pounds of inferred uranium.”

Lamb said "indicated" means a higher confidence amount of uranium and "inferred" suggests additional, but less certain, uranium is present. He said the company must do further technical work to validate the full amount before reporting it officially as per Canadian standards.

The company plans to advance the project by updating and finalizing the required plan of operations to the U.S Forest Service to conduct necessary studies to validate uranium resources, he said.

“When we do, which could happen in the next few months, or we might wait until next late spring, then it will go out for public consultation and everybody can see what our intentions are,” Lamb said. “Everybody in the area will have the opportunity to interact, look at it, understand it and submit what they think.”

He said the company’s priority is to balance commercial mining interests with community and environmental responsibility. 

If permits are approved, Myriad expects to use the in situ recovery (ISR) method, Lamb said. He described ISR as a “silent mining” technique that minimizes above-ground disruption and community impact. Conventional mining is less likely but could occur; and he believes both would create local, high-paying jobs.

“Until there’s actual production of uranium, people won’t see us or hear us,” Lamb said.

Vice President of the Navajo Alamo Chapter Nigel Secatero said he had concerns about a project like that so close to the reservation.

“There’s going to be a lot of concerns, and for the chapter we’re probably going to be against it, I’m looking at the map, the wind blows towards the west so it's going to be blowing towards Alamo,” Secatero said.

Drew Goretzka at New Mexico Environment Department the state didn’t have a comment at this point. Eileen Dodds of the San Augustin Water Coalition said the group will follow the progress but do not have a comment at this time.

Timeline &Process

Lamb said there is currently no fixed timeline for project milestones or when mining might begin. The next steps are completing planning and regulatory processes, which could take months or longer, depending on various factors. He said he has confidence in securing the necessary permi but acknowledged there is no absolute guarantee.

“We just don’t know,” he said. “Things happen all of a sudden in this business.”

Dr. Virginia “Ginger” McLemore, the Lead Research Scientist (Economic Geologist) of

The New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, who has been involved with the area for over 40 years says the process is more likely to move slowly.

While Lamb is currently focused on getting the approval of an exploration permit from the Forest Service, McLemore said she expects that developing a uranium mine in the Red Basin area will be a very lengthy process.

“I doubt I’d see mining at the Red Basin in my lifetime,” McLemore said, “but I am in my 70s.”

She said the permitting process can be slow especially if there is considerable public opposition, but she acknowledged that if for example more nuclear reactors were built in the United States and more uranium is needed then the process could speed up.

"The reality is, until we see our country building more nuclear reactors, there's only so much uranium we need now. Granted, we're bringing in most of what we need from outside the country. That's why uranium has been elevated to a critical mineral, as far as the federal government's concerned and the DOE (Department of Energy). So maybe this is the time that we'll finally get something going. I don't know." 

She said uranium exploration and mining interest is very cyclical. In her career, she has witnessed several waves where uranium becomes a focus, companies start investing and research begins, only for interest to drop off quickly as prices fall or priorities change.

According to McLemore, multiple layers of regulatory approval and public involvement has to happen before a company can proceed from exploration to mining. The process begins with permitting, proceeds through exploration with regulatory checks and, if moving to production, requires extensive environmental studies and monitoring followed by planning for closure and reclamation. 

Applying for exploration permits through the Forest Service is the first step, which Myriad has not completed yet. In October 2023 Jenna Padilla, Forest Geologist of the Cibola National Forest, said Cibola National Forest found the operations plans from the former owner First American Uranium, incomplete, so they were unable to move forward with the environmental analysis.

According to McLemore, after Myriad gets approval for exploration from the Forest Service, then they’ll need to submit their documentation to the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division (MMD) in Santa Fe for review and permitting under the New Mexico Mining Act of 1990.

Environmental and Health Concerns

McLemore believes during the exploration phase there are “really no environmental concerns,” unless water is encountered, which would prompt another set of hurdles for the company. She said serious health and environmental assessments begin after the exploration drilling if mining moves forward, including a year of sampling, monitoring and multiple regulatory checks.

She has conducted research, compiled the state’s uranium mining database and frequently acts as a resource for government, industry and the public on geological and mining issues. 

“I've been kind of working on this since 1980 and Richard Chamberlain actually did a lot of the mapping out there (Red Basin Project area),” McLemore said.

McLemore has also played key roles in mapping, data preservation and critical minerals research projects including the Red Basin Project area and on Navajo Nation land.

Historically the Navajo Nation started mining uranium because they saw it as an economic opportunity that would help bring them out of poverty, she said.

“It certainly did that, but no one knew of or the government certainly didn't inform anyone of the potential health hazards,” McLemore said.

She believes people shouldn’t be scared of uranium mining, but should stay informed, monitor activities, ask questions, and use legal avenues to engage with regulators if they have concerns. 

“I really am neutral,” McLemore said, “I chose to live in this state and I don't want to get it messed up. I don't want these small mining companies coming in and making a bigger mess. And I've seen the mess that the state has had to clean up since then.”

She said most of the radon problems are in areas of granitic and volcanic rocks. 

“They're not around the uranium deposits,” McLemore said, “but they are scared, because they do hear of people getting cancers, and you hear all of what's going on with the downwinders.”

She said scientifically linking uranium mining – at specific locations – to cancer is difficult and public fear seems to become heightened due to past abuses or lack of information. She believes proper planning and regulation can address most risks today. 

“That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be inquisitive and they shouldn’t go out there and check on them when they’re drilling,” McLemore said. “The companies don't always care for it, but when it goes to the mining minerals division that's built into the law and all they have to do is say, ‘Hey to the MMD, we want to have a public hearing.’”

She believes water, not radiation, is a bigger concern. She said water access, rights and protection are pivotal concerns for uranium projects in New Mexico. 

“It doesn't matter what kind of mining operation you're going to do in New Mexico, you better start accounting for the water and start talking to the locals, because water is a big deal,” McLemore said. 

She said the Geology Bureau’s relationship with any company's interest in mining is strictly scientific and neutral. They are not connected to the company beyond offering expertise and being a resource for baseline geology and data collection. They do not report to the company or influence project decisions.

Red Basin Project History

In October 2023, First American Uranium, of Vancouver, Canada, had redrafted and updated a project plan for the Red Basin Project.

At that time Jenna Padilla, Forest Geologist of the Cibola National Forest, was the project lead for First American Uranium’s Red Basin revised plan of operations.

Padilla said Cibola National Forest found the operations plan incomplete, so they were unable to move forward with the environmental analysis.

According to Padilla, the purpose of the environmental analysis is to assess the nature and importance of the physical, biological, social and economic impacts of a proposed action.

At that time she said the Forest Service will consult interested parties and the general public on issues and concerns throughout the proposal and application review process. 

“The Forest Service recognizes the importance of National Forest System mineral resources to the well-being of the nation and encourages bona-fide mineral exploration and development. But it also recognizes its responsibility to protect the surface resources of the lands under its care,” Padilla said in 2023.

Padilla did not respond to a recent request for comment on the permit.

Historically the area has been explored and studied since the 1950s and several reports have been made on the area. According to Myriad’s press release, Gulf Oil and Occidental Petroleum drilled more than 1,050 holes in the Red Basin Project area in the late 1960s through the early 1980s, most of which are located within Myriad’s current claim areas.

According to the release, an Open-File report produced by the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Minerals (Chamberlin, 1981) indicated the Red Basin area could contain as much as 30 – 45 million pounds of triuranium octoxide, a molecular compound and a natural oxide of uranium. In addition, the deposits could contain significant amounts of associated vanadium, up to 1.64% V2O5, as reported by Bachman et al. (1957). However, Myriad said the studies are speculative in nature and should be relied upon as an indication of future resources or reserves.

Lamb said he is available to any questions or concerns from community members, he can be reached at 604-418-2877 or tdlamb@gmail.com.