Momentum behind Wyoming’s uranium industry continues to build, with the U.S. Interior Department giving it a boost by officially designating this plentiful resource as a “critical" mineral.
"This should be helpful to Wyoming,” Fred McLaughlin, director of the Center for Economic Geology Research at the University of Wyoming, told Cowboy State Daily. "Listing uranium as critical should provide more focus on supporting domestic resources, including those in Wyoming."
The Interior Department, through the U.S. Geological Survey, published the final 2025 List of Critical Minerals on Friday, outlining 60 minerals vital to the U.S. economy and national security that face potential risks from disrupted supply chains.
The list adds 10 new minerals including boron, copper, lead, metallurgical coal, phosphate, potash, rhenium, silicon, silver and uranium.
"In 2017, President Trump set a goal of first identifying and then securing the mineral resources needed to bolster America's economy and national security,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. "The 2025 List of Critical Minerals provides a clear, data-driven roadmap to reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries, expand domestic production and unleash American innovation."
Burgum added that by working with the minerals industry and state partners, the administration is "ensuring that the minerals powering our energy, defense, and technology supply chains are mined and processed in the United States, which is becoming a mineral powerhouse once again."
The Department of Energy recommended uranium's inclusion, citing its importance in energy production and defense applications, while the Department of Defense also emphasized its national security significance, according to the Federal Register notice.
Industry Applauds
Scott Melbye, president of the Uranium Producers of America and executive vice president of Uranium Energy Corp., celebrated the decision as a turning point for the domestic industry.
"The Uranium Producers of America commend the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Department of the Interior for restoring uranium to the 2025 Critical Minerals List," Melbye said in a statement.
"This action underscores a strong commitment to U.S. energy security, ensuring uranium receives the same recognition and permitting certainty as other critical minerals, while aligning with President Trump's executive order to remove barriers that have long hampered domestic production,” he added.
Melbye said the decision comes at a crucial time, as domestic uranium producers are making significant investments and restarting operations to revitalize the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle.
Uranium Energy Corp. CEO Amir Adnani echoed those sentiments, stating that his company is "heeding that call with ramp-up and development activities at our three licensed hub-and-spoke production platforms in Texas and Wyoming."
The company is also advancing the United States Uranium Refining & Conversion Corp. to help restore and expand America's domestic nuclear fuel conversion capabilities.
Western Boom
The American West is experiencing a significant uranium mining revival as multiple projects receive federal fast-track approval under the Trump administration's domestic mining initiative.
In August, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council announced expedited permitting for major uranium projects in South Dakota and Wyoming, joining similar efforts in Texas.
Uranium Energy Corp.'s Sweetwater Project became the first Wyoming mining operation to receive fast-track permitting status on Aug. 1, positioning the facility to become what company officials describe as the largest dual-feed uranium facility in the United States.
"In my 46 years of operating experience in Wyoming, this is the first time that such a large portfolio of assets has been consolidated with one company," Donna Wichers, UEC's senior vice president of production growth, told Cowboy State Daily back in August.
The Sweetwater project, located 40 miles northwest of Rawlins in Wyoming's Great Divide Basin, features a 3,000-ton-per-day conventional uranium mill with licensed capacity of 4.1 million pounds per year.
The facility can process uranium through both in-situ recovery and conventional mining methods simultaneously.
A recent map from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows swaths of South Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota as potential sites for future uranium mining.
In August, Wyoming officially surpassed Texas in uranium production, marking a dramatic turnaround for an industry that has languished for decades under depressed prices and foreign competition.
The state produced 92,595 pounds of uranium concentrate in the first quarter of 2025, representing an impressive increase year-over-year and pushing Wyoming past Texas' 69,082 pounds, according to federal data.
Utah remains the nation's largest uranium producer at 148,856 pounds in the first quarter.
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
