South Dakota’s Black Hills have a long history with mining and a renewed interest is spurring new proposals, as conservation groups issue warnings about disrupting what many consider a treasured landscape.
A specific project in play would allow exploration drilling for uranium near Craven Canyon. Dakota Rural Action is supporting the dozens of interveners pushing for state regulators to not greenlight this type of mining.
Rebecca Terk, organizer for the advocacy group, is not swayed by arguments from project supporters. Backers cited growing energy demand and the need to dig for minerals used for low-carbon sources.
“Uranium and nuclear energy are not a ‘clean’ energy,” Terk pointed out. “Maybe they are coming out of the stack but the mining process is incredibly dangerous to the people who do it and to the people who live around it.”
Dakota Rural Action said the project threatens the health of water supplies, endangered species and agricultural production, along with cultural sites recognized by the Lakota Sioux people. Supporters and opponents are preparing their arguments for more public hearings led by the state Board of Minerals and Environment. Project developers tout local economic benefits and they argued nuclear energy can help with global climate goals.
Whether it’s the tourism draw of the Black Hills’ scenery or their significance to the Lakota people, Terk stressed the coalition opposed to the project wants to preserve these lands as much as possible.
“For Native and non-Native people alike, I think the recognition of the importance of this landscape and the sacred nature of it is, you know, really foremost in many of our minds.”
There is a separate uranium project also up for consideration in this area near the southern edge of Black Hills National Forest. The plan needs state and federal approval, with the Trump administration giving it a classification meant to speed up the permitting process. This part of the country is seeing what industry observers call a second “gold rush,” as multiple companies want to be part of it.