Cover Story Breakbulk & Project Cargo uranium mine in Utah became the first project greenlit under the expedited process— obtaining federal approval in less than 14 days.
The administration is also seeking to fast-track multiple uranium mining projects in New Mexico, including Energy Fuels’ Roca Honda mine.
Energy Fuels has reopened three mines in Arizona and Utah, and Casey said Energy Fuels has mines in varying stages of development in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
Constructing those mines will call for drilling structures and heavy equipment such as bulldozers and forklifts, which could translate to roll-on, roll-off( ro / ro) cargo.
“ There are different types of mines, so they will require different types of equipment,” Casey said.
DHL Industrial Projects has been putting the pieces in place for the company to support a resurgence of uranium mining in the US. In June 2024, DHL relocated Erasmus from the UK to Phoenix, with the company citing the“ strategic importance of proximity to key mining operations in the Southwest US.”
Edlow said that compared to enrichment plant development, project cargo activity related to uranium mine development will be less significant because of the mining technique uranium mines rely on. Unlike vast underground mines, a large number of uranium mines in the US rely on a process known as in situ recovery( ISR), or solution mining, in which minerals are dissolved, pumped to the surface, and recovered.
“ New enrichment plants will be big for cargo. Those are huge components weighing hundreds of tons each.”
“ You’ re not looking at huge projects for that part of the fuel cycle,” Edlow said.
But as plant development picks up, it will be a different story, and equipment will need to come in from overseas.
“ The need for project cargo is going to be much, much bigger,” he said.
email: autumn @ autumngiusti. com
www. joc. com September 2025 | Journal of Commerce 9