Early vanadium-uranium mining in Monument Valley, Apache and Navajo Counties, Arizona, and San Juan County, Utah

During the period 1942 through 1944, the Office of Indian Affairs, U. S. Department of the Interior, leased four parcels of land in Monument Valley, Arizona and Utah for carnotite mining. Two leases in Arizona, Monument No.1 and Monument No.2, produced a total of 4,014 tons of ore averaging 1.87% V205. Another lease, Utah No.1, located on the eastern tip of Oljeto Mesa, produced nearly 52 tons of ore averaging 4.03% U308 and 5.50% V205. Since the ore averaged greater than 1.50% U308, payment was received for the uranium, in addition the vanadium. This represents the initial mining of uranium ore on the Navajo Indian Reservation. (13 pages)Documents in the AZGS Documents Repository collection are made available by the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) and the University Libraries at the University of Arizona. For more information about items in this collection, please contact azgs-info@email.arizona.edu)