Mining companies and local residents are awaiting Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s final decision to allow or ban hard rock mining for the next 20 years on approximately one million acres on the Arizona Strip north of Grand Canyon National Park. Surges in the price of uranium from about $10 per pound in 2003, to $50 per pound today are the reason behind more than 5,000 mining claims filed within the past five years. While most mined uranium is used for electricity production in nuclear … [Read more...] about Uranium Mining Tied to Regional Economy