Quivira Uranium Mill Site and Disposal Cell, New Mexico

For many years the largest uranium mill in the nation operated here, in the center of one of the largest uranium mining areas in the country. It operated from 1958 to 1985, though it continued to mine uranium from the groundwater inside the flooded mines until 2002. At its peak, the mill processed 7,000 tons of ore per day. The mine/mill complex was operated by Kerr McGee Nuclear, which sold all of its holdings to Rio Algom Mining Company in 1989. Cleanup of the operations at the site include the demolition and burial of the mill buildings and the tailings in an engineered disposal cell. Nearby is the Ambrosia Lake Disposal Cell, from another uranium mill.