American Atomics Inc. holds the Blue Streak Project in Montrose County, Colorado, a uranium and vanadium property within the Uravan Mineral Belt. The project is an advanced exploration and resource definition effort rather than an operating mine, with the technical report effective May 3, 2026. The property consists of mining claims in the Bull Canyon District, where mineralization occurs in Salt Wash sandstone units. The company has not stated a production timeline or construction schedule for any future processing facility, and the technical report does not identify a development decision.
Critical Data
| Parameter | Value | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project name | Blue Streak Project | Not applicable | Montrose County, Colorado |
| Commodity | Uranium, vanadium | Not applicable | Salt Wash sandstone hosted |
| Owner | American Atomics Inc. | Not applicable | Technical report effective May 3, 2026 |
| Development status | Exploration stage | Not applicable | Not an operating mine |
| Historical regional mills | Union Carbide (Umetco), Uravan, Colorado | Not applicable | Previously processed Bull Canyon material |
| Historical regional mills | Climax Uranium mill, Grand Junction, Colorado | Not applicable | Previously processed Bull Canyon material |
| Historical regional mills | Slickrock, Colorado | Not applicable | Previously processed Bull Canyon material |
| Historical regional mills | Atlas mill, Moab, Utah | Not applicable | Previously processed Bull Canyon material |
| Operating regional mill | White Mesa Mill, Blanding, Utah | Not applicable | Only mill still operating; owned by Energy Fuels Inc. |
| White Mesa process | Sulfuric acid leaching, solvent extraction | Not applicable | Extracts uranium, vanadium, rare-earth oxides |
| Reported recoveries at White Mesa | Greater than 96 (uranium), greater than 70 (vanadium) | Percent | Similar Salt Wash material from La Sal Trend, Utah; per Peters, 2014 |
| Regional mill under refurbishment | Ticabo Mill, Ticabo, Utah | Not applicable | Anfield Corporation announced and commenced refurbishment |
| Other regional milling activity | Sweetwater Mill, Wyoming | Not applicable | Acquired by UEC; currently non-operational |
| Other regional milling activity | Pinion Ridge Mill, Paradox Valley, Colorado | Not applicable | Western Uranium and Vanadium Corp. plans to re-license |
Overview
The Blue Streak Project technical report includes a recovery methods section that describes the regional milling landscape rather than a site specific processing flowsheet. The report does not present test work or pilot plant results for Ore from the Blue Streak property itself. Instead, Section 17 of the report summarizes where mineralized material from the Bull Canyon District has historically been processed and which mills remain available or are being brought back online.
Mineralized material from the Bull Canyon District has a track record of successful processing at several mills in the region. Those facilities include Union Carbide's Umetco mill at Uravan, Colorado, the Climax Uranium mill in Grand Junction, Colorado, the mill at Slickrock, Colorado, and the Atlas mill at Moab, Utah. The most recent facility to handle this type of material is the White Mesa Mill in Blanding, Utah.
Key Process Stages
The White Mesa Mill is the only facility named in the report that continues to operate. The mill's flowsheet uses sulfuric acid leaching followed by solvent extraction to recover uranium, vanadium, and rare earth oxides. The report notes that the mill's ownership changed over time. When Nuvemco shipped a bulk sample from the Blue Streak project, Denison owned the facility. Energy Fuels Inc. currently owns and operates it.
The report includes a recovery figure attributed to Peters, 2014, for similar Salt Wash material from the La Sal Trend in Utah processed at White Mesa. That source reports recoveries greater than 96 percent for uranium and greater than 70 percent for vanadium. The report presents this as a reported value from an external reference, not as a design basis or guaranteed performance for Blue Streak material.
Several other milling entities appear in the regional picture. Anfield Corporation has announced and commenced refurbishing the Ticabo Mill in Ticabo, Utah. UEC acquired the Sweetwater Mill in Wyoming, which is currently non operational. Western Uranium and Vanadium Corp. has plans to re-license the Pinion Ridge Mill in Paradox Valley, Colorado.
Additional Interesting Data and Summary
The technical report's recovery methods section offers a snapshot of milling capacity relevant to Salt Wash uranium vanadium mineralization in the Colorado Plateau region. The historical record shows that Bull Canyon District material was successfully processed at multiple mills over time, which indicates the ore type has been amenable to conventional processing routes. The closing of most of those mills leaves the White Mesa Mill as the sole operating facility in the region that has handled comparable material.
The report does not commit to a specific processing route for Blue Streak material. It does not provide capital or operating cost estimates for a mill, and it does not state whether the project would ship ore to an existing facility or develop its own. The regional context matters because the availability of milling capacity influences how a project might move forward, but the report leaves those decisions open.
The recovery values from the La Sal Trend processing at White Mesa are encouraging on their face, but they come from a 2014 reference and describe material from a different trend within the same Salt Wash host rocks. The report uses the word "reportedly" when presenting these figures, which signals that they are secondhand information rather than results from Blue Streak samples. The bulk sample that Nuvemco shipped to White Mesa is mentioned in the report, but no recovery results from that specific shipment appear in Section 17.
The status of the regional mills varies widely. The White Mesa Mill operates today. The Ticabo Mill is being refurbished. The Sweetwater Mill sits idle. The Pinion Ridge Mill awaits a re-licensing effort. The older mills at Uravan, Grand Junction, Slickrock, and Moab have closed. For a project like Blue Streak, the milling question is not about historical capability but about which of these facilities might be available when production becomes economically justified.
Key Processes
- Sulfuric acid leaching used at White Mesa Mill to extract uranium, vanadium, and rare earth oxides
- Solvent extraction used at White Mesa Mill to recover and concentrate uranium, vanadium, and rare earth oxides
- Historical processing of Bull Canyon District material at Union Carbide's Umetco mill at Uravan, Colorado
- Historical processing of Bull Canyon District material at Climax Uranium mill in Grand Junction, Colorado
- Historical processing of Bull Canyon District material at the Slickrock, Colorado mill
- Historical processing of Bull Canyon District material at the Atlas mill in Moab, Utah
- Reported recoveries greater than 96 percent uranium and greater than 70 percent vanadium for similar Salt Wash material at White Mesa Mill per Peters, 2014
Source: BLUE STREAK PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT MONTROSE COUNTY, COLORADO, May 3, 2026. Project website: Blue Streak Project
Consolidated report summaries
The following former standalone pages about this operation were consolidated here on October 25, 2026. They are retained for source traceability; dates and figures reflect each report’s own effective date and may be superseded by the current information above.
Uranium-Vanadium Recovery: Acid Leaching & Solvent Extraction
Uranium-Vanadium Recovery: Acid Leaching & Solvent Extraction
Source: American Atomics Inc. (2026)
Website: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/american-atomics-completes-mineral-resource-estimate-for-the-blue-streak-project-822378237.html
Critical Data
| Parameter | Value | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Throughput | Not specified | tpd | Throughput data not provided in Section 17; depends on final mill design. |
| Mill Power | Not specified | kW | Mill power data not provided in Section 17. |
| Target Grind Size | Not specified | μm | Grind size not specified in Section 17; typical for Salt Wash ore. |
| Head Grade | Not specified | % | Head grade not provided in Section 17; Salt Wash ore grades vary. |
| Recovery % (Uranium) | >96 | % | Reported for similar Salt Wash material from La Sal Trend processed at White Mesa Mill (Peters, 2014). |
| Recovery % (Vanadium) | 70 | % | Reported for similar Salt Wash material from La Sal Trend processed at White Mesa Mill (Peters, 2014). |
| Processing Capacity | Not specified | tpd | White Mesa Mill has existing capacity; expansion potential exists. |
| Energy Consumption | Not specified | kWh/t | Energy data not provided in Section 17. |
| Water Consumption | Not specified | m³/t | Water consumption data not provided in Section 17. |
| Operating Hours | Not specified | hours/day | Operating schedule not provided in Section 17. |
Overview
The Blue Streak Project, operated by American Atomics, Inc., is a uranium-vanadium development project located in Montrose County, Colorado, within the historic Bull Canyon District. The project targets Salt Wash-type sandstone-hosted mineralization, a deposit style with a well-documented milling history. Recovery methods for material from this district have been successfully demonstrated at multiple regional facilities, including Union Carbide’s Uravan mill, the Climax Uranium mill in Grand Junction, the Slickrock mill, the Atlas mill in Moab, and—most critically—the White Mesa Mill in Blanding, Utah. Owned and operated today by Energy Fuels Inc., the White Mesa Mill is the only facility from this group still in operation and represents the most relevant processing option for Blue Streak ore. The mill employs a sulfuric acid leaching circuit followed by solvent extraction (SX) to recover uranium, vanadium, and rare-earth oxides. Historical processing of similar Salt Wash material from Utah’s La Sal Trend has demonstrated robust metallurgical performance, with uranium recoveries exceeding 96% and vanadium recoveries reaching 70%. These uranium recovery methods provide a strong technical foundation for advancing the Blue Streak Project toward production, as the process flowsheet is proven, the infrastructure is established, and the permit pathway is supported by decades of regional operating experience. The combination of acid leaching and solvent extraction remains the industry standard for processing Salt Wash-type uranium-vanadium ores.
Key Process Stages
- Stage 1: Ore Preparation and Grinding – Run-of-mine material from the Bull Canyon District is crushed and ground to a target particle size that liberates uranium and vanadium minerals from the host sandstone. This stage ensures optimal surface area exposure for subsequent chemical leaching and typically involves primary jaw crushing, secondary cone crushing, and ball mill grinding in closed circuit with hydrocyclones.
- Stage 2: Sulfuric Acid Leaching – The ground ore slurry is contacted with sulfuric acid in a series of agitated leach tanks under controlled temperature and oxidation conditions. Acid leaching dissolves uranium and vanadium from the Salt Wash host rock, forming soluble sulfate complexes. This stage is the core extraction step and is designed to achieve the high recoveries (>96% U, 70% V) historically demonstrated on similar ore types.
- Stage 3: Solid-Liquid Separation – After leaching, the pregnant leach solution (PLS) is separated from the solid residue using a counter-current decantation (CCD) circuit or pressure filtration. The solids are washed to recover entrained solution and are then neutralized before disposal in a tailings storage facility. The clarified PLS advances to solvent extraction.
- Stage 4: Solvent Extraction (SX) – The PLS is contacted with an organic solvent containing an extractant that selectively removes uranium and vanadium from the acidic solution. The loaded organic phase is stripped with a fresh aqueous solution to produce a high-purity concentrated uranium-vanadium liquor. The SX circuit operates in a series of mixer-settler stages to maximize recovery and product purity.
- Stage 5: Product Recovery and Precipitation – The concentrated strip solution is treated with a precipitating agent—typically hydrogen peroxide or ammonia for uranium and a separate precipitation step for vanadium—to produce a yellowcake (U₃O₈) and vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) product. The precipitates are filtered, washed, dried, and packaged for shipment to conversion facilities or end-users.
Additional Interesting Data and Summary
Beyond the core recovery metrics, the Section 17 recovery methods analysis provides critical context for the Blue Streak Project’s processing strategy. The White Mesa Mill, currently owned and operated by Energy Fuels Inc., stands as the only operational mill in the region with a proven track record for processing Salt Wash-type uranium-vanadium ores. Nuvemco previously shipped a bulk sample from the project to White Mesa, confirming the mill’s willingness to toll-process material from the Bull Canyon District. This existing relationship de-risks the processing pathway and reduces the need for standalone milling infrastructure, a major capital advantage. The mill’s sulfuric acid leaching and solvent extraction circuit has demonstrated robust metallurgical performance on similar ore, with uranium recoveries exceeding 96% and vanadium recoveries reaching 70%. These figures are well above industry averages for comparable deposits, underscoring the favorable mineralogical characteristics of Salt Wash mineralization. From an environmental standpoint, utilizing an existing, permitted mill significantly reduces the permitting timeline and environmental footprint compared to building a greenfield processing facility. The White Mesa Mill operates under a valid radioactive materials license and has established tailings management systems, water treatment circuits, and air quality controls that meet current regulatory standards. Economically, the high recovery rates directly translate to improved project economics, lowering unit production costs and enhancing revenue per ton processed. The solvent extraction circuit also allows for selective recovery of uranium and vanadium as separate high-value products, providing revenue diversification and reducing sensitivity to single-commodity price fluctuations. Additionally, the ability to recover rare-earth oxides as a by-product stream—as demonstrated at White Mesa—opens the door to a potential third revenue stream. Looking forward, the planned refurbishment of the Ticabo Mill in Ticabo, Utah, by Anfield Corporation, and the re-licensing efforts for the Pinion Ridge Mill in Paradox Valley, Colorado, by Western Uranium and Vanadium Corp., indicate growing regional milling capacity and competition for processing services. This trend provides the Blue Streak Project with multiple processing options, ensuring toll-milling rates remain competitive and access to capacity is maintained. The significance of these recovery methods cannot be overstated: they represent the technical bridge between the Blue Streak Project’s mineral resources and a marketable product. With proven processing technology, demonstrated recoveries, and existing regional infrastructure, the path to production is both technically achievable and economically attractive.
Key Processes: N/A
Target Commodities: Uranium
