The Glenrock and Coal Creek Mining District site (Site) includes historic mine features within several watersheds northeast of Glenrock, Wyoming where Tronox once operated. The Site is located approximately 25 miles northwest of Douglas and 25 miles northeast of Glenrock and east of Cole Creek within the southern portion of the Powder River Basin. There are approximately 115 named uranium mine sites and various unnamed uranium mines located in Converse County. The area has been the location of mining activities, primarily coal beginning from the 1880s and uranium beginning in the late 1960s. Many of these mines were shut down and/or reclaimed by 1985 because of poor uranium market conditions.
Coal mining operations continued through 2000. Oil operations have also been prominent in the Southern portion of Converse County around the town of Glenrock, and includes the Big Muddy Oilfield and the Cole Creek Oil field. Uranium production continues to the present day. To the north and northeast of Glenrock, uranium ore bodies were discovered in 1968 in the Highlands Flats-Box Creek District. Uranium deposits in this area are located primarily within Sandstone deposits.
EPA expects to conduct a Removal Assessment in the area in Spring/Summer 2024.
Photo is 1979 Kerr-McGee Bill Smith Mine Shaft (Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust No. 2376).
