response from Energy FuelsHere is the response from Energy Fuels about my concern about permits.
The Whirlwind mine is on public land managed by the US Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), but the impacts are not great because in general,
underground mines do not disturb much surface area and this specific mine is located in an area that has already been extensively disturbed by historic mining activities. We expect that the BLM can approve the project with an Environmental Assessment (EA) rather than an Environment Impact Statement. We will submit our Whirlwind permit application in mid to late June and the EA process can start at that time. A six to nine month EA process is typical.
The Energy Queen Mine in Utah is on private land so we will only need state and local permits for that project. There is very limited public participation in permitting on private land, so permit approvals can typically be acquired in 3 to 6 months after submittal of the applications.