Anfield Energy said on August 27 that it completed the first underground blast at its Velvet-Wood uranium and vanadium project in San Juan County, Utah. The blast followed receipt of a permit from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in June 2026. Velvet-Wood last produced in 1984, and the company described the blast as the first at the site in nearly 40 years.
Crews have rehabilitated the first 700 feet of the decline. Completed work includes rock bolts and wire mesh for ground support, road building, removal of waste rock, surveying, and installation of mine ventilation and utilities. The site now carries a primary surface ventilation fan with ducting, an air compressor, an air line, a water line, electrical power and communication infrastructure.
Construction of a water treatment plant and installation of a dewatering pump are close to complete. Anfield expects testing and sampling of the plant to begin within weeks, followed by a 60-day testing and reporting period to confirm the system works before dewatering of the historic workings starts. The company estimates the remaining portion of the decline will dewater within three weeks of active pumping, with two to three months required for the existing underground workings.
Velvet-Wood sits inside a hub-and-spoke plan centered on the Shootaring Canyon Mill in Utah, one of three licensed, permitted and constructed conventional uranium mills in the country. Anfield holds conventional uranium and vanadium assets in Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Chief Executive Corey Dias called the work "a concrete step in rehabilitating the decline and moving the project toward dewatering of the historic workings."
Source: GlobeNewswire - https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/08/27/3351891/0/en/anfield-energy-completes-first-underground-blast-in-nearly-40-years-at-velvet-wood-mine.html