Northeast Church Rock Mine

Producer in McKinley county in New Mexico, United States with commodity Uranium
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Ore body information
  10. Controls for ore emplacement
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Mining district
  13. Mineral rights holdings
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Reserves and resources
  17. Workings at the site
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10012280
MRDS ID D007827
MAS/MILS ID 0350310372
Record type Site
Current site name Northeast Church Rock Mine
Alternate or previous names N.E. Church Rock Mine, Northeast Church Rock

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -108.50897, 35.65671 (WGS84)
Elevation 2192
Location accuracy 250(meters)
Relative position ABOUT 16 MILES N 55 E OF GRANTS.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

McKinley(county)

New Mexico(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Hard Ground Flats(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Gallup(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Gallup(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Puerco(hydrologic unit)

Little Colorado(hydrologic accounting unit)

Little Colorado(hydrologic subregion)

Lower Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

BIA(Federal land areas administered by BIA)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States New Mexico McKinley

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
New Mexico 017N 016W 35 CENTER New Mexico

Comments on the location information

  • LOCATION OBTAINED FROM SHEET 1 OF GEOLOGIC MAP 31 NMBMMR, 1979.
  • Deleted duplicate record MAS 0350310372 gave location as SW of SW Sec. 35, with 35-39-17, -108-30-53 (NAD27) as within 500 m of main entrance.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Uranium Primary

Analytical data

Result AVERAGES 0.15% U3O8

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Sandstone
    Rock unit name Morrison
    Rock description Morrison
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Jurassic

Nearby scientific data

(1) Crevasse Canyon Formation

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form TABULAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Fluviatile Channel Sandstone And Carbonaceous Material (Humate).

Comments on the geologic information

  • ORE OCCURS IN THE WESTWATER CANYON MEMBER OF THE MORRISON FM.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1965
Year of first production 1975
Year of last production 1981

Mining district

District name Grants Uranium District: Church Rock Subdistrict

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Private Lease

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner United Nuclear Corp.
    Home office P.O. Drawer Qq, Gallup, N.M. 87301
    Year 1979

Comments on the production information

  • 745000 TPY

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1979
    Total resources 2000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Uranium U3O8 0.15 wt-pct Uranium Major 1979

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • AN OVERVIEW OF THE N.M. URANIUM INDUSTRY, 1979 N.M. ENERGY AND MINERALS DEPT., P. 76

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Overall depth 548.64M

Comments on the workings information

  • TWO SHAFTS PROVIDE ACCESS TO UNDERGROUND WORKINGS.

Comments on development

  • REPORTED TO BE A 745000 TON PER YEAR OPERATION.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    KITTEL, D.F., KELLEY, V.C., AND MELANCON, P.E., 1967 NMGS GUIDEBOOK 18TH FIELD CONFERENCE, P. 173-183

  • Deposit

    SCHILLING, F.A., JR., 1975 NMBMMR BULL 105, 69 PAGES

  • Deposit

    SIEMERS, W.T., AND AUSTIN, G.S., 1979 NMBMMR RESOURCE MAP 9

  • Deposit

    CHAPMAN, WOOD, AND GRISWOLD, INC., 1979 NMBMMR GEOLOGIC MAP 31

  • Deposit

    NMSMIR, 1974

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit Discovery Year: 1960'S

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-AUG-81 Menzie, David New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources
Editor 01-NOV-11 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey merged and deleted 10271893
Reporter 31-JUL-84 New Mexico Bureau Of Mines And Mineral Resources New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources MAS 0350310372 = 10271893

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusAbandoned since 05/24/1985
MSHA mine ID2900573
Mine name (MSHA)Northeast Churchrock Mine
Current operatorUnc Mining & Milling
Current controller (parent)Unc Resources Inc
Mine typeUnderground (Metal / non-metal)

MSHA cross-reference per the original MRDS record. Mine status and operator reflect MSHA's last published Mines export (February 2025); MSHA's public bulk feed has been unavailable since, so this may be out of date. See the Mine Data Retrieval System for current status.

Open MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System for inspections, accidents, and violations for this mine.

External references