Bear Creek

Past Producer in Converse county in Wyoming, 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. Materials information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Ownership information
  15. Workings at the site
  16. Links to other databases
  17. Bibliographic references
  18. General comments
  19. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10080650
MRDS ID W031985
MAS/MILS ID 0560090108
Record type Site
Current site name Bear Creek
Alternate or previous names Bear Creek Project

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -105.61452, 43.28134 (WGS84)
Elevation 1554
Location accuracy 2000(meters)
Relative position APPROXIMATELY 32 MILES NE OF GLENROCK, WY ; 5 MILES EAST OF BEAR CREEK, WY., 1.5 Mile Radius

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Converse(county)

Wyoming(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Coal Draw South(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Bill(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Newcastle(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Antelope(hydrologic unit)

Cheyenne(hydrologic accounting unit)

Cheyenne(hydrologic subregion)

Missouri(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Wyoming Converse

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
6th Principal 038N 073W Wyoming

Comments on the location information

  • NEAR THE CENTER OF THE NORTH HALF OF THE TOWNSHIP

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Uranium Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • LOW GRADE ORE

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Carnotite Ore
Coffinite Ore
Uraninite Ore

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Unconsolidated Deposit > Sand and Gravel
    Rock unit name Wasatch Formation
    Rock description Wasatch
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Eocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Eocene

Nearby scientific data

(1) -105.61452, 43.28134

Economic information

Ore body information

  • General form STACKED FRONTS
    Thickness 21.34M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Geochemical Front That Precipited The Minerals Along A Facies Change From Coarse To Fine Clastic Sediments.

Comments on the geologic information

  • ARKOSE FROM LARAMIDE MOUNTAINS AND HARTVILLE UPLIFT

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant Yes
Year of first production 1977

Mining district

District name Southern Powder River Basin District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner CAMECO Corporation
    Home office Cameco Corporation\n2121-11th Street West\nSaskatoon, Saskatchewan\nS7M 1J3\nPhone: (306) 956-6200
    Year 2011
  • Type Operator
    Owner Rocky Mountain Energy Co. (A Minority Partner In This Venture.)
  • Type Owner
    Owner Bear Creek Uranium Co.
    Home office P.O. Box 2654, Casper, Wy 82602
    First year 1980

Comments on the production information

  • Past production was from Open Pit. As of 2011, area is under consideration for ISL. (see www.cameco.com and www.wise-uranium.org/uousawy.html)

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Surface
    Name of workings Open Pit
    Overall depth 85.34M

Comments on the workings information

  • 6 MAJOR PITS RANGING FROM 100-280 FT DEEP TO ORE. NOMINAL CAPACITY 2000 TONS/ DAY ORE SINCE EARLY 1979. PLANT USES LEACHING, ION EXCHANGE AND SOLVENT EXTRACTION TECHNIQUES.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • General

    www.wise-uranium.org/uousawy.html (gives owner as CAMECO, but this property is not specifically mentioned on www.cameco.com)

  • Deposit

    GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF WYOMING, WYOMING MINES AND MINERALS MAP, 1979.

  • Deposit

    WYOMING GEOL. ASSOC. GUIDEBOOK 1976, P. 231-234.

  • Deposit

    ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STATE INSPECTOR OF MINES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 12/31/80.

  • Deposit

    URANIUM AND PLUTONIUM, AND THE GROWTH OF NUCLEAR POWER, 1980-2030, ROSKILL INFO. SERV. LONDON, ENGLAND, PUBLISHER.

Comments on the references

  • MAS 0560090108 (newMRDS 10303244)had 2 additional unverifiable references:
    WYO. GEO. SURVEY OPEN FILES
    REV BY MILS 9-79

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit 6680 ACRE PERMIT AREA (1976); DISCONTINOUS CALCAREOUS CEMENTED SANDSTONE LENSES WITHIN THE ORE SANDSTONE.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JAN-82 Barari, Rachel A. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 18-NOV-83 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology REV U.S. Bureau of Mines MAS 0560090108 (newMRDS 10303244)
Editor 02-MAR-11 Wilson, Anna B. U.S. Geological Survey merged and deleted duplicate record MAS 0560090108 (newMRDS 10303244)

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusAbandoned since 02/11/1986
MSHA mine ID4801099
Mine name (MSHA)Bear Creek
Current operatorRocky Mountain Energy
Current controller (parent)Union Pacific Corp
Mine typeSurface (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