Company retains FAST-41 coverage, with the process expected to resume in May 2027
CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – Laramide Resources has requested a temporary pause in the federal permitting timeline for its proposed La Jara Mesa uranium mine near Mount Taylor.
Information provided to the Cibola Citizen on background by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council confirms that the project sponsor – Laramide Resources – voluntarily requested the pause to better align the federal permitting FAST41 schedule with its needs. The council told the Citizen it expects the process to resume in May 2027.
The pause does not remove La Jara Mesa from FAST-41, and it does not necessarily mean that the entire mine proposal or state and federal reviews associated with it has stopped.
FAST-41 is a voluntary federal program intended to coordinate permitting schedules and provide public information about major infrastructure projects. It does not itself approve or deny a mine. According to the Permitting Council, sponsors may pause their FAST-41 timelines while retaining coverage under the program.
Laramide had not responded by press time to questions from the Citizen about why it requested the pause, what work will continue during the pause, or whether the company still intends to resume the federal timeline next year.
The U.S. Forest Service and the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department also had not responded by press time to questions about whether their respective reviews of La Jara Mesa are continuing.
News of the pause was first announced publicly by opponents of the project following a Sept. 11 meeting of the New Mexico Legislature’s Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Interim Committee in Paguate, Cibola County, New Mexico.
In a Sept. 16 statement, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, the Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment and New Mexico Mining Watch welcomed the development but acknowledged that the company’s reason for requesting the pause remained unclear.
“The temporary stoppage of the proposed La Jara Mesa mine must be permanent,” MASE member Manny Pino said in the organizations’ statement.
That position represents the views of the groups opposing the mine. Neither the Permitting Council nor Laramide has said that the project has been canceled.
La Jara Mesa is a proposed underground uranium mine in the Mount Taylor Ranger District northeast of Grants. Laramide’s proposal includes underground mining and the transportation of uranium-bearing material to an off-site processing facility.
Community organizations have raised concerns about possible effects on cultural resources, public health, water, traffic and nearby communities. Earlier this year, MASE asked the Forest Service to recognize the organization as a consulting party in the federal historic-preservation review.
The La Jara Mesa development comes as a separate proposed uranium mine, Roca Honda, moves into another stage of federal environmental review. The Forest Service recently opened a publiccomment period as it prepares an environmental impact statement for Roca Honda, also located in the Mount Taylor Ranger District.
Nothing received by the Citizen indicates that the La Jara Mesa pause changes the schedule or review of the Roca Honda project. Public comments on Roca Honda are being accepted through Oct. 14.
The Citizen will update this story if Laramide, the Forest Service or state mining regulators provide additional information about the reason for the La Jara Mesa pause or the work expected to continue before May 2027.