Episode 10 of 12
Wyoming Uranium
Shirley Basin, WyomingUranium
Nuclear power and the domestic fuel cycle: America’s uranium comeback, from ISR wellfield to processing hub.
The History
Uranium joined Wyoming’s story in the 1950s, when discoveries in the Pumpkin Buttes, Gas Hills, and Shirley Basin set off a Cold War staking frenzy. Wyoming has led the nation in uranium ever since and holds the largest uranium reserves of any state. Modern operations use in-situ recovery, circulating solution through wells, so a working mine can look like a quiet field of pipes and wellheads, and demand from reactors has put the state back at the center of American energy security.
The Dream Tour List for This Leg
The stops and companies we want on camera as the convoy works this ground. Proposed, not confirmed bookings, and growing as the dream tour list fills in.
Ur-Energy · Lost Creek & Shirley Basin
ISR uranium from wellfield to yellowcake, on camera.
Cameco · Smith Ranch-Highland
Among the largest US uranium operations, in the Powder River Basin.
Reactor and SMR end users
Where the fuel cycle lands: the nuclear power behind the grid.
Want your operation on this leg of the route?
Hunting Hidden Treasures pairs every mine with the end users it powers. If your project belongs in this episode, let’s talk.
Become a Tour PartnerWho’s Working Nearby
Companies with active projects in Wyoming, closest to this stop first. Compiled from public sources, each with its own link. Appearing here reflects public mining activity, not a tour partnership.
WyomingWyoming · Uranium country
Ur-Energy · Shirley Basin ISR
ProducingShirley Basin, Wyoming19 miles from this stopUranium
Mining restarted here in April 2026, in the district where in-situ uranium recovery was invented.
Source →American Rare Earths · Halleck Creek
Drilling & buildingAlbany County, Wyoming36 miles from this stopRare earths
One of the largest rare earth resources in the country.
Source →Cameco · Smith Ranch-Highland
ProducingConverse County, Wyoming78 miles from this stopUranium
Source →Ur-Energy · Lost Creek ISR
ProducingSweetwater County, Wyoming84 miles from this stopUranium
Source →Visionary Metals · Tin Cup · King Solomon
Exploring & permittingJeffrey City, Wyoming91 miles from this stopNickel · Copper
Nickel-copper targets in the Granite Mountains, with a 2026 drill program funded by Teck.
Source →WE Soda · Westvaco and Granger trona operations
ProducingGreen River, Wyoming175 miles from this stopTrona · Soda ash
Bought from Genesis Alkali for 1.4 billion dollars in 2025, creating the world’s largest soda ash producer.
Source →