Canadian-based company seeks exploratory permit to drill uranium in northern New Mexico
—Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
A Vancouver-based uranium company is seeking federal approval to conduct exploratory uranium drilling within the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.
Gamma Resources Ltd. issued a notice of intent late last month to the Carson National Forest, proposing to drill up to 12 exploratory boreholes up to 500 feet deep near Canjilon, N.M., forest spokesperson Zach Behrens told Source NM on Wednesday. Canjilon is about 20 miles north of Ghost Ranch in Abiquíu, common landscapes in famed artist Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings.
If the Forest Service approves the Gamma exploratory project, the company will also build temporary drill pads, carve roughly 800 feet of new roads to drill sites and do other “short-term staging” for a roughly 30-day operation, Behrens said.
Gamma Resources did not respond to a Source NM’s email and phone call Wednesday seeking comment. However, on its website, the company states it hopes to extract uranium from a four-mile stretch of uranium-rich deposits in the Chama Basin as part of what it has dubbed the “Mesa Arc Project.”
The company also published an investor presentation dated March 2026 that notes New Mexico’s “historical deposits remain idle due to past market conditions, representing low-hanging fruit for resource growth.” In addition to the “Mesa Arc Project,” the company is also seeking investors for another development it dubbed the “Green River Project” in Southwest Utah.
According to the company, “historic work” has identified nearly 3 million pounds of triuranium octoxide, commonly known as “yellowcake” uranium, in the area it seeks to drill.
Ultimately, the company seeks to drill between 10 and 12 6,500-feet holes to extract uranium, and it anticipates beginning drilling as early as next month, subject to Forest Service approvals. Last week, the company announced it had hired an environmental consulting firm to conduct a resource survey in the area and to ensure the company meets federal cultural resource protection regulations.
“Management believes the Company is uniquely positioned to benefit from the unprecedented policy and market tailwinds reshaping the U.S. nuclear landscape,” Gamma officials wrote in a news release March 16.
Behrens, however, noted that the Forest Service has only begun its review of the Gamma’s “notice of intent” filed with the agency on Feb. 23. The review will determine whether the uranium exploration would cause “significant surface disturbance” and therefore require a full environmental review under the federal National Environmental Policy Act review.
If a NEPA review is necessary, the Forest Service would begin a scoping report, consulting local governments, conservation districts, acequias, grazing permittees and the public at large “to identify environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic considerations,” Behrens said in an email Wednesday.
“The Forest Service is committed to a transparent, science‑based process as required under federal minerals and NEPA regulations,” he wrote.
The proposal marks the latest sign of renewed interest in uranium mining in New Mexico amid a spike in uranium prices and President Donald Trump’s push to expand domestic energy production.
Early in Trump’s second term, the Cibola National Forest deemed two long-dormant uranium mines near Mount Taylor as “priority projects,” and a federal permitting council has sought to fast-track the mine’s federal approvals. Companies behind both mines have since made steady progress on both state and federal permitting applications.
Moises Morales, a Rio Arriba County commissioner who lives in Canjilon, told Source NM on Tuesday that he learned about the proposal last month during a meeting with Forest Service officials. He said he is adamantly opposed to the project and is already mobilizing opposition.
“We’re against it,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of bad things happening in the Navajo Nation, how they lost their animals and all those people got sick with cancer. I don’t want to see that anymore.”
In addition to being a commissioner, Morales is a longtime advocate for land grant heirs in the area who lost their land to the federal Forest Service and private interests when New Mexico became part of the United States more than a century ago. He said new uranium mining on the former land grant would constitute the latest federal abuse of land it stole from rightful owners.
“You can go back to the beginning of time, and the same thing they did to our grandparents they’re doing to us right now,” he said.
NM environment officials will hold public hearing on Project Jupiter air permits, push back decision
—Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico environment officials will be holding a public hearing on air quality permits for controversial data center Project Jupiter, and pushing back a decision on those permits by several months, Source NM has learned.
Environment Secretary James Kenney approved the public hearing on Tuesday, following a request last week from two Southern New Mexico state lawmakers, who referenced high interest in the project among their constituents. Kenney, similarly, noted that the project’s air quality permits received more than 7,000 comments during a recent public comment period, demonstrating sufficient public interest to hold a meeting.
The agency originally had until April 22 to make a decision on the permits. However, in letters sent to Project Jupiter developers Acoma LLC on Tuesday, the state said it would push back the final decision on the air permit applications for the twin gas-fired power plants to July 21, due in part to the public hearing.
When reached by phone Tuesday morning, Dan McGuire, the operations manager for Acoma LLC, declined to comment, but said he would forward the request to a colleague, which remained pending as of publication.
Last year, Doña Ana County officials backed spending $165 billion in bonds to build the data center to train OpenAI and Oracle. In November, permits submitted by Acoma LLC said the private power plants may emit as many greenhouse gases as New Mexico’s two largest cities combined.
At least one construction project, a proposed 17-mile, $60 million pipeline to supply gas to power the data center, relies on the state’s approval of the air quality permits to move forward.
Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-Las Cruces), one of the lawmakers who requested a public hearing, told Source NM she hopes the people most impacted by this project will have “a real seat at the table.”
“7,155 New Mexicans spoke and NMED had to listen,” Rubio wrote in a text. “We’re glad NMED is recommending a public hearing and we will be watching closely to make sure it happens here in Doña Ana County, and done so bilingually, before any final decisions are made.”
A hearing officer, not the agency, will announce the schedule for the hearing, which will likely be held in Doña Ana County, NMED Director of Communications Drew Goretzka told Source NM in an email.
Unified Fire up to 500 acres in the bosque south of Belen — Daniel Montaño
The Unified Fire burning in the bosque just south of Belen and the Rio Communities in Valencia County was about 500 acres in size, and burning on both sides of Rio Grande as of 9:15pm Tuesday night.
The Valencia County Fire Department announced there were no structures damaged, though some structures are under threat, and Albuquerque Fire Rescue confirmed no injuries had been reported.
Evacuations are in place for residents of Lagrima Road, Rio Grande Stables Road and Madrone Flyway. State Highway 304 is closed at Sonnenburg Loop and Baca Road.
Shelters are available in both the Rio Communities and Belen.
The New Mexico State Forestry Division will take over command of the fire when resources arrive.
22 different state agencies and utilities are involved in the containment effort.
KUNM will update this story as it develops. Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg foundation.
BCSO: Deputy to be fired in alleged excessive force incident — Matthew Reisen, Albuquerque Journal
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office has decided to fire a deputy who is being investigated for allegedly using excessive force against a juvenile late last year.
BCSO spokesperson Jayme Gonzales said deputy Bryan Lassley will be term
inated following an investigation into a Dec. 3, 2025, incident that occurred outside the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention and Youth Service Center.
Gonzales declined to detail the incident but said New Mexico State Police investigated the allegations and the case had been forwarded to the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review and possible criminal charges.
“What is alleged in this case is unacceptable. Deputies are entrusted with tremendous authority, and that authority comes with a nonnegotiable expectation of self-control, professionalism, and respect for the people we serve,” Sheriff John Allen said in a statement Tuesday. “When someone wearing this badge loses control and violates that trust, it damages our community and it dishonors every deputy who does the job the right way. I have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior. If you cannot keep your composure and do the right thing when a situation is stressful, you do not belong in law enforcement.”
Gonzales said Lassley was placed on leave Dec. 10 after Allen learned of the allegations. She said BCSO had opened an Internal Affairs investigation into the incident but it “was paused once it became clear the incident required an outside criminal investigation.”
“Now that the external investigation has been completed and submitted to the District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff Allen is moving forward with termination action,” Gonzales said.
It is not the first time Lassley, who joined BCSO in 2020, has come under scrutiny.
In 2024, Lassley crashed into a car after an attempted traffic stop in the North Valley. An investigation found Lassley was driving 45 mph over the speed limit before rear-ending Alexandria Girard, 43.
Girard was fatally injured when she crashed into a brick wall after being struck by Lassley's SUV. Data from the deputy's SUV showed he slowed down and then sped up just before impact.
No charges were filed against Lassley in the crash.