Nexus Uranium Corp. announced that it completed its plan of arrangement to acquire Basin Uranium Corp. on September 16, 2025, consolidating the U.S. portfolio under Nexus and continuing permitting at the Chord Project through Clean Nuclear Energy Corp (CNEC).
The Chord project, which is composed of 3,677 acres east of the Dewey-Burdock project in the Craven Canyon area. This area had a lot of exploration drilling in the 1970s and is a world-class cultural resources site. Union Carbide Corp. started mining in Craven Canyon without getting a state mining permit in 1979 and was stopped by legal action by the Black Hills Alliance (BHA), a regional nonprofit group. This mining was stopped because a local citizen noticed the movement of large equipment into the area and called the BHA. Now, we must move fast to protect this sacred landscape.
Click HERE to read more about Craven Canyon and these threats by CNEC.
The project lies in close proximity to Craven Canyon, a critical historic and cultural site of importance to Indigenous and ranching communities. Portions of Craven Canyon are on the National Register of Historic Places. A federal mineral claims withdrawal protects portions of the canyon from mining, as does a state designation, but CNEC wants to explore there anyway. An archaeologist who studied the site has said that the Basin/CNEC project drilling would be heard and in a sight line from those cultural and historic sites, potentially disturbing those studying or praying there.
The state public lands proposal calls for fifty drill pads and lies less than a mile from Craven Canyon. The federal lands proposal is a smaller project, with seventeen drill pads. However, it lies even closer to Craven Canyon—surrounding the mineral withdrawal area at the canyon on 3 sides.
In their Plan of Operations (application to the Forest Service), CNEC outlines two months of on-site activity, with 1-2 drilling shifts, 5-7 days/week. After-dark drilling will be accompanied by generator-powered “light plants” to illuminate the operation.
CNEC offers that the project’s “[v]isual impacts will be minimized by selecting drill sites that are not visible from paved roads or permanent structures,” which don’t actually exist in the immediate area. Their plan also includes trucking in municipal water for drilling from Edgemont or Hot Springs – barring that, they will use “readily-permitted sources” on US Forest Service (USFS) land.
The Forest Service appears to be preparing a “Categorical Exclusion” from environmental review of the project areas on federal land. This would allow the project to go forward with no further environmental review, despite its close proximity to an immensely significant historic, archaeological, and cultural site.
Currently, there is no provision in state law for tribal agencies (such as Tribal Historic Preservation Officers) to review or provide input on the application. Tribal leaders, area ranching and urban residents, archeologists, and Forest Service staff have fought to protect this area for many decades.
Please stay alert and watch this site and our social media for updates. We will need everyone to take action as CNEC’s requests for permission to drill in this special and unique area.
CNEC application for exploration of uranium on state lands adjacent to Craven Canyon is now a contested case. To go directly to those documents and notices for this case click HERE or https://danr.sd.gov/public/ccdocs.aspx?CCID=CCID123
Note: This link takes you to the SD DANR website for Contested Cases at https://danr.sd.gov/public/ContestedCase.aspx. There you can click on the highlighted Documents link under each cases listed.
If you get a ERROR notice at any one of the State’s link try doing a Refresh for your browser or try a different web-browser (Safari, FireFox, Chrome). You can also notify us at CONTACT US. Please be specific and include the URL giving the error.
Click HERE for those official documents, notices, and updates.
Update 8/11/25
The intervenors, including individuals, organizations, and tribes, filed motions in July to request a pre-hearing. In response to the intervenors’ request, the hearing scheduled for Aug. 20-21 has been postponed. Instead, a pre-hearing has been scheduled for August 21, 2025, at 11:00 A.M. CDT.
The pre-hearing will be held in Pierre. All parties and the general public may dial in to the conference by calling 1-605-679-7263, Access Code 123834098#.
Update 4/16/25 –
MAY 14 IS THE DEADLINE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND/OR INTERVENER LETTER (“petition”).
Clean Nuclear Energy Corp (CNEC) notice of intent to explore for uranium on state lands adjacent to Craven Canyon has been published.
Deadline to submit letters to South Dakota DANR’s “Minerals, Mining, and Superfund Program” to intervene, comment, and/or push for a change of venue to Fall River County are due no later than Wednesday, May 14th, 5:00 PM CST.
Craven Canyon is an inestimably important cultural, historical, and archeological site located in Fall River County. The canyon itself lies primarily on Forest Service lands, with some private holdings, but the state lands directly adjacent also contain important cultural artifacts and enrich the significance of the landscape.
Public comments and letters of intervention for the state hearing on this proposed intervention are now being accepted.
You can submit at Filing a Comment linked here.
Following are important documents you can review: Notice of Intent from the state, a fact sheet on the state land piece of this project, and the state law that describes on what grounds uranium exploration permits may be denied.
Documents filed on the CNEC exploration project are linked to here: https://danr.sd.gov/Environment/MineralsMining/Exploration/NewEXNIS.aspx
Rarin’ to submit your intervention letter right away? It’s actually not difficult.
What to include in your letter (“petition”) to intervene:
- Your name and address (an email address is useful but not required);
- Why you are concerned about uranium exploration in the Craven Canyon area;
- What action you would like the Board of Minerals & Environment to take (presumably to DENY the exploration permit)
- Any facts or information you may have related to the permitting of uranium exploration in the area (issues you may want to bring evidence on or ask questions about during the hearing);
- Your signature and the date
BE BRIEF. You don’t have to argue your case in this letter; just state your interest in participating and one or two issues you want the Board to consider. At least one of those issues should be related to the reasons the Board may lawfully deny the permit (see below).
Intervention requests must be submitted to the Minerals, Mining, and Superfund Program, 523 East Capitol Avenue, Pierre, South Dakota 57501-3182.” Intervener letters MUST BE MAILED! We encourage you to send your letter in on Friday, May 9, but if you can’t, just be sure to mail it by Wednesday, May 14. Send registered mail if possible to track delivery. Ask for the hearing to be moved to Fall River County or Rapid City.
Send your letter to: Minerals, Mining, and Superfund Program, 523 East Capitol Avenue, Pierre, South Dakota 57501-3182
Send a copy to the applicant: Resident Agent: Clean Nuclear Energy Corp. CT Corporation System, 319 S Coteau St, Pierre, SD 57501
Petitions (letters) of intervention are DUE May 14th.
Retain a copy of the letter for your records.
If you need help or have questions, please email DRA Organizer Rebecca Terk at: rebeccat@dakotarural.org
By law, the SD Board of Minerals MUST grant a uranium exploration permit UNLESS:
- The application is incomplete or fees & sureties are unpaid; or
- The adverse effects of the proposed uranium exploration operation on the historic, archaeologic, geologic, scientific, or recreational aspects of affected or surrounding land outweigh the benefits of the proposed uranium exploration operation; or
- The proposed uranium exploration operation will result in the loss or reduction of long-range productivity of watershed lands, public and domestic water wells, aquifer recharge areas, or significant agricultural areas; or
- The proposed uranium exploration operation will adversely affect threatened or endangered wildlife indigenous to the area.
“Any person may become a formal party to the Board’s contested case hearing on the permit application by filing a formal intervention request with the Board no later than May 14, 2025. The request should clearly state the intent to intervene and follow requirements outlined in ARSD 74:09:01 linked here.
Please feel free to forward/share this information with folks who may be interested.
12/10/24 – UPDATE – The “October Jinx” Exploration Proposal
Basin Uranium, though its subsidiary Clean Nuclear Energy Corporation (CNEC) has submitted plans for radioactive uranium exploration on state and federal public lands in Fall River County, less than ten miles north of Edgemont, SD.
The “October Jinx” exploration proposal, part of the much larger 3,677 acre “Chord Project,” straddles state and federal lands, with plans for sixty-seven drill pads measuring 60’ x 60’ each, and with drilling depths of up to 700’.
For more information and how to take action review and/or download the following PDF.
Uranium Mining | Dewey-Burdock | Chord | Wolf Canyon | Proposed UM Permits
Black Hills Clean Water Alliance 