For an in-depth history on uranium mining in the Black Hills region check out: Radioactive Legacy – the Rapid City Journal’s Uranimum series shows importance of oversight:

Four decades after its first uranium mining boom ended, the Edgemont area remains scarred by unreclaimed mines, buried radioactive waste and health concerns. The story of that first boom has gone largely untold and unreckoned with, even as regulators consider approving a new kind of mining in the same place.

Will the town fare better this time? Perhaps, if the lessons of the past are uncovered and heeded. Here, in five parts over the coming days, is the untold story of Edgemont’s radioactive legacy. – See more at: http://rapidcityjournal.com/app/pages/uranium/