NUCLA, Colo. (AP) - A company that wants to build one of the first new U.S. uranium mills since the Cold War has won local approval and now needs state approval.

The Montrose County Commissioners last month issued a permit to Toronto-based Energy Fuels Inc. for its proposed Pinon Ridge Mill 12 miles west of Naturita and about 340 miles southwest of Denver.

The company is preparing to submit a 12-volume application to state health regulators, triggering a technical review.

Many area residents welcome the possible return of high-paying mining jobs. Several uranium mills operated in Western Colorado until the uranium market crashed in 1981 after the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island.
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