The South Dakota Water Management Board has postponed a hearing on two water rights permits sought for a proposed uranium mine north of Edgemont, SD.

Powertech Uranium‘s Dewey-Burdock project would be an in-situ injection mine…pumping a chemical solution similar to bicarbonate of soda into the groundwater to dissolve the uranium, then pumping the water out and removing the uranium.

The state Water Management Board had set a hearing on the water rights permits for next Wednesday, but that hearing has been delayed at the request of some people involved in the case.

Powertech also has applied for a state mining permit and an operating license from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The NRC has issued a draft environmental review recommending approval unless a separate safety review finds reasons not to. The agency’s target for a final decision is next June.

Powertech has leases on some 11,000-acres north of Edgemont, but plans to mine only about 200. The company estimates the mine will produce a million pounds of uranium oxide a year for 20 years.