A startup that wants to turn Colorado's old uranium waste piles into a business is weighing Grand Junction, Colorado, or Moab, Utah, as the site of a new headquarters that would employ 118 people. The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved nearly $1.6 million in job growth incentive tax credits for the company, DISA Uranium Corp., on Thursday.
The project was submitted to the commission under the code name Project Curie, according to The Denver Post. In a separate account of Project Curie, the paper reported a $2.25 million investment and average annual wages of $80,039, 139% of the Mesa County average. DISA's proposed work centers on uranium waste piles.
DISA's business model rests on treating uranium waste piles left behind across the Four Corners region as valuable economic resources rather than liabilities. The region's legacy includes abandoned uranium mine waste sites associated with Cold War-era mining.
A License No Other Company Holds
DISA's position in this market is built on more than ambition. In 2025, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the company source materials license SUA-1605, making DISA the only company in the United States holding a multi-site NRC license to treat and recover uranium from abandoned mine waste across multiple locations, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. DISA had first submitted that multi-site license application to the NRC back in March 2025.
That regulatory foothold was paired with a proposed transaction announced this past August, when DISA Technologies and IsoEnergy Ltd. agreed to create DISA Uranium Corporation. IsoEnergy was to contribute its permitted, past-producing Utah mine portfolio and participate in financing for $33 million, according to World Nuclear News. The agreement called for IsoEnergy to hold a 33% equity stake. It also included a $105 million private placement financing commitment backed by an international roster of mining, energy, and venture firms, including Tembo Capital, BHP Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Valor Equity Partners, Evok Innovations, Halliburton Labs, and Veriten — a proposed transaction that implied a pro forma equity valuation of approximately $505 million for DISA Uranium.
NRC Review of Montrose County Site
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for DISA's plan to process approximately 1,656 cubic meters of legacy waste at the Mary Ann abandoned uranium mine site in Montrose County, and was considering approval of the PMN. The project involves establishing a radiologically restricted processing zone and transporting the processed fines off-site.
Just one day before the state tax credit vote, DISA Uranium signed a waste treatment agreement with Uranium American Resources, Inc. to process legacy waste at the Stateline Project, a cluster of more than 19 historic uranium and vanadium mines spanning Montrose County, Colorado, and San Juan County, Utah, according to the Junior Mining Network. Uranium American Resources will receive a revenue share from mineral sales while DISA remediates the property.
The company's reclamation process relies on its patented High-Pressure Slurry Ablation technology, a mechanical process involving particle collisions and differences in mineral hardness. Testing on Copper Mountain samples showed the technology concentrated 83.9% of uranium in 29.3% of sample mass and 90.6% in 37.5% of mass, according to Crux Investor.
Thousands of Abandoned Mines, Disproportionate Tribal Impact
The scale of potential cleanup sites is vast. More than 15,000 sites associated with abandoned uranium mine waste are in the western United States. Many abandoned uranium mine waste sites are on or near tribal lands.
The EPA and Navajo Nation EPA have conducted pilot studies using DISA's ablation technology at legacy mining locations, including Quivira Church Rock No. 1 and the Cove Transfer Station, to evaluate removal of radium-226 and uranium from radioactive waste, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Local communities and tribal authorities in the region remain sensitive to legacy radiation risks and the trucking movements that come with transporting waste off-site.
Demand for the uranium DISA hopes to recover has a geopolitical backdrop. The federal Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act took effect in August 2024, banning low-enriched uranium imports from Russia, which had previously supplied nearly 20% to 25% of the enriched uranium used by U.S. commercial nuclear power reactors, and unlocked $2.72 billion in federal funding to expand domestic nuclear fuel supply chains, per the U.S. Department of Energy. Nuclear power is also making something of a comeback as electricity shortages tied to data-center demand for artificial intelligence platforms push utilities toward a source the Denver Post describes as more reliable than solar and wind, and one that does not release carbon into the air.
Other Projects Approved The Same Day
DISA Uranium wasn't the only recipient of state incentives this week. The commission also approved up to about $2.7 million in job growth incentive tax credits for Project Otter. The project expects to create 237 jobs at average annual wages of $184,135, or 270% of the El Paso County average.
The commission additionally approved refundable tax credits for six television, film, and video game projects. Among them, The God Pack received a $2 million incentive and is expected to bring $6.6 million in spending to Colorado, with filming planned along Colfax Avenue, Broadway, and at the National Western Center. The project is directed by John Stalberg Jr., whose previous credits include Crypto, Muzzle, and Bad Hombre.
