Timeline: Uranium mining and Midnite Mine

1946: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission is created. The commission offers contracts at generous prices to spur development of a domestic uranium industry. 1954: Brothers Jim and John LeBret discover uranium on the Spokane Reservation. They and their partners form Midnite Mines Inc. 1955: Newmont Mining Corp. joins with Midnite Mines to develop the deposit. Dawn Mining Co. is formed. Ownership is 51 percent Newmont and 49 percent Midnite Mines. 1955 to 1965: Dawn Mining Co. sells uranium to the Atomic Energy Commission, the only buyer at the time. 1958 to 1965: Dawn provides an average of $1 million a year in dividends to Newmont. 1969: After a four-year shut down, Midnite Mine reopens to sell uranium for nuclear power production. 1981: Operations cease at the Midnite Mine. 1988: One of the mine’s open pits has hundreds of millions of gallons of contaminated water. Federal government raises concerns about water overtopping the pit. 1991: Dawn ordered to operate a water treatment plant to prevent Pit No. 3 from overflowing. 1997: Federal government starts negotiations with Dawn and Newmont for study and cleanup of the site in compliance with environmental laws. 1999: Spokane Tribe sues to prevent storage of radioactive wastes from other sites at the Midnite Mine. 1999: Midnite Mine proposed for Superfund listing. 2005: Federal government sues Newmont and Dawn for cleanup costs at the site. 2008: U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush rules that the U.S. government, Dawn and Newmont are each responsible for one-third of the Midnite Mine’s cleanup costs. SOURCE: Staff research, federal court documents