Congressional Democrats have opened an investigation into the mining company Energy Fuels after its CEO and chairman bought thousands of shares of the company’s stock just days before President Donald Trump downsized the neighboring Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah.
The Denver-based company operates White Mesa Mill, the last conventional uranium processing site in the nation, which sat about a mile from the Bears Ears boundary before Trump slashed the monument by 90 percent last month.
On July 7, 2026, CEO Ross Bhappu bought 74,000 shares of Energy Fuels, the largest insider purchase of stock in the company’s history, according to a news release issued by Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee. The trade bumped Bhappu’s ownership to 41 percent. Board chair Bruce Hansen acquired 4,000 shares the following day.
Less than a week later, Trump removed 1.24 million acres from Bears Ears National Monuments — making the land av... Read more
