Wyoming Uranium Mining Company Layoffs

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The owner of a Wyoming uranium mine has announced it will lay off a dozen employees and reassign several others, as uranium production in the U.S. nears historic lows.

Ur-Energy made the announcement Wednesday. The jobs affected will be at the company's two offices, in Casper and Littleton-Colorado, and at its Lost Creek Mine in south-central Wyoming.

The changes are expected to save the Littleton-based company $1.5 million.

Prices for the brand of low-grade uranium used for power production have fallen this year to slightly more than $20 per pound, down from around $36 a pound last summer.

The layoffs by Ur-Energy come after another uranium miner, Canada-based Cameco Corp., cut 85 positions in Wyoming and Nebraska in April.