Congressional Democrats have launched a formal investigation into Energy Fuels after top executives purchased thousands of shares in the company just days before President Donald Trump drastically reduced the size of the Bears Ears National Monument. The timing of the trades has raised red flags for lawmakers, who suspect that insiders may have known about the impending boundary shift, which stripped 1.24 million acres of protection from the landscape in southeastern Utah and potentially reopened those areas to mining operations.
According to records cited by members of the House Natural Resources Committee, CEO Ross Bhappu bought 74,000 shares on July 7, marking the largest insider purchase in the company’s history and increasing his total ownership to 41 percent. Only a day later, board chair Bruce Hansen added another 4,000 shares to his holdings. Less than a week after these transactions, the administration slashed ninety percent of the monument’s original footprint. Representative Jared Huffman and Representative Maxine Dexter are now demanding internal communications and lobbying contracts to determine if there was improper coordination between federal officials and the Denver-based firm.
Energy Fuels has strongly denied any wrongdoing, stating that its leadership did not engage in improper conduct and noting that their White Mesa Mill sits outside the monument boundaries regardless of recent changes. A company spokesperson emphasized that they hold no specific claims within the monument and follow all regulatory requirements for their facility, which serves as the last conventional uranium processing site in the country. They further highlighted their role in securing domestic supply chains for critical minerals, supported by a recent seven hundred twenty five million dollar loan from the Department of Defense.
While the company defends its operation as a pillar of national security, Tribal Nations and environmental advocates view the situation as a betrayal of sacred land. A coalition representing five Tribal Nations described the downsizing as a devastating blow to a living cultural landscape carefully managed through collaboration with federal agencies for years. Lawmakers echoed these concerns in their correspondence with CEO Bhappu, suggesting that executives appeared to enrich themselves at the expense of Indigenous heritage and public health risks associated with radioactive waste storage near vulnerable communities.
