CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The state Department of Environmental Quality has approved a deep disposal well permit for a northeast Wyoming uranium mining project.

It is the last permit needed by Uranerz Energy Corp. to begin production at its Nichols Ranch uranium facility.

The site is located about halfway between Gillette and Kaycee.

Nichols Ranch will become the company's first active uranium mining facility in Wyoming. The site will include in-situ recovery wells and a central processing plant. The company began construction on the site in August 2011.

The Associated Press reports that Uranerz hopes to start production at Nichols Ranch in the first quarter of 2013. The company is licensed to produce up to two million pounds of uranium per year.

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