Uranium revival excites industry veterans

 It is a radioactive metal with a funny name that is fetching 20-year-high prices, reopening mines across the West and catching the attention of everyone from Wyoming mining veterans to Wall Street stockbrokers.

It was back in the 1970s when uranium last garnered this much interest, back before the Three Mile Island accident, and back when more than 5,000 Wyomingites had jobs extracting the yellowish, radioactive ore from the ground.

Now a number of Wyoming industry analysts and veterans — many of whom began their careers during the uranium heyday — say they are excited as high prices and global demand are likely here to stay.