A Lukachukai man suspected of flying a drone over the Pingyong Plain Uranium Mine near the southern edge of the Grand Canyon on Wednesday was arrested.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office says Bobby Mason was booked at the county detention facility on multiple counts including worsening DUI, criminal damage, blows and running, reckless driving, harassment, illegal operation of unmanned aerial vehicles and several unpaid warrants. He is being held without bail.
The mine resumed trucking ore at its factory in southern Utah on the same day.
Authorities say Mason crashed the drone onto the safety line used to transport drones inside and outside the mine, and escaped at the Silver Ford 150.
The company that owns a uranium mine near the southern edge of the Grand Canyon has resumed trucking ore from its site. This follows a contract with Navajo staff last month, allowing freight to exceed reservations.
The truck was reportedly seen driving recklessly towards Tusayan, then took Highway 64 to Grand Canyon National Park and once again involved in hit and run within the park. Rangers discovered that the car was destroyed in the forest near the entrance to the desert view.
Energy Fuel, the company that owns the mine, said the man flew the drone at a dangerously low altitude and harassed the employee.
“This is a very dangerous behavior and does not tolerate reckless behavior of individuals that put the lives and well-being of employees and the public at risk,” Curtis Moore, senior vice president of marketing and corporate development at Energy Fuels, said in a statement.
According to a social media post, Mason shares content against the mines and is linked to the transport of the advocacy group!
