Cleone Bronson Cooper Hansen and Joe Cooper first developed the Happy Jack Mine in 1938. Located on the southwest rim of White Canyon near Blanding, Utah, the mine was a major producer of uranium ore throughout the 1950s to the 1970s.

This photograph was taken inside the mine, approximately location “B” on the map. Matthew is illuminating a collapsing backfill, an adit leading to “E” inside a mine that was filled to prevent people from entering dangerous areas of the mine. The radiation in this mine was fierce, 10,080 counts per minute, or about 300 times higher than background levels. As we took this photograph, we were exposed to enough radiation to take a chest X-Ray every hour. Yet miners toiled for 8 or more hours every day in this environment, blasting rock and digging out tons of high-grade uranium ore.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Film stock: Kodak TMax 400 8”x20” film

Exposure details: Rated ISO 12 @ f64, 90 second exposure with 60 bursts 300Ws off-camera flash plus off camera 500W LED floodlight.

Filtration: #12 yellow

Processing: Normal development, D76 (1:1)

Printing: Na2 palladium with Nuarc 40-1ks UV exposure system