nuclear-news

Study finds Fredericksburg uranium sites not commercially viable

Uranium report says local sites not viable, Fredricksburg.com, By RUSTY DENNEN, 19 Dec 11 Uranium mining and milling in Virginia would present human health and safety and environmental risks, which could be mitigated with best-management practices, according to a long-awaited National Academy of Sciences study released Monday.

And, of interest to the Fredericksburg area, it concludes that only Virginia Uranium’s proposed Coles Hill site in Pittsylvania County would be commercially viable among Virginia deposits, for now. The site is about 180 miles southwest of Fredericksburg.

The NAS’ National Research Council study, supported by a grant from
Virginia Tech and funded by Virginia Uranium Inc., makes no
recommendation as to whether mining should be allowed…..
The study comes as the Virginia General Assembly  could decide  during
its session starting next month to lift a mining moratorium imposed in
1982.

Paul A. Locke, who chaired the  committee that prepared the 290-page
report, told reporters Monday that the Pittsylvania site appears to be
“the only commercially and economically viable” location to extract
uranium ore in the commonwealth.
That should ease concerns here because in the 1970s, Marline  Uranium
Corp. secured leases on thousands of acres in Orange, Culpeper,
Madison and Fauquier counties, with a plan to mine and mill the
mineral….

Chris Miller, president of the Warrenton-based Piedmont Environmental
Council, said the report “confirms that uranium mining would be a
dangerous experiment for Virginia” and that “neither the mining
industry nor federal or state regulators have any experience with
uranium mining or milling” in areas with a relatively wet climate,
such as Virginia. Most uranium mining worldwide is done in dry
climates.
The Keep the Ban Coalition said the General Assembly should take no
action toward developing regulations until after the NAS has completed
a public outreach on the study’s conclusions…..
Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
rdennen@freelancestar.com

http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2011/12/19/uranium-report-says-local-sites-not-viable/

December 21, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Uranium, USA