Money pours into Virginia Assembly from uranium company
Uranium firm pumps money into assembly BY MARY BETH JACKSON, The Register & Bee, 21 Jan 13, The Senate bill proposing to lift the moratorium on uranium mining will be considered by a committee in which 80 percent of its members have taken money from Virginia Uranium.
Sen. John Watkins has said the legislation, filed Friday with the Senate Clerk, will be vetted through the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee; 12 of 15 committee members have accepted campaign money and trips from Virginia Uranium since 2008.
Virginia Uranium wants to mine a 119-million-pound uranium ore deposit in Pittsylvania County, approximately six miles from Chatham. The company has been lobbying the legislature to write regulations for uranium mining and milling, which would effectively lift a 1982 moratorium on the industry. Continue reading
Virginia uranium might well not be profitable, after all
“The industry needs prices at $75 or $80 a pound for future mine production to be profitable.” Thus, the uranium market has a long way to go before the 119 million pound tract around Coles Hill Farm east of Chatham, said to be the largest in the U.S., can actually be profitable to mine.
This is a fact that Virginia Uranium hasn’t really advertised..
The Wobbly World of Global Uranium Prices, Bacon’s Rebellion,
January 19, 2013 by Peter Galuszka
Highly controversial plans to mine and mill a rich tract of uranium in Pittsylvania County are before the General Assembly. Plenty of studies, lobbyists and scads of money are being thrown about on both sides of the argument.
Yet a brief story on page B7 in today’s Wall Street Journal deals with a topic that may be the truly decisive factor in the project…… Continue reading
Removing uranium from water – Kansas residents willing to pay for this
Kansas communities pay to rid water of uranium, Enquirer Herald, 20 Jan 13, The Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Residents across Kansas have safer drinking water thanks to steps their communities have taken to rid the water of harmful elements such as uranium and arsenic. But those residents also are facing considerable hikes in water bills to pay for the improvements.
Lakin residents are paying water rates about 10 times higher than they had before the city began construction on a $6.5 million water treatment plant to eliminate naturally-occurring uranium from the drinking water.
Rates are up about three times in Clay Center, where the city has built a $10-million treatment plant also to deal with uranium, which can occur in some aquifers….. http://www.enquirerherald.com/2013/01/20/2276642/kansas-communities-pay-to-rid.html
In Mali – a war for grabbing resources – especially uranium
Uranium: encouraging signs and exploration in full swing. Exploration is currently being carried out by several companies with clear indications of deposits of uranium in Mali. Uranium potential is located in the Falea area which covers 150 km² of the Falea- North Guinea basin, a Neoproterozoic sedimentary basin marked by significant radiometric anomalies. Uranium potential in Falea is thought to be 5000 tonnes. The Kidal Project, in the north eastern part of Mali, with an area of 19,930 km2, the project covers a large crystalline geological province known as L’Adrar Des Iforas. Uranium potential in the Samit deposit, Gao region alone is thought to be 200 tonnes.
The War on Mali What You Should Know: An Eldorado of Uranium, Gold, Petroleum, Strategic Minerals SPY GhanaBy 4thmedia.org R. Teichman, News Beacon Ireland, 17 Jan 13
The French government has stated that: …… We have one goal. To ensure that when we leave, when we end our intervention, Mali is safe, has legitimate authorities, an electoral process and there are no more terrorists threatening its territory.” [1]
So this is the official narrative of France and those who support it. And of course this is what is widely reported by the mainstrem media.
France is supported by other NATO members. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed that the US was providing intelligence to French forces in Mali. [2] Canada, Belgium, Denmark and Germany have also publicly backed the French incursion, pledging logistical support in the crackdown on the rebels. [3]
If we are to believe this narrative we are misled again about the real reasons. A look at Mali’s natural resources reveals what this is really about. Continue reading
It’s the uranium, stupid! France’s war in Mali
Although Niger has been France’s primary uranium trading partner in the region, investors are currently estimating 5,200 tonnes of untapped uranium sources in Mali, making the requirements of a favourable government and a suppressed civil society all the more urgent.
The curbs on civil liberties in the West which the so-called War on Terror forces upon citizens is part of the same struggle that activists in West Africa are fighting against uranium mining corporations
Blood for Uranium: France’s Mali intervention has little to do with terrorism http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/blood-uranium-frances-mali-intervention-terrorism/ Adam Elliott-Cooper looks at the geo-strategic and economic interests shaping the current French intervention in Mali. 17 Jan 13, France opened 2013 with a series of airstrikes on Northern Mali to prevent “the establishment of a terrorist state”. At the time of writing, 11 civilians (including two children) have been killed, and according to the UN, an estimated 30,000 have been displaced. The morbid irony of the France’s leaders bombing people in order to prevent a “terrorist state” appears to be lost on them, but this may be due to their eyes being on something far more important – Mali’s economy. (Picture: Activists in Niger protesting uranium mining company AREVA) Continue reading
War in Mali – to preserve France’s control of uranium resources?
French mining company Areva, had lost its almost complete exclusive right to Niger’s uranium. This could easily explain why France could not afford to lose Mali as well.
On Monday, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said… Key interests were at stake for us, for Africa, for Europe, so we had to act quickly,” said Fabius. Could one of the key interests mentioned by Mr. Fabius be uranium?
Uranium is indeed France’s key energy resource… , the country is heavily dependent on uranium..
Mali: France’s Neo-Colonial War for Uranium? News Junke Post, By Gilbert Mercier 15 Jan 13 In late December 2012, the United Nations Security Council approved the dispatch of an “African-led intervention force” to Mali’s to help the army reconquer the north of the country from Tuareg separatists and their allied Islamist militants. But in recent days, it is not the African-led troops who have been operating in Mali. Instead, troops from former colonial power France have been unilaterally deployed to fight the rebellion in the north….
Recipe for a failed state Continue reading
Flooding danger if uranium mine goes ahead in Virginia
Flooding near proposed uranium mining site worries some, VUI says there’s no concern Keep the Ban, January 16, 2013 A road closes near Coles Hill that runs through the Virginia Uranium Incorporated but getting home isn’t the only concern for one nearby farmer. PITTSYLVANIA CO., Va.—
Today’s heavy rain is bringing more attention to the proposed uranium mining site in Pittsylvania County.
A road on the Coles Hill site is flooded.
Opponents say the mining would contaminate streams and rivers……. “you can see what two and three inches of rain is doing it’s flooding the roads down here,” Motley said.
Motley believes the proposed mine could contaminate the water, which runs into a nearby water source.
“Any residue has the potential of washing down this way and going directly into the Banister River,” Motley said….. The Virginia Department of Transportation will keep the road closed until water levels are again below the road.
South Dakota: precious water endangered by “in-situ” uranium minng
as for water quality, we know from the history of in situ leach
uranium mining that the groundwater will be contaminated. Leaks and
spills are common. Every in situ uranium mine has them. And at the end
of the process — when things have supposedly been “cleaned up” — the
groundwater has always been left polluted with radioactivity and with
things like arsenic, selenium and lead.
FORUM: In situ uranium mining will pollute water
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/opinion/forum-in-situ-uranium-mining-will-pollute-water/article_ecc53035-6f34-5293-8d5f-08b0e619bee0.html
January 12, 2013 Plans to mine uranium north of Edgemont remain
controversial — and with good reason. The company involved, Powertech
Uranium, is a foreign corporation that has never mined anything. They
want to use 9,000 gallons per minute of our water. And they will leave
the water contaminated with radiation and other things — like every
other “in situ” leach uranium mine in U.S. history.
In situ leach mining involves pumping a solution underground, where it
loosens the uranium from the rock, and then pumping the uranium-filled
solution back to the surface. Continue reading
VIDEO Uranium mining in Virginia, and its risks for North Carolina
Hawood suggested the General Assembly write and pass a strongly-worded
resolution against uranium mining to try and influence Virginia’s
lawmakers in Richmond
VIDEO Uranium mining in Virginia would affect NC Rivers
http://myfox8.com/2013/01/10/uranium-mining-in-virginia-would-affect-nc-rivers/
January 10, 2013, by Mitch Carr EDEN, NC —
Virginia’s General Assembly is considering lifting a moratorium on
mining uranium that has been in place since 1982, and doing so could
have a dramatic effect on North Carolina’s recreational waterways.
The potential mine is on a farm near Gretna and Chatham in
Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The company attempting to mine the ore
that contains the uranium, Virginia Uranium, Inc., estimates the lode
to be 119 million pounds.
…….., many of the locals don’t support it, and an hour and a half
southwest of Chatham in Eden, NC, the Dan River Basin Association
definitely does not support it.
Tiffany Hawood is the executive director, and she agrees mining
uranium will bring jobs to the area.
“If you’re talking about jobs for cleaning up environmental risks,
then yeah, maybe,” Hawood said.
Hawood believes the mining puts the Dan and Smith Rivers, which run
through Rockingham County and are popular for tubing and canoeing, at
risk.
“I can’t think of one good reason to do this,” Hawood said.
North Carolina would experience the fallout of a mining disaster but
has no authority to stop Virginia from getting rid of the ban.
Hawood suggested the General Assembly write and pass a strongly-worded
resolution against uranium mining to try and influence Virginia’s
lawmakers in Richmond…. http://myfox8.com/2013/01/10/uranium-mining-in-virginia-would-affect-nc-rivers/
North Carolina will fight proposal for uranium mine in Virginia
NC opposition builds to proposed Virginia uranium mine, WRAL.com, 8
Jan 13, MANSON, N.C. — As legislation that would allow uranium mining
in Virginia advances through that state’s legislature, opposition to
the move is growing in North Carolina.
A group of Virginia lawmakers voted Monday to approve a bill that
would lift a 31-year-old ban on uranium mining and allow the practice
in Chatham, Va., where a 119 million-pound deposit of uranium – the $7
billion vein is the largest in the U.S. – is located.
The bill now goes to the full legislature, which convenes Wednesday.
“North Carolina will be fighting this,” Continue reading
Tentative step towards uranium mining in Virginia, but opposition persists
While environmental groups have led the charge against mining, the
Virginia Farm Bureau Federation took the unexpected step of opposing
mining, and municipal groups have also joined in the opposition.
Virginia Beach, which draws public drinking water from southern
Virginia, has also taken a stand against mining, as well as other
cities in Hampton Roads.
Virginia uranium mining wins 1st legislative test January 7, 2013
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Proposed uranium mining in Virginia easily
survived its first legislative test Monday, with lawmakers
recommending the development of regulations for the mining of the
radioactive ore.
Those rules — and whether a 30-year ban on such mining is lifted —
ultimately would need to be approved by the General Assembly.
The Coal and Energy Commission voted 11-2 in support of legislation
proposed by Sen. John Watkins that would have the effect of limiting
mining to one company and the only known, commercially viable deposit
of uranium in the state: Virginia Uranium Inc…..
Asked why he would limit uranium mining in the state, Watkins said:
“Because I want the bill to pass.”
……..Robert G. Burnley, a former director of the Virginia
Department of Environmental Quality who now is affiliated with the
Southern Environmental Law Center, said the legislation is a “de
facto” vote on ending the 31-year ban. Continue reading
Thieves fall out – The rest of the nuclear lobby accused of blocking the thorium lobby!
China blazes trail for ‘clean’ nuclear power, TODAY online by Ambrose
Evans-Pritchard Jan 09, 2013“……Major players in the nuclear
industry have had a vested interest in blocking thorium. They have
sunk huge costs in the old technology, and they have bent the ear of
cash-strapped ministers. The hesitance of governments is
understandable, but the costs are going to hit whatever they do.
China’s dash for thorium is now changing the game…..”
Syria’s uranium stockpile a cause for anxiety
Fears raised over Syria uranium stockpile, Ft.com. 8 Jan 13, By James Blitz in London Nuclear experts in the US and Middle East have raised concerns about the security of up to 50 tonnes of unenriched uranium in Syria amid fears that civil war could put the stockpile at risk.
Since the start of the uprising against Bashar al-Assad two years ago, western governments have been heavily focused on the fate of Syria’s chemical weapons and worries that those stocks might be taken over by militant group
But government officials and nuclear experts have also expressed fears to the Financial Times about what may be a significant stockpile of uranium inside Syria.
Concerns go back to the Assad regime’s attempt to build a nuclear reactor at Al-Kibar in the east of the country. yria, with assistance from North Korea, was thought to be close to completing the reactor when the facility was destroyed by Israeli jets in September 2007.
Very little is known about Syria’s nuclear programme and the country has always denied that it ever had one. Syria has also given very little information to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear watchdog, about its work……
An IAEA inspection team visited the destroyed Al-Kibar site in May 2008 and only found traces of uranium. This merely added to the mystery of where the 50 tonnes of uranium, if it exists, might be. Such a stockpile would be enough, according to experts, to provide weapons grade fuel for five atomic devices….. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a450b660-5998-11e2-88a1-00144feab49a.html#axzz2HX2YULqD
Hampton Roads lawmakers NOT in favour of Virginia uranium mining
Uranium debate coming http://blog.vivianpaige.com/2013/01/07/uranium-debate-coming/ All Politics is local
The debate on uranium mining in Virginia is destined to be a part of the General Assembly session, which opens Wednesday. The Virginian-Pilot had a front page story today about it. Included with the story is a list of the Hampton Roads lawmakers and their stances on lifting the ban, as follows:
| Against mining | Undecided | No response |
| Sen. Kenny Alexander, D-Norfolk | Sen. Harry Blevins, R-Chesapeake | Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton |
| Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth | Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach | Sen. John Miller, D-Newport News |
| Sen. Jeff McWaters, R-Virginia Beach | Del. Lionell Spruill, D-Chesapeake | Del. Algie Howell, D-Norfolk |
| Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk | Del. Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach | Del. Bob Purkey, R-Virginia Beach |
| Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake | Sen. Tommy Norment, R-James City County | Del. Bob Tata, R-Virginia Beach |
| Del. Daun Hester, D-Norfolk | Del. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk | |
| Del. Sal Iaquinto, R-Virginia Beach | ||
| Del. Matthew James, D-Portsmouth | ||
| Del. Lynwood Lewis, D-Accomack County | ||
| Del. Chris Stolle, R-Virginia Beach | ||
| Del. Ron Villanueva, R-Virginia Beach | ||
| Del. Johnny Joannou, D-Portsmouth |
This is not, as you can see, a partisan issue. Perhaps the most interesting part of this is that none are willing – yet – to admit support of lifting the ban.
Black ministers join in supporting Virginia’s ban on uranium mining
it would be a tragic mistake for the Virginia General
Assembly to even consider allowing Virginia Uranium Inc., or whater
it’s called today, to open a uranium mine in our beautiful but
frequently flooded Southside Virginia
Seventeen black ministers signed a resolution requesting a permanent
ban on uranium mining in Virginia.
Roanoke pastor: uranium mining is bad news for Va.By Ralph Berrier
Jr.The Roanoke Times January 4, 2013
A coalition of black ministers from the Roanoke Valley and Southside
Virginia spoke out today in Roanoke against lifting Virginia’s ban on
uranium mining, citing what they believe would be disproportionate
negative consequences on minority populations should the ban be
lifted.
State lawmakers are considering ending the 30-year moratorium on
uranium mining, as Virginia Uranium Inc. hopes to mine one of the
world’s largest known uranium deposits in Pittsylvania County. Continue reading
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