Uranium « nuclear-news

Another USA govt handout to a nuclear-related company

“The real risks of this nuclear bailout is for taxpayers, who will be on the hook for questionable government handouts that are worth more than the entire company,”

Energy Department Steps in to Help Uranium Enrichment Company, NYT, By MATTHEW L. WALD, June 13, 2012, WASHINGTON — The Energy Department announced Wednesday that it was stepping in to shore up an ailing company it created in the 1990s to privatize uranium enrichment, Continue reading →

June 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Judge invalidates Colorado radioactive materials license for uranium mill

License to build uranium mill in southwest Colorado nixed by Denver judge, 06/14/2012 Denver Post, By Bruce Finley, A state judge has invalidated a radioactive materials license that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued to allow construction of a new uranium mill in southwestern Colorado. Continue reading →

June 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

No response from Virginia’s Governor about concerns over Uranium Working Group’s credibility

Concerns over Uranium Working Group remain Gazette Virginian, 14 June 12, Two environmental groups opposed to lifting the moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia still have not received a satisfactory response from Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell concerning their letter raising concerns about the lack of transparency within the Uranium Working Group. Continue reading →

June 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general, Uranium | Leave a comment

Indian villages fight against uranium mining plan for Mahbubnagar district.

Locals dig in heels against uranium mining plan, Sribala Vadlapatla, TNN | Jun 14, 2012, HYDERABAD: The dust on the controversy over uranium mining in Nalgonda district is still to settle and already the government has begun efforts to mine the resource in Mahbubnagar district.

Despite opposition from locals, authorities are going ahead with plans to hold a gram sabha at
Urumilla village in Amrabad mandal, in the Nallamala forest area, on June 14…… Presence of uranium in these villages, about 140km southeast of Hyderabad, was established 10 years back but strong opposition from locals saw the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL)
dropping the plan to mine the area…. Padara village has a population of roughly 8,000 people while Urumilla village is 1,500 residents strong.

“We will oppose any move by the authorities to carry out mining in these small villages,” TRS leader Nasarayya said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Locals-dig-in-heels-against-uranium-mining-plan/articleshow/14106609.cms

June 14, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | 2 Comments

Virginia uranium study panel – bias in favour of uranium companies

“What we’re concerned about here is they appear to have hired a group that has only done work for uranium mining companies and that they’re going to go with them behind closed doors and come up with a uranium mining law and a set of regulations,”

Uranium mining foes take aim at Va. study panel, Bloomberg, By STEVE SZKOTAK, 13 June 12, RICHMOND, VA. Two environmental groups opposed to ending a 30-year state ban on uranium mining in Virginia have raised new complaints about a state panel studying the issue and the hiring of a consultant they say has too many industry ties. Continue reading →

June 13, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Cree people say No to uranium mining and nuclear power

Chief Shecapio explained that the Crees “have always been the guardians and protectors of the land and will continue to be. For the Crees of Mistissini, the land is a school of its own and the resources of the land are the material and supplies they need. Cree traplines are the classrooms. What is taught on these traplines to the youth is the Cree way of life, which means living in harmony with nature.

“We do not believe that nuclear energy, which is the primary use for uranium in Canada, is a sustainable form of energy. We do not want to see a resource extracted from our land be responsible for causing pollution and waste. We do not want this to be our impact on the world..

Uranium Exploration: Mistissi Says “No” and Calls for a Moratorium MISTISSINI, Market Watch, EEYOU ISTCHEE, Jun 05, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) 5 June 12, — The Chief of Cree Nation of Mistissini, Richard Shecapio, made it clear at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) public hearing, held today (June 5) in Mistissini, that his
community is firmly against uranium development in Eeyou Istchee. “We want to put an end to the question of uranium development once and for all, right now. We know where this is going and we don’t want any uranium mining at all”, said Chief Shecapio. Continue reading →

June 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, indigenous issues, Uranium | 1 Comment

Cancer caused by uranium fuel processing plant, claims big lawsuit

In recent court filings, plaintiffs provided many tragic stories of living in the Apollo and Parks area in the shadow of the nuclear sites and being diagnosed with cancer.

Mega-lawsuit claims nuke contamination in Armstrong Trib Live News, Mary Ann Thomas Gateway Newspapers , May 17, 2012 The nearly 100 plaintiffs alleging death, cancer and other illnesses from radioactive emissions from two defunct Armstrong County nuclear fuels plants are awaiting a trial date for what is likely to be a second set of a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit. Continue reading →

May 21, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, Legal, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

In Malawi, Namibia, Niger workers making trouble for uranium mining companies

Conflicts with unions and management may have even larger impacts in the future,

Uranium Miners in Africa Facing Labor Disputes, Business Insider, Resource Investing News | May 16, 2012, Uranium mining companies are operating in difficult environments in many jurisdictions, facing challenges ranging from regulatory compliance,
environmental delays, rising costs, and labor relations. Over the last year, the labor challenges seem to have become more accentuated for African uranium mining companies, with several companies having reporting strikes. Continue reading →

May 17, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, employment, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, Uranium | Leave a comment

Challenge to Wyoming uranium mining project

Uranium Mining Environmental Consequences to Be Reviewed in Court, Switchboard, by Geoffrey Fettus, 14 May 12, For decades, uranium has been mined in ways that damage our waters and land, put our communities at risk, and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in clean-up costs.

Now, for the first time in years, the environmental community has the chance to make its case before one of the crucial federal regulators on how we can do better. The stakes are high – especially for Western communities and their groundwater.

Last fall, NRDC and our Wyoming colleagues at the Powder River Basin Resources Council (PRBRC) challenged the proposed licensing of a planned uranium mine in Crook County, Wyoming. The mine would use a process known as “in-situ leach” mining. This method combines the mining and milling of uranium into a single step, by leaching uranium and other heavy metals off the surface of uranium-bearing rock in place.

Instead of actually digging up the uranium ore, in other words, this process extracts uranium by injecting water mixed with base solution into the rock formation in an underground aquifer, to dissolve the uranium from its host rock. The uranium-laden water flows into underground production wells and, from there, is pumped to the surface and piped to a centralized facility, which extracts the uranium.

We have written about the regulatory system and its numerous inadequacies . If you are really interested, I encourage you to read it. In brief, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is the main licensing body for in-situ leach uranium mining. We are challenging that body’s decision to issue a license for the Wyoming mine. Continue reading →

May 17, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, Reference, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Loss and share price fall for Denison uranium miner

Uranium miner Denison Mines reports US$52-million first-quarter loss
By: The Canadian Press 05/9/2012 TORONTO – Denison Mines Corp. (TSX:DML) reported Wednesday a loss of US$52 million in the first quarter as it took a $44-million writedown on its U.S. assets and operations which it is selling.
The uranium miner, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, said the loss amounted to 14 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31 compared with a loss of $7.1 million or two cents per share a year ago..

.. Shares in the company, which reported its results after the close of markets, were down four cents at $1.57 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

May 10, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Public opposition holds up Lynas’ rare earths processing plans for Malaysia

the expanding protest movement …… has already delayed the project by eight months and cast a shadow over its future.

The resistance – fed by social networks and Malaysia’s increasingly lively independent online media – also raises broader questions over the global expansion of an industry that has created huge environmental problems in China

Opponents say the Lynas plant doesn’t meet with best practice standards for the industry as it is too close to heavily populated areas and in a place where the ground water level is high. Molycorp’s plant in California, by comparison, is situated far from residential areas in an arid climate.

Citizen backlash keeps Malaysia rare earth plant on hold, The West, Siva Sithraputhran, Reuters May 9, 2012 GEBENG, Malaysia – The expensive machinery lies silent, idling as Malaysia’s government weighs a delicate decision to allow shipments of raw material to arrive from Australia and finally start operations at the world’s largest rare earths plant outside China. Continue reading →

May 10, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Malaysia, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | Leave a comment

The difference between a uranium nuclear weapon and a plutonium one

Uranium or plutonium? , The Korea Times, By Andrei Lankov”….. It makes a big difference whether they test a plutonium device, as they have done twice before, or if this time we will see the first test of a uranium one. There is a major difference between the two.

Plutonium occurs naturally only in tiny quantities and hence has to be produced artificially in a nuclear reactor where it is a normal byproduct of nuclear fission. However, a nuclear reactor is a large machine which cannot possibly be hidden by the prying eyes of satellites.

If the outside world knows the technical details of the reactor, it is possible to guess its total plutonium output, from when the reactor became operational. Analysts believe that North Korea’s nuclear reactors have produced between 30 and 50 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium (enough for five to 10 nuclear bombs).

Uranium is different. Highly-enriched uranium (HEU), which is used in nuclear weapons, is produced by enriching uranium ore. There are different technologies but most of the time a cascade of centrifuges is used, with each centrifuge in the cascade producing a more concentrated product.

Unlike unwieldy reactors, such cascades are relatively easy to hide from satellites and reconnaissance planes. There is no way to be sure that all the centrifuge cascades have been located. Therefore it is difficult to estimate the size of stockpiles of HEU in a given country, and this means that HEU is remarkably more dangerous when it comes to proliferation….. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/05/304_110408.html

May 7, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Reference, Uranium, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Thorium nuclear reactors are no solution to energy problems

It doesn’t solve the proliferation problem. It doesn’t solve the waste problem, either. So every nuclear reactor, no matter what type, creates fission products, which are highly radioactive materials, some short-lived, some long-lived

This is highly radioactive waste. If you look at Oak Ridge’s current evaluation, they say you have to condition this waste, you have to convert the fluorides, and then you have to have a deep geologic repository.

What’s in this waste? Cesium-137 and strontium-190, hundreds of years, just like today’s reactors. Cesium-135 and iodine-129, millions of years half-life. Technetium-99, 200,000 years.

Is Thorium A Magic Bullet For Our Energy Problems? NPR May 4 2012, “……..With me is Dr. Arjun Makhijani. He is president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. He’s here in our D.C. studios. Do you agree with Richard Martin that we missed out on thorium? If we had started out with thorium, would be in better shape now?

ARJUN MAKHIJANI: I don’t think so. I think the problems of nuclear power, fundamentally, would remain. The safety problems would be different. I mean, Mr. Martin and proponents of thorium are right in the sense that the liquid fuel reactor has a number of safety advantages, but it also has a number of disadvantages. Continue reading →

May 7, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Reference, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Dubious plan by Lynas to sell 300,000 tonnes of converted radioactive wastes

The anti-Lynas groups also questioned today whether the market “can fully absorb the colossal amount produced given that Lynas will be producing at least 300,000 tonnes of contaminated waste every year.”

Locals say market won’t buy Lynas’ recycled waste, ww.themalaysianinsider.com/mobile/malaysia/article/locals-say-market-wont-buy-lynas-recycled-waste/ The Malaysian Insider ,21 April, By Shannon Teoh KUALA LUMPUR, — Lynas Corp’s plans to recycle waste from its controversial RM2.5 billion rare earth plant in Kuantan into a commercial product will not be accepted by the market, local residents opposed to the refinery said today.(Jan 26 ) Continue reading →

April 21, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

BHP Board might not approve development of world’s biggest uranium mine

Acting chief executive of the South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy Nigel Long said the state’s mining industry was not solely reliant on the expansion of Olympic Dam because there were other “exciting opportunities” ahead,

“The decision to press the pause button is a decision to be made by the BHP board, but we see a very good future for other projects in South Australia regardless…..

The BHP board will be considering whether to approve the project at a time when cost pressures in Australian mining are rising and profit margins are contracting.

BHP has Olympic hurdles to overcome, Financial Review 17 APR 2012 The South Australian government says it is not inclined to grant BHP Billiton an extension on an approvals expiring in December that cover the $US20 billion expansion of the Olympic Dam mine at this stage. Jamie Freed and Lucille Keen Continue reading →

April 21, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

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