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Rare earths processing – a potent environmental polluter

China’s rare earths refineries…… have poisoned rivers with acid and piled up radioactive waste — an environmental cost that aroused little controversy in developed, consuming nations

Malaysian protesters blame an earlier rare earths plant, shut by Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemicals in 1992, for birth defects and a high number of leukemia cases……

Environmental campaigners point to studies done in both New Jersey and China showing that thorium radiation emitted during the refining process and by plant waste can cause cancer, leukemia, birth defects and chronic lung diseases.

Pollution the big barrier to freer trade in rare earths Al Arabiya News,, 19 March 2012 Environmental campaigners point to studies done in both New Jersey and China showing that thorium radiation emitted during the refining process and by plant waste can cause cancer, leukemia, birth defects and chronic lung diseases.

Tackling pollution, not freeing up trade, is regarded as the solution to a global shortage of rare earths, the metals that are the building blocks of the 21st century.  Continue reading →

March 20, 2012 Posted by | China, environment, Uranium | Leave a comment

Earth Justice and native peoples fight to save Grand Canyon from uranium mining

Uranium Industry Attack on Grand Canyon, Earth Justice 17 MARCH 2012,  Yet another toxic mining threat  “……..The new foes of protecting the Grand Canyon region look a lot like Mr. Cameron.  They are uranium miners who’ve staked thousands of claims ringing the national park.

Uranium mining has left a toxic legacy  in the area, polluting water that run through the Park, which has prompted the Park Service to warn hikers not to drink the water of certain streams, iincluding Horn Creek . (New mines are supposed to be better and cleaner. But the water pollution threatened by the “modern” flooded mines shows otherwise.)

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar stood up for protecting the lands around the national park, putting a million acres  off limits to new mining claims.

The uranium industry, like Mr. Cameron, doesn’t like protecting the Grand Canyon . And like Mr. Cameron, they are attacking not only the Grand Canyon protection measures, but also the Interior Secretary’s authority to protect lands. (Industry claims the Interior Department can’t protect more than 5,000 acres at a time from uranium mining claims.)

This time, Earthjustice and our clients – the Havasupai Tribe , Grand Canyon Trust , Center for Biological Diversity , Sierra Club , and National Parks Conservation Association  – will be fighting to protect the Grand Canyon.  (We filed legal papers to formally intervene in the first of three industry suits last week.)

If history is going to repeat itself, with miners hoping to degrade wildlife habitat, waters and one of America’s natural wonders for profit, we’ll work to ensure the courts again recognize the Canyon’s majesty and again reject the miner’s attacks.  http://earthjustice.org/blog/2012-march/uranium-industry-attack-on-grand-canyon

March 19, 2012 Posted by | Legal, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Taxpayer cleaning up many millions of tons of uranium wastes,since company went bankrupt

Five Million Tons Of Uranium Tailing Disposed, The U.S. Department Of Energy Says They Are A Third Of The Way Done With Their Entire Project To Move All Of The Tailings To Crested Junction KJCT8.com Janelle Ericsson  MOAB, UT. — Five million tons of uranium tailings has been removed from an old waste site near the river in Moab. The U.S. Department of Energy says they are a third of the way done with their entire project to move all of the tailings to Crested Junction.
Once they reach their destination they will be put in an engineered cell that will prevent contamination to ground water for a thousand years…

. The UMTRA project was originally started in 2001 when the a corporation went bankrupt. Through legislative actions, the project was given to the Department of Energy to take responsibility of the clean up.

March 19, 2012 Posted by | Uranium, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Warning to rare earths company about its radioactive wastes problem

“Where exactly is ‘abroad’? Identify and prove to us which country outside of Malaysia is willing to accept this massive [volume of] toxic waste.

AELB says will close Lynas plant if waste agreement broken http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/aelb-says-will-close-lynas-plant-if-waste-agreement-broken The Malaysian Insider, March 15, 2012  KUALA LUMPUR,   The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) assured Malaysians today it will shutter Lynas Corporation’s rare earth plant in Kuantan if the Australian mining firm violates conditions on the disposal of radioactive material.

According to Star Online, the regulator reminded at its weekly media briefing today that that firm had already struck an agreement with local authorities here for it to return any radioactive waste to Australia if it fails to set up a permanent disposal facility here. Continue reading →

March 16, 2012 Posted by | Malaysia, politics, Uranium | Leave a comment

Malaysians not impressed by Australian rare earths company Lynas

Four government ministries have been roped in to help Lynas find a suitable storage site in the country is not only amusing but downright deploring. The statement by the international trade and industry minister that the radio active wastes will be disposed of overseas, even though it may break international laws is really not very assuring.

Lynas cannot continue to hide behind the Malaysian government’s skirt in its operations

Lynas Corp’s absurd publicity stunts — The Malaysian Insider, Iskandar Dzulkarnain March 14, 2012 ”….what can the Penang CM do to alleviate the current controversy surrounding the Lynas rare earth plant? Would his personal opinion or intervention buy over the thousands of critics who are against the existence of the Rare Earth Plant in Pahang State?

Isn’t it more appropriate to meet with Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Pakatan Rakyat who is against the controversial project based on allegations that the Australian miner has not given enough assurances on how it will handle the low-level radioactive waste that will be produced at the refinery? Continue reading →

March 16, 2012 Posted by | Malaysia, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | Leave a comment

Yes, rare earths processing does cause environmental damage

Lynas says US-led offensive against China unlikely to succeed, BY: BARRY FITZGERALD,  The Australian March 15, 2012 “…….The executive chairman of Sydney-based Lynas, Nick Curtis, said yesterday China had “some complex and possibly legitimate argument about the environmental damage that rare earths was doing in China, and the consequent right it had to limit production through export quotas as a consequence of that”…. The key issue remained that the supply of rare earths was in structural deficit, as China was shrinking supply for environmental reasons, which were real, Mr Curtis said….
Lynas is part of the Western world’s plan to increase non-Chinese supplies of rare earths, a group of 17 elements increasingly used in magnets in hybrid car motors, compact fluorescent light bulbs, flatpanel displays, iPads and automotive catalytic converters. The $2 billion company, with the help of funding from Japan, has developed the Mt Weld rare earths mine in Western Australia and is close to completing a controversial finishing plant in Malaysia.

The Malaysian plant is dogged by local opposition because of radiation
fears….  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/lynas-says-us-led-offensive-against-china-unlikely-to-succeed/story-e6frg9df-1226299786618

March 15, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, Uranium | Leave a comment

Down, down, continues the price of uranium

Spot Uranium Drifts Downward.  by Melissa West, Uranium Researcher, 13 March 12 Uranium Investing News, Platts reported spot uranium prices are continuing to drop at a slightly faster rate than earlier this year. As quoted in the market news:

TradeTech on Friday lowered its weekly spot price to $51 a pound U3O8, a drop of 80 cents/lb from TradeTech’s price March 2. TradeTech said the drop was due largely to a lack of buying interest and “aggressively priced material offered by one motivated seller.” http://uraniuminvestingnews.com/10910/spot-uranium-drifts-downward.html

March 14, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

China restricting rare earths production for environmental reasons

China defends rare earths limits The Age, JOE McDONALD March 13, 2012 China defended curbs on production of rare earths used in mobile phones and other high-tech products as an environmental measure Tuesday… Beijing needs to limit environmental damage and conserve scarce resources, said a foreign ministry spokesman, Liu Weimin.

“We think the policy is in line with WTO rules,” Liu said at a regular briefing…… Rare earths are 17 elements including cerium, dysprosium and lanthanum that are used in manufacturing flat-screen TVs, batteries for electric cars and wind turbines. They also are used
in some high-tech weapons…. http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/china-defends-rare-earths-limits-20120313-1uygw.html

March 14, 2012 Posted by | China, Uranium | Leave a comment

Compensation for uranium workers afflicted by radiation

some of the workers who were exposed to radiation in those eight years would pay the price
decades later….

 the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program has paid $7.8 billion in medical bills and compensation to 151,095 individuals.

Radiation workers sought by program May be compensated if Cold War-era job involved uranium  Dan Stockman | The Journal Gazette,  March 11, 2012   FORT WAYNE – The work lasted only eight years, but the effects scarred a generation for decades. Continue reading →

March 12, 2012 Posted by | health, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Tanzania’s battle over uranium tax

The fierce battle for $205m uranium tax, BY FLORIAN KAIJAGE 11th March 2012  As the Russian firm seeks court order  Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and Russian company JSC Atomredmetzoloto (AMRZ) are in fierce legal battle over the $205.8 million (Sh330billion) that TRA demands from the company as an income tax and stamp duty emanating from thelatter’s purchase of Mkuju River Uranium mining site from Mantra
Resources of Australia in 2011.
The legal battle is before the Tax Revenue Appeals Board that begun hearing of the matter on Monday March 5, 2011 in Dar es Salaam under the chairmanship of Pentarin Kente…. The amount of money involved is staggering; this is a record amount in Africa just on income tax. It
is $196 million that equivalent to Sh320 billion, 2 percent of the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product); it is not a small amount by local or international standards…. http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=39338

March 12, 2012 Posted by | AFRICA, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Virginia – hasty uranium regulations, behind closed doors

Activists urge caution on regulations for uranium mining, Virgnia Politics, 03/07/2012, By  As Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration begins developing regulations for uranium mining, some activists are expressing concerns about the process.

In a letter to the administration, representatives of the Piedmont Environmental Council, Virginia League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club say they worry that the regulations, which are supposed to be written over the next year, will be done too quickly, behind closed doors and with little input from the public.

Another group of business leaders from Southside Virginia called for additional data instead before the regulations are developed. In January, McDonnell (R) recommended that the state further study the impact of excavating a site in Southside Virginia that contains the nation’s largest known uranium deposit before lifting a mining ban.

He created a multi-agency group — comprised of staff from the Virginia Department of Health, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy — to study the site and draft regulations for a possible new mining industry in Virginia. The group will accept public comments during four open meetings and on a new Web site ….. Environmental groups — worried that a uranium mine in Virginia’s relatively rainy climate could contaminate natural resources, cause illness and have long-term effects on plants and animals — are disappointed that McDonnell wants to begin preparing regulations….. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/activists-urge-caution-on-regulations-for-uranium-mining/2012/03/07/gIQAwJpYxR_blog.html

March 8, 2012 Posted by | politics, Uranium, USA | 1 Comment

World’s biggest man made hole – BHP ‘s uranium mine, might not go ahead

Reuters report on mining conference in Canada  Mar 6, 2012  By Euan Rocha  TORONTO, March 6  –  The Anglo-Australia mining giant, which already operates an underground mine at the site, has yet to sign off on the budget for
the open pit…. but BHP may opt to delay taking on the heavy financial burden that could easily be in the $10 billion to $20 billion range…..

…. PDAC, the mining industry’s largest annual gathering. The convention, organized by the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, opened in Toronto on Sunday.

Even though Olympic Dam, located 550 km (345 miles) north of Adelaide, is one of BHP’s biggest growth prospects, the cost of
digging the massive pit may prove prohibitive.
Last month the company reported a profit decline, and it struck a cautious tone on its expectations for growth in China, one of its
biggest markets. That has led some to speculate that the miner may delay spending on capital-intensive projects such as Olympic Dam and the Jansen potash project in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

In late 2011, BHP finalized state approvals to begin construction work on the open-pit phase of the Olympic Dam project, but the agreement would lapse around December if BHP delays its decision on proceeding.

“We want to see a board decision before the end of the year about substantial works beginning. If not, the approvals run out and BHP know this,” said  Tom Koutsantonis, minister for mineral resources and energy for the state of South Australia.” I’m not in the business, and no government should be in the business, of allowing anyone to have massive tenements that they don’t develop …”-
A spokesman for BHP declined to comment on the remarks.
MASSIVE SCALE The sheer scale of the open-pit project is formidable. BHP will have to shovel rock for five to seven years before it reaches the Olympic Dam ore body, discovered in the mid-1970s….. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/06/canada-mining-pdac-olympicdam-idUSL2E8E60E220120306

March 7, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Confusion about Australian company Lynas rare earths and radioactive waste in Malaysia

No decision yet on sending Lynas waste to Western Australia  The Star, Malaysia, KUALA LUMPUR, 7 March 12, : The Cabinet has not decided on a proposal asking Lynas Corp rare earth waste material to be sent back to Western Australia, said Green Technology, Energy and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin.

He said Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum Norman Moore was entitled to his view that Australia would not accept responsibility for any waste produced by Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd. “Our Cabinet has not made a decision on the matter. Wait for it to be announced,” he said after the launch of the National Energy Security Conference 2012 yesterday.

Moore told the Australian parliament that the Western Australian government does not support the import and storage of other countries’ radioactive waste.

PKR MP Fuziah Salleh had proposed that the rare earth waste material for Lynas be returned to Australia. ….http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/29/nation/10825847&sec=nation

  Lynas to send residue abroad if no suitable disposal site found in Malaysia The Star, Malaysia, By ONG HAN SEAN KUANTAN,  March 6, 2012:Lynas Corp has already submitted a letter of undertaking to send its rare earth processing residue abroad if it cannot find a suitable waste disposal site in Malaysia. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the move was taken as an assurance to the people’s psychological and emotional safety.

“Even though the Government is satisfied there will be no radioactive residue produced during the plant’s operation, we have ordered Lynas to guarantee and plan the provision of a permanent waste disposal facility far from human population as recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Failing which, Lynas has already expressed willingness to take the residue out of Malaysia,” said Mustapa in a joint statement with Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob here Tuesday.

He said the Government had also announced the setting up of an independent monitoring panel to audit the plant’s construction as an additional measure. On the residue’s radiation monitoring, Mustapa said the plant had yet to start operation and the Government had not appoint independent experts to analyse the radiation level of the residues produced by the
plant…..  http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/3/6/nation/20120306154934&sec=nation

 Shut down or there’ll be another anti-Lynas rally, Govt told http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/28/nation/10818800&sec=nation The Star, Malaysia, 6 March 12, KUANTAN: Another anti-Lynas rally will be held if the Government does not shut down the rare earth refinery project in Gebeng, said the Himpunan Hijau committee which organised the first protest on Sunday.

Its chairman Wong Tack said he was disappointed with Prime Minis­ter Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s statement that the Go­­vernment had to look for a solution that would be acceptable to the people without affecting investments. “We cannot accept his statement. Therefore, the Him­punan Hijau 3.0 rally is on – unless the project is cancelled,” Wong said at a press conference yesterday. The organisers had called on the Government to respond within 24 hours after the Himpunan Hijau 2.0 rally ended two days ago. Najib had said Lynas was looking for an uninhabited location to store the waste material from the plant, although it was scientifically safe. Wong said the committee would discuss with Bersih chairman Da­­­tuk Ambiga Sreenevasan on the possibility of holding a joint rally soon.

March 7, 2012 Posted by | Malaysia, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Quebec rejects uranium mining

Quebec Says No to Uranium World Business Report, 4 Mar 12, In 2009, on the North-Shore of Quebec, the population of Sept-ÃŽles, with the help of “Sept-ÃŽles sans uranium”, had expressed its opposition against Terre Venture. The population won, and the company abandoned its project. Continue reading →

March 6, 2012 Posted by | Canada, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | Leave a comment

Malaysia needs an independent panel to scrutinise Lynas’ radioactive wastes

’Let independent panel monitor Lynas’, New Straits Times,  05 March 2012, KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to hire independent monitoring bodies to publish the radiation readings of residue to be disposed by Lynas Corporation. Environmental Protection Society Malaysia adviser Gurmit Singh said this was important as proof that the radiation level was safe as the government had claimed…

…. “As long as the research and findings by the government are not published, there is always going to be concern,” he told the New Straits Times when contacted yesterday. Citing the now-closed Asian Rare Earth (ARE) project in Bukit Merah, Perak, as an example, he urged the government to reconsider its decision to continue with the project.

“Shifting the disposal site is not going to address bigger problems that will occur later in the future, the site might be shifted far from where people live but there is still the eco-system and animals could also be affected. ”Radiation is not something that can be immediately seen or felt, hence the phobia by the public.”

On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government had decided to ask Lynas Corporation to dispose of residue from its rare earth processing plant to a dedicated site far from residential areas.

March 6, 2012 Posted by | Malaysia, politics, Uranium | Leave a comment

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