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Indigenous resistance to uranium mining, as Fukushima news continues

before the first pounds of yellowcake are harvested from the tundra, a fearful word has entered the debate: Fukushima. …..Sandra Inutiq chairs a group called Nunavummiut Makitagunarningit, which translates to “Nunavummiut can rise up” and she has opposed uranium development. In an interview, Ms. Inutiq warned that allowing uranium development will transform parts of Nunavut into “a wasteland of tailings.”….And, she added, Fukushima has raised the stakes, as Inuit contemplate the ethical implications of allowing uranium from their territory to be exported around the world –

Fukushima chills uranium development NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE, CALGARY— Globe and Mail , May. 19, 2011 It looked to be a nuclear renaissance set on Canada’s sub-Arctic plains.Over the past few years, a series of companies secured rights to remote stretches of Inuit land that hide rich troves of uranium. One project alone, the five mines that make up the Kiggavik proposal from French nuclear giant Areva, stands poised to increase Canada’s uranium output by 35 per cent. Continue reading →

May 20, 2011 Posted by | Canada, indigenous issues, Uranium | Leave a comment

Navajo in Washington to fight uranium mining

Navajo group bringing attention to uranium mining,  Forbes.com, By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN , 05.17.11,  TALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Members of a Navajo group opposed to uranium mining on New Mexico land surrounded by the sprawling Navajo reservation traveled to Washington, D.C., on Monday to bring attention to their fight.Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Friday. The petition alleges human rights violations and seeks to overturn the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to grant a mining license to Hydro Resources Inc…..The company has plans to develop claims near the Navajo communities of Church Rock and Crownpoint…..”We know the current governor isn’t particularly interested in listening to Native communities or protecting natural resources. We don’t see ourselves as having any recourse with the state,” said Eric Jantz, an attorney with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, which filed the petition on behalf of the group.……Navajo group bringing attention to uranium mining – Forbes.com

May 19, 2011 Posted by | indigenous issues, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

41 organisations join to stop uranium mining in Virginia

“There are just too many questions and potential risks of radioactive and toxic materials contaminating our streams, rivers and drinking water. With all the storms and hurricanes we get, this is the worst possible place you could put a uranium operation.”

Coalition to keep the ban on uranium mining in Virginia growing statewide
, THE GAZETTE VIRGINIAN, 15 May 11, An organization called Keep the Ban Coalition on Thursday launched a statewide effort to keep the existing ban on uranium mining in Virginia. Representatives on the coalition include the NAACP, Sierra Club, Southern Environmental Law Center and numerous activists from across Southside Virginia.The Keep the Ban Coalition said Thursday it has the support of 41 localities and organizations that have joined the growing statewide movement urging the Virginia legislature to resist an industry push to lift the state’s ban on uranium mining as early as next year. ncluded among supporters are the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce and Southside Concerned Citizens. Continue reading →

May 16, 2011 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Flawed analysis of risks of Grand Canyon uranium mining

“There is entirely too much risk, too many unknowns and too many identified impacts to justify threatening one of the most important U.S. landmarks and one of the most world-renowned national parks to justify the relatively small economic benefit associated with mining of uranium in the Grand Canyon region,”

Critics blast report on G. Canyon uranium mining,  NewsTimes , May 15, 2011 FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Conservation groups and officials in a northern Arizona county say there are serious flaws in a new federal analysis of the risks and benefits of uranium mining near the Grand Canyon. Continue reading →

May 16, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Australian uranium companies take heavy losses

Risk fallout hasn’t left uranium stock, May 13, 2011, SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Australian-listed uranium firms are sporting heavy year-to-date losses after the recent disaster in Japan, and while investors appear to be slowly returning to some shares, analysts say the risks haven’t gone away.

Further afield, Canada’s Cameco Corp.   has seen its stock fall 37.1% year-to-date, while Uranium One Inc.  shares are down 19.8% in Toronto. Continue reading →

May 15, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Navajo’s battle against uranium mining is to go to UN

The groups contend the mines, first permitted by NRC in 1999, could contaminate drinking water for 15,000 Navajo residents in and around the two communities, which lie just outside the Navajo Nation. In 2005, the Navajo’s tribal government passed a law prohibiting uranium mining within its borders….The United Nations also recognizes clean water as a human right

Navajo Group to Take Uranium Mine Challenge to Human Rights Commission, NYTimes.com, By APRIL REESE of GreenwirePublished: May 12, 2011 In a last attempt to deep-six a controversial project to mine uranium near two Navajo communities in northwestern New Mexico, a Navajo environmental group is taking its fight to the global stage.

Tomorrow, Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining, with the help of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, will submit a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights arguing that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to grant Hydro Resources Inc., a license to mine uranium ore near Churchrock and Crown Point, N.M., is a violation of international laws.

The groups contend the mines, first permitted by NRC in 1999, could contaminate drinking water for 15,000 Navajo residents in and around the two communities, which lie just outside the Navajo Nation. In 2005, the Navajo’s tribal government passed a law prohibiting uranium mining within its borders.

“By its acts and omissions that have contaminated and will continue to contaminate natural resources in the Dine communities of Crownpoint and Church Rock, the State has violated Petitioners’ human rights and breached its obligations under the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man,” the petition reads.

“We’re very hopeful,” said Eric Jantz, an attorney with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center who is filing the petition on behalf of ENDAUM. “I think we have very solid claims. It’s always been our client’s position that clean water is a human right.”

The United Nations also recognizes clean water as a human right, he added.

The groups cannot take their case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which is separate from the commission, because the United States does not recognize the international court’s jurisdiction, Jantz said…….

Most of the uranium mining projects in New Mexico are being financed by Japanese and other Asian investors, as well as some in Russia, he said.

Navajo Group to Take Uranium Mine Challenge to Human Rights Commission – NYTimes.com

May 13, 2011 Posted by | indigenous issues, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Financial and security problems in USA’s foreign owned uranium mines

Foes Highlight Companies’ Foreign Ownership in Bids to Halt Uranium Mining, New York Times, By MANUEL QUINONES, 4 may 11,  Environmentalists trying to halt U.S. uranium projects are emphasizing the foreign ownership of mining companies. A key issue: Companies that mine uranium and other hardrock minerals do not pay royalties to the U.S. government. Several companies that mine or are seeking permits to mine U.S. uranium are based in Canada.

Those companies are “able to take this uranium off of U.S. soil without paying taxpayer compensations,” said Jane Danowitz, public lands director for the Pew Environment Group.

“It just goes to show,” Danowitz said, “that this is an issue that should raise concerns beyond environmental impacts.” Among the concerns being raised about foreign ownership of uranium companies is that U.S. uranium could end up in hostile hands. Republican lawmakers last year raised alarms over the Russian-owned company ARMZ taking control from Canadian interests of Uranium One Inc., which has significant U.S. operations.

“This transaction would give the Russian government control over a sizable portion of America’s uranium production capacity,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told President Obama in a letter last December. “As you know, Russia has a disturbing record of supporting nuclear programs in countries that are openly hostile to the United States.”….. http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/05/04/04greenwire-foes-highlight-companies-foreign-ownership-in-90317.html

May 5, 2011 Posted by | politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Uranium mining threatens Grand Canyon’s water, and itseconomic viability

Polluting the Grand Canyon with uranium mines and radioactive tailings would have a drastic, negative effect on the area’s economic viability.

Uranium mining and Grand Canyon, Salt Lake Tribune, BY WALKER MACKAY 1 May 11, “……..Uranium mining in the Grand Canyon area will have a huge impact on the area’s watershed. The uranium excavation process known as “breccia pipe-type” results in ore and waste rock being piled on the land’s surface, where precipitation and run-off waters can transport it into the Grand Canyon via aquifers, springs, and drainages. There is a real potential for uranium contamination to occur in the creeks, seeps, and other tributaries that supply water to Grand Canyon National Park. Continue reading →

May 2, 2011 Posted by | Uranium, USA, water | Leave a comment

Fukushima a disaster for the uranium industry

Today , in Fn Arena   Greg Peel reports that the Uranium Market is Becalmed. USA’s  Energy department is continuing to sell its uranium   the spot price continues to fall.

Uranium Prices Plummet in the Wake of Nuclear Explosions, Insane Planet May 1, 2011 By N. Solomon,   The Japan disaster has spelt a concomitant disaster to uranium prices as both spot prices as well as shares of uranium-mining companies crash. Uranium prices have suffered due to the explosions that happened in Japan and the attendant problems which are obvious to everyone, many countries in the world which had nuclear agendas especially as a means of power generation are either developing cold feet or planning to scrap the project is completely–and justifiably so.

As it stands, it is believed among investors that many countries are going to react to the radiation leaks that followed explosions at the Japanese Fukushima plant by enforcing tighter restrictions even if they do not take the alternative of completely abandoning the project. Either way, uranium prices will be forced down.

May 2, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Radioactive for ONLY 300 YEARS, boast Thorium promoters

the waste would have to be stored for around 300 years or so, compared to tens of thousands of years for current reactors.

Only in the world of nuclear technology could a requirement for 300 years of dangerous waste storage be seen as an advantage.

No one talks about safe nuclear power because it doesn’t exist, Canberra Times, Dr Sue Wareham 28 Apr, 2011 , The heading on Julian Cribb’s glowing recommendation of thorium reactor research (April 26, p11) poses the question ”Why is no one talking about safe nuclear power?” The answer is that it doesn’t exist.

Cribb states that thorium reactors do not produce weapons grade material. This is misleading. Continue reading →

April 29, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, technology, Uranium | Leave a comment

Centennial Project – uranium mining’s poor prospects

(USA) Powertech pauses uranium mine Company: Nuke disaster hurt industry, Centennial Project, Coloradoan.com , Apr. 27, 2011“…..The March 11 Tohoku earthquake in Japan and nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant that followed sent uranium prices plummeting….. “This is about as bad a story as you can imagine for the U.S. nuclear power industry,” said Charles Mason, True Chair of energy economics in the economics and finance department at the University of Wyoming, who is writing a book about uranium exploration and its impacts. “It certainly is bad news.”

Once it became clear the quake would lead to prolonged nuclear disaster, nuclear industry forecasters started to predict unhappy consequences for uranium prices….. Powertech’s current financial state could cast even more doubt on the future of the Centennial Project, according to the filing. Powertech said in its report that to maintain “a portion” of its interest in the Centennial Project, the company is required to make “significant” option payments in June.

April 29, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Thousands of kilos of depleted uranium to SAVE Libyans?

The use of D.U. constitutes a war crime and crime against humanity, just as poison gas and dumdum bullets were designated in their time. The Libyan people are the latest victims of this western inflicted plague.

Irradiate the Libyan people to save the Libyan people? How else could you describe the NATO attack on Libya? 

Depleted Uranium Used In Libya, Mathaba, By Thomas C. Mountain 15 April, 2011  NATO aircraft are routinely equipped with anti-armor missiles fitted with depleted uranium war heads. It has been widely reported that NATO has fired hundreds of anti-armor missiles in many parts of Libya, including in the immediate environs of the Libyan capital Tripoli. This means that thousands of kilos of depleted uranium have been used in Libya in the past weeks. Continue reading →

April 25, 2011 Posted by | depleted uranium, Libya, Uranium | Leave a comment

“Rare Earths” are radioactive, not so innocuous as they sound

why can’t the nuclear countries produce their own nuclear fuels in their own countries?  Unconfirmed reports have noted that some countries are dumping their nuclear wastes (rare earth included) in some third world countries under the guise of economic and scientific corporation!

(Malaysia) THE RARE EARTH CONTROVERSY, The Star,  by: cheaman, 25 April 11 What is ‘rare earth’? They are ‘actinide’ substances. So what are ‘actinides’, pray tell? Continue reading →

April 25, 2011 Posted by | ASIA, technology, Uranium | Leave a comment

Australian Aboriginal leader writes to UN about uranium mining

Yvonne Margarula’s letter to the UN expressing solidarity with the people of Fukushima , | Indymedia Australia, 16 Apr 2011 Below is a letter sent by Yvonne Margarula of the Mirrar people to Ban Ki Moon the Secretary General of the UN on the 6th of April 2011. The Mirrar are the traditional owners of the land that Ranger and Jabiluka Uranium mines are located on. These mines have been developed without the consent of the Mirrar people. The letter expresses solidarity with the people of Japan and sorrow that uraniun from the land of the Mirrar was used in the Fukushima plant. Continue reading →

April 16, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, indigenous issues, Uranium | Leave a comment

Citizens battle to save Grand Canyon from uranium mining

Razing Arizona? Citizens Fight to Protect the Grand Canyon from Uranium Mining, Change.org News by Jess Leber · April 04, 2011 Every year, 5 million tourists from all over the world flock to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, where they can view 2 billion years of geologic history in its glory.

Today, this national landmark is under threat. Continue reading →

April 7, 2011 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

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