uranium news

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.

But before the first pounds of yellowcake are harvested from the tundra, a fearful word has entered the debate: Fukushima. The Japanese nuclear plant, which melted down recently, has become synonymous with renewed worry about the safety and ethics of atomic energy. Indeed, even in the farthest stretches of the country, Fukushima is raising new questions for Inuit now considering whether to mine nuclear fuel from their soil. The renaissance is stumbling.

In Nunavut, two separate reviews, one by the territorial government and one by the organization that manages Inuit lands, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., are considering whether and how to proceed with uranium in development. In northern Labrador, the Inuit Nunatsiavut government stands ready to decide whether to renew a three-year moratorium on uranium mining that came up for review at the end of March.

The Fukushima disaster has unfolded in the midst of all three reviews.

….. The renewed worries about nuclear safety have arisen at a critical time for Canada’s Inuit, as they try to reconcile new gains from the mining industry with the impact of uranium mining on people and a fragile landscape……. 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.”

She believes the message has been widely received.

“My sense is that people aren’t for it.”

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 –

udla, the chief executive officer of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. “It’s brought about awareness as to the end result of nuclear power and its possible consequences.”… http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/fukushima-chills-uranium-development/article2025353/

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

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. (more…)

mining firms “scoured the land” looking for ore deposits, Tohe said. They hired local workers, Navajos and Pueblos, to enter the mines, where radioactive dust settled into miners’ clothes before they went home and contaminated their families, Tohe said.

“The workers were never told that this was dangerous,” Tohe said……There may be short-term jobs, but the mining industry is susceptible to the market,”…“The communities are held hostage by the boom and bust cycle,”

Anti-uranium mining activist speaks out on project | GoDanRiver.com, 7 Feb 2011, If uranium is mined and milled at Coles Hill in Pittsylvania County, what happened in the U.S. West could happen in Chatham, (more…)

In a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, this week, Ms Margarula said it was “with great sadness” the Mirarr people learnt of the suffering of the Japanese people following the earthquake and tsunami.

Ms Margarula told Mr Ban her people had been blocked from opposing the export of uranium from their land to Japan…..

Jeffery Lee, the sole member of the Djok clan, offered Koongarra to the government, shunning the chance to become a billionaire, saying he is happy to work as a ranger protecting the land….

Forget the billions, return Jabiluka site to Kakadu, say traditional owners, Sydney Morning Herald, Lindsay Murdoch Jabiru April 7, 2011 ABORIGINAL traditional owners have declared they want the multibillion-dollar Jabiluka uranium deposit to remain undeveloped and be incorporated into Kakadu National Park. (more…)