No way to stop Australian uranium ending up in India’s nuclear weapons

January 29, 2012

The alternative course for Australia is to side with the large majority of the world’s countries who want to re-establish and reinforce the principle that nuclear trade should be restricted to countries that have signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and take seriously their non-proliferation and disarmament commitments.

We could take a principled rather than an unprincipled approach. We could lead rather than follow. 

Safeguarding uranium exports to India Online Opinion , Dr Jim Green, 1 Dec 11 A big part of the PR pitch for uranium sales to nuclear-armed India is the assertion that ‘strict’ safeguards will ‘ensure’ peaceful use of Australian uranium. Sadly, it’s just PR.

The claim sits uncomfortably with the reality that safeguards are based on occasional inspections of some nuclear plants by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The claim sits even more uncomfortably with the observations of recently-retired IAEA chief Mohamed El Baradei that the Agency’s basic rights of inspection are “fairly limited”, the safeguards system suffers from “vulnerabilities” and efforts to improve it have been “half-hearted”, and the system operates on a “shoestring budget…comparable to a local police department”. Read the rest of this entry »

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Wiluna uranium mine far from certain as Toro Energy drums up funds

January 29, 2012

TORO Energy will consider all project funding options as it moves towards developing Western Australia’s first uranium mine.. Adelaide Now, Christopher Russell  December 01, 2011

Mr Hall told the company’s annual general meeting in Adelaide yesterday Toro estimated it will cost about $280 million to build the mine at Wiluna in south-central WA…..

Toro was looking for options to fund Wiluna, which would produce about 820 tonnes a year of uranium….. ”In the current climate, the most likely method will be a joint venture partner who takes part-ownership in return for both funding and offtake of uranium….

Chairman Erica Smyth said the company was proceeding very cautiously……”We’re looking at all the options to finance this.” Both Dr Smyth and Mr Hall said the industry had been dealt a severe blow by the Fukushima disaster…. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/toro-seeks-partners-for-280m-wa-mine/story-e6frede3-1226210632139

Posted in economics, Toro Energy | Leave a Comment »

BHP Billiton spending up big to try to pre-empt decision on Olympic Dam big new uranium mine

January 29, 2012

$1.3 billion is  a lot of money to spend on a project that might never come to fruition.  It’s a common tactic, but one that could come unstuck.  But then, I’ve always suspected that Marius Kloppers, Dean Dalla Valle, like many bigwigs might feel that they have plenty of BHP money to splash around –  perhaps an old-fashioned case of more money than sense.

The international news is not encouraging for the uranium industry – though I note that Australia’s mainstream media just ignores facts like  -  the expensive mess of nuclear transport in France and Germany, – the anti nuclear political strength gathering in France,  - the  huge anti nuclear movement and other nuclear hindrances in India, -and the ever downward price of uranium. - Christina Macpherson

South Australia Parliament approves BHP Billiton Olympic Dam expansion, by:Sarah Martin, Adelaide Now, :The Advertiser, November 30, 2011, BHP Billiton will start spending $1.2 billion on equipment for the Olympic Dam expansion in coming weeks after winning final approvals from Parliament for the deal to proceed.

The head of the company’s uranium operations, Dean Dalla Valle, said the approval paved the way for the $30 billion mine to be SouthAustralia’s economic driver for the next 40 years, but gave no guarantees BHP Billiton’s board would approve the project in 2012.

The indenture approval allows $525 million of the company’s pre-approved funding to be spent in South Australia over the next six months as the company begins purchasing long-lead-time items, such as trucks, and starts site works at Roxby Downs.

Despite resistance from the Greens and more than 30 hours of parliamentary debate, amendments to the Roxby Downs Indenture Act passed with bipartisan support yesterday afternoon…. State Greens leader Mark Parnell said the passage of the bill was a ”dark day” for South Australia, accusing the Government of trashing state laws to approve the mine…. The state Greens voted against the legislation, with Mr Parnell saying the Government had voted to turn South Australia into the world’s quarry.

“Future generations are going to be disgusted with us for giving their resources away for a pittance and leaving them to deal with … the world’s largest radioactive waste dump,” he said.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/south-australia-parliament-approves-bhp-billiton-olympic-dam-expansion/story-e6frea83-1226209097762

Posted in BHP Billiton, economics, Olympic Dam | Leave a Comment »

ANSTO and Thorium nuclear reactors – anything to keep the nuclear industry alive

January 29, 2012

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) buyng into the Thorium dream?

Anything to keep the nuclear industry alive?

Australian and Czech consortium announce thorium joint venture Australian Mining - Cole Latimer  - 30 Nov 11 Arrangements will be discussed with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) which is responsible for monitoring the activity and … (Website was not available to me, – Christina Macpherson) 

  Technology transitions always happen faster than the conventional market predicts Thorium is the latest suggestion from those attempting to distract us from renewables as the solution, but according to those in the nuclear research arena, thorium realistically is at least 50 years away from being realized.
http://www.pv-magazine.com/opinion-analysis/blogdetails/beitrag/technology-transitions-always-happen-faster-than-the-conventional-market-predicts_100004940/

Posted in THORIUM | Leave a Comment »

Uranium mining brings area to endangered classification

January 29, 2012

Uranium puts Southside on endangered list  GoDanRiver.com  January 27, 2012 Southside landed on the Southern Environmental Law Center’s fourth annual Top 10 Endangered Places in the Southeast list because of proposed uranium mining and pressure to lift Virginia’s uranium moratorium.

Many of the areas on SELC’s top 10 list are endangered by pressure to undercut environmental protections and to lower the hurdles for potentially destructive projects, …..

Posted in environment, Virginia Uranium | Leave a Comment »

Uranium mining – a resource curse for Tanazania?

January 29, 2012

Committee wants to see contracts for uranium , By Sylivester Ernest,The Citizen, Tanzania, 26 Jan 12, Dar es Salaam. A Parliamentary committee yesterday ordered the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to furnish it with contracts it signed with two companies to explore uranium in the country.

According to the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy and Minerals, Mr January Makamba, the aim was to make sure that the contracts entered between the government and Mantra Resources Ltd (Mantra) of South Africa and Uranex would benefit the country’s economy and environment.

He told reporters after the committee met with officials of the ministry that uranium exploration was a very delicate issue worldwide and his committee wanted to ensure the mineral did not turn out to be a curse for the country.

“We want to make sure that the environment and the country’s security are looked at…uranium is among the most sought after minerals, and we must take precautions,” the Bumbuli MP said.

Records show that the government agreed with Mantra, under the company’s flagship Mkuju River Project, to explore the existence of uranium in southern Tanzania.The firm has confirmed the presence of multiple thick zones of sandstone-hosted uranium mineralisation at shallow wells in the Nyota Prospect.An inferred mineral resource of 35.9 million pounds (U3O8) is estimated for the prospect.

This initial resource estimate is based on drilling that covers only a small part of the total area of prospecting, and a potential exists to substantially grow the resource base with ongoing work. On the other hand, Uranex is working at Bahi area for Dodoma and Manyoni projects with an estimated 6.7 million pounds.Tanzania is believed to have about 53.9 million pounds of uranium oxide deposits. http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/-/19265-committee-wants-to-see-contracts-for-uranium

Posted in politics | Leave a Comment »

Risk of radioactive pollution of water, from uranium mining

January 29, 2012

The truly frightening part is the sentence that reads, ” Covering tailings material with water during operations …”  Where do they imagine all that water will end up?  It’s water containing not only radioactive material, but a host of other toxins as well?  And how do they know for certain that an earthquake could not crack that containment cell open like an egg or that a hurricane would not dump enough water on Coles Hill to cause those cells to become so saturated that they leak their contents into the groundwater surrounding them?

Uranium risks far outweigh benefits AltaVista Journal, Jesse Andrews, 25 Jan 12,   Virginia Uranium Inc.’s most recent propaganda release, “We’re committed to protecting water quality.”   Why does VUI feel the need to continue to explain itself if in fact uranium mining would be as safe and innocuous as they claim?  If uranium mining had ever been safe anywhere, which it has not, they wouldn’t feel such a desperate need to explain just how safe their mine would be. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Virginia Uranium, water | Leave a Comment »

Iconic Grand Canyon wins out over new uranium mining

January 29, 2012

the 20-year ban is supported by an unprecedented coalition of tribal leaders; hunting, fishing, ranching and conservation groups; municipal water suppliers; wildlife advocates; and nearly 300,000 individuals who commented favorably on the proposed moratorium. Chambers of commerce, community leaders and elected officials are also among those mainstream voices speaking out against a handful of politicians now defending industrialists’ demand to exploit our treasured landscape.

At risk are the Grand Canyon’s watersheds. These interconnected surface and groundwater systems extend many miles beyond the park’s boundary.

Uranium-mining ban was a grand decision, The Arizona Republic,  by Roger Clark – Jan. 22, 2012   Arizonans and all Americans won a major victory on Jan. 9 when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed a “record of decision” for a 20-year ban on new uranium claims on 1.1 million acres of public land surrounding Grand Canyon National Park.

The decision reduces the risk of permanent harm to wildlife, water, our economy and sites sacred to Havasupai and all native people in ourregion. It also best serves our nation’s interests. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in indigenous, water | Leave a Comment »

No improvement in sight for uranium mining investment

January 29, 2012

Uranium miners still waiting on that rebound, TIM KILADZE, Globe and Mail , January 24, 2012 When stocks of uranium miners plummeted after last March’s traumatizing Japanese earthquake, some people expected a rebound once the market’s initial shocks and fears subsided.

They’re still waiting.

Close to a year after the earthquake, shares of Cameco Corp. (CCO-T23.54-0.25-1.05%) are still down 40 per cent and smaller rivals are faring just as badly, with Denison Mines (DML-T1.89-0.12-5.97%) down about 50 per cent. The death knell apparently came when Germany declared a retreat from nuclear energy.

Are these miners doomed for good? Depends on who you ask. Investors are clearly too scared to go near the industry, considering the stocks have moved very little since their initial free fall. (Check out a stock chart for the past year.
Quite scary.) But the companies themselves keep saying that everyone has it wrong.

Cameco chief financial officer Grant Isaac repeated this view when he sat down at CIBC World Market’s Whistler conference last week….. there’s still a major problem. Even if Cameco is bullish over the next decade, its consumers, particularly utilities, like to secure long-term supply contracts, and Cameco can’t talk long-term contracts when they would have to lock-in at today’s prices.

So for now, Cameco is touting plans to increase production. Mr. Isaac said Cameco is sitting on 1 billion pounds of reserves and resources, and the firm wants to bump production from 2 per cent of this a year to 4 per cent.

On this front, investors are cautious. Much of this growth centres on developing the second shaft of Cameco’s Cigar Lake project in northern Saskatchewan, and it’s been plagued with problems…..
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/streetwise/uranium-miners-still-waiting-on-that-rebound/article2313513/

Posted in Cameco, economics | Leave a Comment »

Strong citizen opposition to uranium mining in Virginia

January 29, 2012

Virginia Conservation Network works on a broad range of environmental issues all across the state, but never have I seen such an issue galvanize people like the prospect of uranium mining,” said director Nathan Lott. ”Black and white, urban and rural, Republican and Democrat - Virginians agree that mining is just too risky.”

Citizens expressed deep concerns about the potential contamination of water sources in the Roanoke River watershed

Citizens pack General Assembly offices to voice opposition to uranium mining,Star Tribune,  January 23, 2012   RICHMOND – Citizens from across the state converged in the Capitol Monday to call on their elected representatives in the General Assembly to keep Virginia’s 30-year ban on uranium mining.

Following significant warnings from the National Academy of Sciences, the ban will now remain in place for 2012. Citizens are seeking to make that victory permanent.

To highlight their message, they offered legislators “yellowcake” cupcakes with the message: “These yellow cakes are not harmful – but making uranium yellowcake and leaving behind radioactive waste in Virginia is. Protect our health, our
heritage and our future. Keep the Ban on Uranium Mining in Virginia.” Also, the Keep the Ban Coalition announced that over the last year, more than 10,000 citizens have signed an online petition or sent emails to Virginia legislators urging them to keep the ban, and 102 organizations and government entities – from the cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Roanoke to the state chapter of the NAACP and Halifax County Chamber of Commerce – have either passed a resolution or taken other action expressing deep concerns about impacts that would result from lifting the ban.
“Virginia Conservation Network works on a broad range of environmental issues all across the state, but never have I seen such an issue galvanize people like the prospect of uranium mining,” said director
Nathan Lott. ”Black and white, urban and rural, Republican and Democrat - Virginians agree that mining is just too risky.”
Citizens expressed deep concerns about the potential contamination of water sources in the Roanoke River watershed Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in opposition to u-mining, Virginia Uranium | Leave a Comment »

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