Uranium Study Should Be Done, And Soon (Roanoke Times)

Friday, March 14, 2008

James P. Savage III

(Savage is a financial economist and entrepreneur.)

The discussion surrounding the uranium deposit near Chatham and the state law prohibiting the development and operation of uranium mines in the state of Virginia has captured my attention for several reasons.

My career as an investment banker and venture capitalist involved me in several projects with environmental impact problems. I have always fancied myself an environmentalist.

In any project that entailed environmentally sensitive activities, my first question to myself and the other entrepreneurs involved was: How much will it cost to do this with an environmentally and socially neutral outcome? If the economics of the project made it possible to develop the project, meet the various environmental, safety and other social requirements and make a profit, we went ahead. If not, we looked for another project in which to invest. There were always a lot more projects than there was money. Why buy trouble?

In the case of the uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County, the study that is being proposed should not be discussed in terms of an objective such as, "Can the uranium prospect in Pittsylvania be mined safely?" Rather the objective should be to determine at what cost the deposit can be mined and the ore processed without adverse environmental or other health and social impacts.

In any case, if the study is done, there will remain the question of what the study has determined. Who will interpret the results of the study to report to the public that, yes, it can be done or, no, it cannot be done at a cost that can be supported by the expected revenues of the venture? Certainly the principals in Virginia Uranium will want to know and understand the conclusions because their land, their money, their time and their health are at stake.

Walter Coles, the owner of the property in question, has been quoted as saying he won't mine the prospect if it cannot be done safely. He most certainly will not mine the prospect if it cannot be done safely at a profit.

Two conditions unite my projects with the uranium project. In some cases people were unwilling to learn and understand all the details of my projects before they formed their opinions, which were mostly uninformed and negative. In one case, the development of garbage processing plants, individuals spread fear with untrue stories in communities that were potential sites for plants.

Yes, there were some potential problems and inconveniences, particularly truck traffic and odors. But there were solutions to these problems. No one would listen to reason. The elected representatives of the many communities that we visited during those years were most disappointing. The garbage processing project failed and deprived communities of a system that would have alleviated all of the problems of landfills except truck traffic.

The second condition that unites my projects with the uranium project is that, in the case of a mining project, a study of the geology of the area and an engineering study of the mine plan and the processing systems were necessary to determine whether the project could proceed and still stay within the constraints imposed by economic, environmental and safety considerations.

In this case -- a mining project, to be carried out by a company that I had formed for that purpose -- science brought to the subject by a brilliant young lady geologist with a fresh Ph.D. carried the day.

After several years of study and meticulous collection of data, the agency in West Virginia responsible for carrying out the mandate of the new environmental regulations finally admitted that we had proven that under our proposed mining plan (to which we were committed to adhere), we could mine the property without polluting the streams in the two watersheds that would be impacted by our mining activity.

But it was too late. The economics had been undermined by the opening of the valves in the oil fields of Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. I was hurt then. We are all being hurt now by the same forces.

Let us hope that in the case of the uranium project, a study is done, and soon, with the proper objective and with an eye to transparency of results. If the project is to be prohibited let it be prohibited for a good reason and not out of fear and ignorance. We are running out of time, oil and alternatives.