Wednesday, July 1, 2009 9:41 AM EDT
Bringing uranium mining to Pittsylvania County, according to what we are told, will mean economic prosperity for our area beyond the wildest dreams of local economic development personnel.
According to the United States Energy Information Administration, there is one operating uranium mill for conventionally-mined ore in the United States.
Denison Mines Corporation operates the sole active mill, being White Mesa. Early in May, 2009, Denison announced White Mesa was being put on standby and would not process any more conventional uranium ore for the rest of the year 2009.
The president and chief operating officer of Denison Mines Corporation, Ron Hochstein, stated Denison had filled all of its contracts for uranium for 2009 and that the market price of uranium, known as the spot price, was lower than the cost of processing conventional uranium ore. (The spot price went up a whole 50 cents last week!)
The first quarter 2009 financial report for Denison Mines Corporation shows a net loss of $1.3 million and the annual financial statement for 2008 shows a loss of $80.6 million.
Ron Hochstein is also chairman of the board of directors of Santoy Resources Ltd, which, according to announcements, is the Canadian firm in the process of merging with the Coles Hill company, Virginia Uranium, Ltd. (Do look at the financial statements of Santoy, posted on its Internet corporate site.)
The United States and Russia currently have a policy of converting uranium from dismantled uranium bombs, etc., into nuclear fuel rods to keep the uranium out of the hands of terrorists, which reduces the market for mined uranium ore.
The U. S. company handling this project is USEC Inc., and the vice president of marketing and sales is John M. A. Donelson.
Whether or not this is the same person who wrote by that name a recent glowing letter to the Star-Tribune in support for uranium mining at Coles Hill, I do not know.
There are 35 states in the United States which have nuclear generated electricity, producing a total of 806,181,935 megawatt hours in 2008. This was a bit less than the 2007 figure.
There are applications for 20 additional nuclear plants, with the application status being "under review."
One might wonder how many, if any, of those will be built for years, if ever, in the currrent state of financing even with the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Considering all of these factors, one might be justified in wondering just how many jobs over how long a period each year will result in Pittsylvania County from uranium mining and milling.
(The White Mesa Mill has been in operation since about 1980, including the period under another corporate name, and only has contracts sufficient for operation for four months out of 12?)
Hildred C. Shelton
Danville
http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2009/07/01/chatham/opinion/opinion03.txt
Showing posts with label Unstable Price for Uranium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unstable Price for Uranium. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Uranium mines 'flood prone'
Comment: Virginia Uranium SubCom should consider the flooding caused by hurricanes and our local heavy rain storms before they decide about uranium mining, plus uranium mining will not bring jobs to the area, the miners will come from Canada!!!!
Tony Moore
May 22, 2009 - 3:07PM
Tony Moore
May 22, 2009 - 3:07PM
Uranium mining does not produce jobs and is increasingly flood-prone, meaning toxic waste could run from flooded tailings dams, Queensland's Conservation Council said this morning.
QCC co-ordinator Toby Hutcheon said he acknowledged the job losses predicted by Australia's peak mining organisation in Queensland's mining industry as a result of an emission trading scheme.
However Mr Hutcheon said he did not accept this meant a shift to nuclear energy as a green source of producing electricity, saying Queensland had just two per cent of Australia's uranium reserves.
He said Queensland Premier Anna Bligh should instead build on her plans - announced in the State Budget - to produce local and regional jobs through a grass-roots solar hot water installation program.
"Uranium mining is not a big earner and it is not a big job creator for a start," Mr Hutcheon said.
"And the key issue is that now almost all of Queensland's uranium deposits were under water at the beginning of this year.
"And with floods set to become more regular we have a resource that is essentially in an inappropriate location.
"And it would be inappropriate to develop it.
"You could have old tailings dams running into the rivers and creeks."
Mr Hutcheon said the impact of an emission trading scheme on Queensland's carbon-intensive mining industry should be replaced by a bigger investment in industries linked to solar power.
"You have hundreds of thousands of roofs in every major city in Queensland that don't have a solar hot water system on them," Mr Hutcheon said.
"How many jobs could be created by a program of putting solar panels and solar hot water on all those roofs?" he asked.
"It creates local regional jobs and it has the effect of reducing energy costs for all those households."
The Premier promised 200,000 solar-powered hot water systems for Queensland during the March State Election.
The ACTU and the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) in October 2008 published a "Green Gold Rush" policy statement predicting the number of green jobs in Australia could increase from 112,000 to 500,000 by 2030.
This would include jobs in renewable energy, sustainable water, biomaterials, green buildings, waste and recycling.
Mr Hutcheon said it was clear Queensland's economy was vulnerable as prices for mineral exports fell.
"And it is likely that we will see a decline in demand as countries look to find alternatives other than using coal," he said.
QCC co-ordinator Toby Hutcheon said he acknowledged the job losses predicted by Australia's peak mining organisation in Queensland's mining industry as a result of an emission trading scheme.
However Mr Hutcheon said he did not accept this meant a shift to nuclear energy as a green source of producing electricity, saying Queensland had just two per cent of Australia's uranium reserves.
He said Queensland Premier Anna Bligh should instead build on her plans - announced in the State Budget - to produce local and regional jobs through a grass-roots solar hot water installation program.
"Uranium mining is not a big earner and it is not a big job creator for a start," Mr Hutcheon said.
"And the key issue is that now almost all of Queensland's uranium deposits were under water at the beginning of this year.
"And with floods set to become more regular we have a resource that is essentially in an inappropriate location.
"And it would be inappropriate to develop it.
"You could have old tailings dams running into the rivers and creeks."
Mr Hutcheon said the impact of an emission trading scheme on Queensland's carbon-intensive mining industry should be replaced by a bigger investment in industries linked to solar power.
"You have hundreds of thousands of roofs in every major city in Queensland that don't have a solar hot water system on them," Mr Hutcheon said.
"How many jobs could be created by a program of putting solar panels and solar hot water on all those roofs?" he asked.
"It creates local regional jobs and it has the effect of reducing energy costs for all those households."
The Premier promised 200,000 solar-powered hot water systems for Queensland during the March State Election.
The ACTU and the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) in October 2008 published a "Green Gold Rush" policy statement predicting the number of green jobs in Australia could increase from 112,000 to 500,000 by 2030.
This would include jobs in renewable energy, sustainable water, biomaterials, green buildings, waste and recycling.
Mr Hutcheon said it was clear Queensland's economy was vulnerable as prices for mineral exports fell.
"And it is likely that we will see a decline in demand as countries look to find alternatives other than using coal," he said.
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