Posted by Carrington Dillon On September - 21 - 2009
[Approx. Read/Watch Time: 5 minutes]
You may have read on Clean Energy Insight before about the Coles Hill, Virginia uranium deposit. Pittsylvania County, Virginia is known for its tobacco farms, but it’s also home to the largest untapped uranium deposit in the United States. Currently, the National Academy of Sciences is conducting an 18 month study to determine the effects that uranium mining will have on the area.
Despite an objective study currently being done to determine if uranium mining can be done safely at Coles Hill, there has been some opposition from a small group of people in Southwest Virginia. Some anti-uranium mining groups from other states have even come in and attempted to organize opposition based on fear tactics and baseless myths.
The Virginia Energy Independence Alliance has put together a great video dispelling some of the myths being put out there by radical opposition groups.
Myth 1: There is no established need for uranium in the United States. The US exports most of its uranium.
Myth 2: Uranium test drilling at Coles Hill is leading to lead contamination in local wells.
Myth 3: Uranium has never been safely mined. Especially, in a temperate environment like that of Southwest Virginia.
Myth 4: Problems from uranium mining in Navajo communities in the 1950’s will happen again if uranium mining were started in Southwest Virginia.
Thanks to VEIA for the great video, and I hope there are more to come. Enjoy.
( By Mike Bloom ) [Approx. Read Time: 4 minutes]
Twenty years ago, you could ask anyone from Danville, Virginia where to find a good paying job there and I bet they could name a dozen places, mostly in manufacturing, such as the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Plant or the Dan River Textile Plant. Fast forward to Danville today and this is not a reality. Along with the closure of the Dan River Plant in 2003, Danville has some of the highest unemployment numbers in the country. Many hardworking and honest blue collar workers (including some personal acquaintances–I grew up in surrounding Pittsylvania County) have been laid off and just are hoping to find good jobs.
We’ve covered this issue before, but Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu has recently endorsed a study that may give a large boost to the Danville economy. The study’s purpose is to determine the impact of mining the largest known uranium deposit (Cole’s Hill) in the United States, which is located about 25 minutes north Danville. Hopefully, with the endorsement of Energy Secretary Chu, plans for the uranium mine will be enacted, providing hundreds of jobs to Danville and surrounding areas.
The President and CEO of Virginia Uranium Inc. recently thanked Energy Secretary Chu for his endorsement in the Danville Register & Bee, linked here and shown below.
Thank You, Mr. Secretary
By Norman W. Reynolds
Published: July 26, 2009
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu could not have picked a better spot than Pittsylvania County to sound his ringing call for “restarting” our nation’s nuclear energy program, as well as endorsing Virginia’s state-sanctioned study to assess the safety and feasibility of mining and milling uranium in the commonwealth.
The setting for Chu’s speech at a local farm last Saturday was just 10 miles south of the Coles Hill uranium site and 50 miles south of the City of Lynchburg, one of the most dynamic hubs of advanced nuclear technology in Virginia. Coles Hill is where Virginia Uranium proposes to mine and mill the largest known undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States.
Speaking to concerns that have been raised about mining in Virginia, Chu — a Nobel laureate in physics — explained that in “any kind of mining, whether it’s uranium, coal or nickel, or you name it, it has to be done in a way that protects the environment and protects the people. … there’s a study going on as to whether uranium mining in Virginia is going to do that. … we will wait for the results of that study.”
The Virginia Coal and Energy Commission is working with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct an independent study to address concerns of Virginians about safety to people, livestock, crops and the environment.
The secretary’s position on the uranium potential at Coles Hill seemed to reflect that of his boss, President Barack Obama. When the president was campaigning in Virginia last year, The Roanoke Times carried the following report:
“According to an e-mail from his Virginia communications director, Obama supports a proposed study of the (Coles Hill) site to evaluate the potential environmental effects of mining. But, he adds, ‘Virginia has the potential to be a national leader in uranium mining, and development of uranium resources in Pittsylvania County could create hundreds of jobs in that part of the state.’”
On the larger subject of using nuclear energy to power America, Chu told the local audience of about 275 people that the Obama administration and the U.S. Department of Energy are “very supportive of restarting the nuclear power industry,” adding that he believes it can be done safely.
Secretary Chu’s comments echo those heard from various Virginia officials over the past two years, starting with the Virginia Energy Plan released in the fall of 2007. In addition to numerous references to the massive uranium deposit in Southside Virginia, the energy plan states:
“There are sufficient resources to support a uranium mining industry in Pittsylvania County with enough to meet the fuel needs of Virginia’s current generation. Significant work to assess the risk from mining and need for regulatory controls must be completed before any decision can be made whether such mining should take place.”
For those of us who have worked long and hard on the Coles Hill project, it is gratifying that the nation’s highest energy official saw fit to come to Pittsylvania County and to endorse the scientific study and to state so unequivocally the Obama administration’s high commitment to getting nuclear back on track in the United States. We look forward to moving ahead hand in hand with such enlightened thinking.
We haven’t the slightest doubt that all aspects of the nuclear cycle — from mining to operating reactors — can be done as safely as any other industrial undertaking. When the same safety issues were studied by the state 25 years ago, scientists found that under well-defined guidelines our project could go forward safely. I am confident that similar findings will be reached this go-around.
What Dr. Chu is talking about goes straight to the heart of energy independence for our nation. Yes, we need to move ahead on all fronts that make sense. But let us keep in mind that of the 55 million pounds of uranium needed to operate nuclear facilities for one year in this country, over 50 million pounds are imported. That is a frightening statistic in a world as unpredictable as the one in which we are living.
We should be grateful for the enlightened approach expressed by Secretary Chu. And we should support sensible efforts to achieve greater energy independence, including the full development of our nuclear resources.
* Reynolds is president and chief executive officer of Virginia Uranium Inc., as well as Virginia Energy Resources.
( By Carrington Dillon ) [Approx. Read Time: 2 minutes]
Last night I was invited to join the Virginia Energy Independence Alliance’s fan page on Facebook. After checking out their notes page, I had to write about this article that I found in there. Robert Bodnar, Professor of Geochemistry, from the greatest University in the United States–Virginia Tech, was recently quoted as saying that the Coles Hill Uranium deposit located in Southwest Virginia presents a “golden opportunity for the state, and specifically Southside Virginia.” Professor Bodnar is currently researching the site. As you can see from his research, he is interested in Geochemistry and fluid flow through geological deposits. Personally, I feel that his expertise is a great match for some of the concerns raised by environmental groups in Virginia and elsewhere about the mining opportunity there. Here is a link to the article and the excerpt from the VEIA’s Facebook news blog:
“The largest untapped uranium deposit in the U.S. found in Pittsylvania County represents a “golden opportunity for the state, and specifically Southside Virginia, to serve as the main source of [nuclear] fuel domestically and worldwide,” according to Virginia Tech professor Robert Bodnar. Professor Bodnar’s remarks appeared in an article about the uranium deposit, known as Coles Hill, in July’s Virginia Business.
Garry Kranz extolls the economic benefits the development of the deposit would bring for the ailing economy of Southside Virginia. Mining and milling the deposit would create as many as 500 new jobs with average salaries of $68,000, generate millions in annual local tax revenues and stimulate related local industries.
“Contained beneath Pittsylvania County’s loamy soil, a mere whisper from the burgs of Gretna and Chatham, lies the largest undeveloped uranium deposit known in the U.S. Estimated at nearly 120 million tons of ore, its economic impact on Virginia would be profound — were it ever to be mined.”
The Coles Hill deposit contains an estimated 120 million pounds of uranium ore, enough to fuel Virginia’s exisiting nuclear power demand for 65 years. Nuclear power currently generates almost 40% of Virginia’s electricity supply. While a 25-year-old moratorium on uranium mining and milling is preventing the development of this massive resource, the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission has tasked the National Academy of Sciences to conduct an 18-month, $1.2 million study that will make recommendations to the General Assembly as it considers whether to lift the moratorium. The National Academy of Sciences study is set to commence soon and will examine the human health and safety, environmental and socio-economic impacts of uranium mining in Virginia.”
One of the issues that Clean Energy Insight is supporting at the moment is the opportunity to mine the biggest Uranium deposit in US history in Pittsylvania County, VA (www.virginiauranium.com). Two of the people on our team are from this area and have seen the tens of thousands of jobs that have been lost during their lifetimes in the textile and furniture industries. By mining this deposit in Southwest Virginia, we can provide high-paying jobs and energy for our future. It sounds like a good idea to me.
Aaron Ruby of the Virginia Energy Independence Alliance (www.virginiaenergy.org) has submitted a letter to CEI to provide more information on this issue. Thanks a lot, Aaron.
America is too dependent on foreign uranium
The Virginia Energy Independence Alliance has a solution
America is too dependent on foreign sources of uranium. The Virginia Energy Independence Alliance (VEIA)—a broad-based coalition of more than 500 concerned citizens, industries, associations and academia from across Virginia and beyond—wants to develop Virginia’s abundant, untapped uranium supply to break America’s dependence.
Nuclear energy supplies 20% of America’s electricity and 37% of Virginia’s. Nuclear energy is cheaper than wind and solar, cleaner than coal, oil and natural gas, and the most efficient energy source in the world—bar none.
While America and Virginia are undergoing a nuclear renaissance that promises to vastly expand our nuclear power generation, America is increasingly dependent on unreliable foreign countries for our supply of nuclear fuel. How could this possibly make sense? America imports 92% of the uranium we use each year to fuel nuclear energy. Virginia imports 100%. Where do we get our uranium?
We import anywhere from 30%-50% of our uranium from Russia. By 2013, all the uranium we import from Russia will come from the Kremlin-run uranium enrichment company, Techsnabexport. How will America fuel our nuclear power if the Kremlin cuts off our supply of uranium - as it did to Eastern Europe’s natural gas supply in early 2009? This dependence is dangerous, and puts our national security and future energy supply at risk.
One solution to our dependence is right under our feet in Southside Virginia’s Pittsylvania County. Pittsylvania County is home to the largest untapped uranium deposit in the United States. The Coles Hill deposit—as it is known—could contain enough uranium to supply Virginia’s current nuclear power demand for the next 65 years.
As one of the most economically distressed regions of the Country, with unemployment reaching almost 15% in some areas, Southside Virginia desperately needs economic opportunity. Mining and milling the deposit will create as many as 500 new, local jobs, generate millions in local tax dollars each year and stimulate job creation in other related local industries.<
A decades-old moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia is the only obstacle standing in the way of developing this vital resource and reaping its abundant rewards. Fortunately, science is on our side. Modern nuclear energy and uranium mining are safe. The National Academy of Sciences is conducting an 18-month study of uranium mining in Virginia that will lead the way to energy independence and 500 new jobs in Southside Virginia.
You may have read on Clean Energy Insight before about the Coles Hill, Virginia uranium deposit. Pittsylvania County, Virginia is known for its tobacco farms, but it’s also home to the largest untapped uranium deposit in the United States. Currently, the National Academy of Sciences is conducting an 18 month study to determine the effects that uranium mining will have on the area.
