Views on mining study sought near uranium site

ROANOKE — Residents near what is believed to be the nation’s largest uranium deposit will be asked their views on what issues should be addressed in a study of the impact of mining the ore in Virginia.

A large turnout is expected for a hearing Jan. 6 by a subcommittee of the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy in Chatham, the historic Southside town that is Pittsylvania County’s seat.

“I would anticipate there would be hundreds of people,” said Nancy Pool, president of the Chamber of Commerce in ad-jacent Halifax County.

The formation of a company called Virginia Uranium Inc. to explore the possibility of mining the ore on a 3,000-acre tract amid rolling farmland has sparked support and opposition in the community.

Supporters of mining the deposit worth an estimated $10 billion see an opportunity to boost an economy ailing from the loss of tobacco and textile jobs.

Foes worry about dangers to health from air and water pollution.

Del. Lee Ware, the Powhatan Republican who chairs the subcommittee, stressed that the hearing won’t be a forum on whether uranium should be mined. Comments will be limited to what should be included in the study that likely will be conducted by the National Academy of Sciences.

The Halifax chamber conducted its own research into uranium mining, and its recommendations mirror those of envi-ronmental and citizens groups who question whether the ore can be extracted and processed without contaminating the environment.

Pool said the chamber’s board doesn’t oppose a study of whether uranium can be mined safely in Virginia, but wants evidence that it has been done successfully in similar terrain and a similar climate.

Uranium has never been mined on the East Coast, which has much greater rainfall than the arid Western states that have mine sites. Opponents of mining see that as a hazard.

State Sen. John Watkins, a member of the subcommittee, said it would be practically impossible to find mine sites that have Virginia’s geology and climate.

“Just because it hasn’t been done doesn’t mean that it can’t be,” said Watkins, a Chesterfield County Republican who supports nuclear energy usage and would like to see uranium mined in the state.

“We cannot continue to stick our heads in the sand and assume that the rest of the world is going to forever supply us with the natural resources to fuel our economy,” he said.

The United States produces little of the 65 million pounds of uranium ore processed to produce nuclear power in the United States each year. Most of the ore is mined in Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan.

Watkins and others who support mining agree with opponents that the environment and citizens’ health must be safe-guarded. They believe that is possible.

“I think we need to take a good close look at the research and the existing mining operations and see what works and what doesn’t work,” Watkins said. “Truly we may have to go a few steps beyond what exists in other parts of the world right now.”

Walter Coles, who has a controlling interest in Virginia Uranium and owns most of the property where the ore lies, noted that he has a personal stake in seeing that a mining operation does not pollute the environment.

“I live here. My neighbors are going to continue to live here,” he said. “We’re going to be drinking the water.”

For uranium to be mined in Virginia, the General Assembly would have to a lift a ban it imposed in 1982 when a com-pany called Marline Uranium was exploring ore extraction. At its last session, the legislature declined to sanction the study that the commission is pursuing.

Interest in a Virginia mining operation waned in the 1980s as the price of uranium fell, but a spike prompted renewed interest in the estimated 119 million pounds of ore on the Coles family’s Pittsylvania property. Marline also looked at sites in Fauquier, Culpeper, Madison and Orange counties.

Virginia Uranium recently announced plans to merge with Canadian company Santoy Resources, which Coles said will strengthen its financial position.

Nuclear energy, which fell out of favor after accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, has gained renewed interest as a clean fuel that would not contribute to greenhouse gases.

Ware said Michael Karmis, head of the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech, will go through comments from the Chatham hearing and one previously in Richmond and help the panel present its study proposal.

The study is expected to take about 18 months.