Economic scoping study of uranium mining underway
Southside Virginia will soon have a more concrete picture of the economic benefits the Coles Hill uranium project would generate for the region.
The Southside Virginia company that controls the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States is conducting an economic scoping study to determine the cost of mining and milling the deposit and the number of jobs it would create reports the Danville Register & Bee.
Virginia Uranium Inc. wants to develop the Coles Hill uranium deposit located in Pittsylvania County. The deposit is worth an estimated $7 billion and is believed to contain enough uranium to fuel Virginia’s nuclear power for more than 65 years. The company estimates that mining and milling the deposit will create as many as 500 new jobs with an average annual salary of $68,000 and generate roughly $13 million in annual local tax revenue. The economic scoping study will provide a more definitive projection of these costs and economic benefits to the community.
‘The scoping study will give us a better understanding of the up-front capital investment into the local community, as well as the skills required and number of employees that we would hire,’ said Walter Coles Sr., chairman and CEO of VUI, in a prepared statement. ‘This is an exciting and important step to quantify the benefits of developing the Coles Hill uranium project for our nation’s energy independence and for the economic prosperity of Southside Virginia.’”
Two engineering firms – Lyntek Inc. and BRS Inc. – are performing the study and expect its’ completion by June.
