Uranium Mining

Found in the heart of Southside Virginia’s Pittsylvania County, the Coles Hill uranium deposit is the largest untapped uranium deposit in the United States.  In fact, there is enough uranium found at Coles Hill to single-handedly fuel Virginia’s nuclear demand at current levels for about 75 years.  Considering that the United States imports 92% of our uranium from foreign countries – including as much as one-third from Russia – developing Coles Hill would deliver a major blow to our nation’s dependence on foreign energy.

The economic benefits from mining the Coles Hill deposit would also be significant. According to the Virginia Coal & Energy Commission’s official socioeconomic study performed by Chmura Economics & Analytics, uranium mining will create more than 1,000 jobs, $135 million in annual economic benefits across Virginia and $5 billion in revenue for Virginia businesses over the 35-year life of the project.

More than half of the jobs and economic benefits will directly impact the Southside region, where thousands of workers have lost their jobs due to plant closings and factory layoffs over the last decade. Other local businesses throughout the region will benefit from the economic activity that Coles Hill promises to stimulate, be they vendors supporting the mining, or local retailers supporting the miners. The socioeconomic study projected that the Coles Hill project will generate at least $3 million in local and state tax revenue each year, while a separate socioeconomic study conducted by the Research Triangle Institute projected as much as $11 million in annual tax revenue.

In December 2011, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) completed an 18-month independent study of the potential health, safety and environmental impacts of uranium mining in Virginia. While the NAS study identified some potential risks associated with uranium mining, the study provided many of the industry best practices and regulatory safeguards that have proven effective at minimizing these risks in other uranium mining regions around the world.

In particular, the study addressed concerns about worker safety, water quality and waste disposal, concluding that modern, technologically advanced operations in Canada and elsewhere have safely managed these risks and reduced impacts to the environment, workers and the public to safe levels. The NAS recommended that Virginia require the adoption of these practices and incorporate the regulatory requirements used in Canada and in some western U.S. states to ensure the protection of the environment and worker and public health.

The full NAS report is available at www.nap.edu. For more information about the Coles Hill project, visit www.VirginiaUranium.com.

 

Basic Facts

History

• Discovered in the late 1970s, the Coles Hill uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County, Virginia is the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the U.S. and the 7^th largest in the world.
• The Virginia General Assembly imposed a temporary moratorium on uranium mining in 1982 to allow time for a state-sponsored environmental and public health impact study to be completed.
• The independent, state-sponsored study determined in 1984 that the Coles Hill deposit could be mined without adversely impacting public health or the environment. Based on this study, the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission recommended lifting the temporary moratorium and developing permits and regulations for the industry.
• The moratorium was never lifted because Marline lost interest in developing the deposit due to a temporary downturn in the uranium market.
• In 2007, the families that own the land on which the deposit is found and a group of local investors formed Virginia Uranium Inc. to explore the development of the Coles Hill deposit.

The Coles Hill Deposit

• There is enough uranium ore at Coles Hill to fuel all four of Virginia’s reactors at current levels for 75 years. This significant resource has the potential to dramatically reduce U.S. dependence on imported uranium.
• Nuclear power generates almost 40% of Virginia’s electricity – more than any other source.
• The Coles Hill project will primarily consist of an underground mining operation and a mill that will process the uranium ore.
• The mine and mill site will also include a modern water treatment facility, similar to those used by municipal water systems, that will treat all water used on the site to bring it up to federal EPA standards.
• Modern uranium mining and milling operations use state-of-the-art engineering systems to protect surface and drinking water surrounding operations. Multiple monitoring systems are located on the site and in surrounding areas to ensure the maintenance of federal EPA drinking water standards.

Economic Impact

• According to the Virginia Coal & Energy Commission’s official socioeconomic study performed by Chmura Economics & Analytics, uranium mining will create more than 1,000 jobs, $135 million in annual economic benefits across Virginia and $5 billion in revenue for Virginia businesses over the 35-year life of the project.
• The approximately 325 workers hired directly by the mining company are expected to earn an average annual salary of $50,000 – $70, 000. According to the Chmura socioeconomic study, 97% of the workers will come directly from the Southside region.
• The Chmura study forecast the creation of hundreds of jobs in local supporting industries throughout Virginia, such as machine parts, heavy industrial equipment, cement, asphalt, construction materials, hotels, restaurants and housing.
• The Coles Hill project will generate between $3 million and $11 million in state and local tax revenue each year to help fund schools, roads, public safety, parks and recreation, job training and other vital government services.

Energy Independence

• The United States imports 92% of our uranium from foreign countries, significantly more than the 65% of the oil the U.S. imports each year.
• Between the years 2008 and 2010, the U.S. imported 16% – 33% of our uranium from the Russian government.
• In the winter of 2009, the Russian government suddenly cut off all natural gas exports to the Ukraine and other Eastern European countries, leaving millions without heat or electricity for more than six weeks.
• China and Russia are buying up major stakes in uranium mining operations all over the world to both export to countries like the U.S. and to fuel their own growing nuclear fuel demands. China alone will build 100 new reactors by 2050. This is equivalent to the entire U.S. nuclear fleet.
• Unless the U.S. develops more of our own domestic uranium supply, we will be increasingly dependent on countries like China, Russia and Kazakhstan for our nuclear fuel.

National Academy of Sciences Study

• Environmental Impact: “Industry best practices, if properly implemented in association with rigorous monitoring, should address or allow the site operator to take action to mitigate the majority of short-term environmental effects from routine uranium-specific mining and processing.” (p. 155)
• Groundwater Quality: “To date, modern tailings disposal cells have been effective at preventing groundwater contamination.” (p. 160)
• Surface Water Quality: “Modern dewatering of uranium mines would provide for wastewater treatment prior to any release off-site to meet water quality standards.” (p. 152) “[P]roperly engineered, sited and constructed tailings disposal areas would not be expected to significantly affect surface water hydrology.” (p. 158)
• Air Quality & Dust Control: “If appropriately designed, capping of the waste storage pile can prevent airborne [wind dispersion] of fine particles.” (p. 164)
• Tailings Management: “[O]ver the past few decades, improvements have been made to tailings management systems to isolate tailings from the environment, and below-grade disposal practices have been developed specifically to address concerns regarding tailings dam failures. Modern tailings management sites are designed so that tailings remain segregated from the water cycle to control mobility of metals and radioactive contaminants for at least 200 years, and possibly up to 1,000 years.” (p. 15)

Regulation & Safety

• The uranium mining industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the United States.
• The following state and federal agencies would oversee uranium mining and milling operations in Virginia, ensuring the protection of public safety, health and the environment:

• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
• Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy
• Virginia Department of Health
• U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration
• U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• U.S. Department of Energy

• State and federal agencies set and enforce stringent standards for air and water quality surrounding mining operations, and ensure compliance by requiring routine monitoring of multiple on and offsite locations.
• Before issuing a license to operate, the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires companies to demonstrate that their operations are capable of withstanding severe weather events, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding.
• Uranium has been safely produced in the U.S. in locations with similar conditions to Virginia, including Louisiana and Florida, as well as around the world in France, Canada and Australia.