In Virginia the Governor Bob McDonnell has asked the state legislature to keep the moratorium on uranium mining alive for the 2012 session. He also asked his administration to come up with a further study on the issue using a working group so that a well informed decision could be made in the future.
In a statement Governor McDonnel said that mining was an inherently dangerous activity and Uranium is a inherently dangerous mineral. So before they went forth, it seemed to him the prudent course of action was to keep the moratorium in place and then see whether or not they could develop a regulatory construct.
The statement was made in the wake of Virginia Uranium, a mining company’s request to develop a uranium mine in Pittsylvania County in the south of the state. This move has made both residents and politicians concerned about what could happen if the moratorium on uranium mining was lifted in the state.
The state legislators are split on the issue of uranium mining and have mostly been led by what Gov McDonnell had to say. The 60 day General Assembly session is likely to see far more discussions on the issue. While in the past McDonnell has hoped to make Virginia the energy capital of the East Coast, now he has effectively slammed the idea at least in the current year.
Patrick Wales, the project manager for Virginia Uranium said in response to McDonnell’s statement that the governor’s decision was an important step toward establishing a regulatory framework that will enable their company to build and operate the safest uranium mine in the world right here in Virginia.
As per company tests and reports there is close to 119 million pounds of uranium waiting to be mined at what is being seen as the seventh largest known uranium deposit in the world. The value of this would be close to $ 10 billion. The uranium would be enough to satisfy the energy needs of the state of Virginia for 75 years.