Mine Uranium in Virginia?

Mine Uranium in Virginia?
Albemarle’s Hot
In the latest development in the controversial Coles Hill uranium deposit in Pittsylvania, Virginia, The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) announced last month the provisional 13-member committee that will conduct the Academy’s study of uranium mining in Virginia. The committee is comprised of academics from various fields, geologists, mining and public health experts and environmental scientists.
The NAS states that “the study will provide independent, expert advice that can be used to inform decisions about the future of uranium mining in the Commonwealth of Virginia; however, the study will not make recommendations about whether or not uranium mining should be permitted nor will the study include site-specific assessments.”
Its first three meetings are in Washington, D.C., and the Danville area. The Danville area meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13-15.The Washington meetings were held Oct. 26-27 and Nov. 15-16.
The National Academy study was commissioned by the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission’s Uranium Mining Subcommittee.
The National Academy of Science (http://www.nationalacademies.org) says it was established by an Act of Congress which calls upon the NAS to "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art" whenever called upon to do so by any department of the government.
The NAS says that “Membership and participation in activities are voluntary. Committee members serve pro bono. Reimbursement of travel costs and subsistence support is the only compensation provided.”
The $1.4 million study will be funded through Virginia Tech by Virginia Uranium Inc., the owner of the uranium, (http://www.virginiauranium.com/)
Virginia Energy Resources Inc.( http://www.santoy.ca/s/Home.asp) which owns an approximate 28% indirect equity interest in the Coles Hill uranium deposit in southern Virginia said in it’s press release in February 2010 that “The Company looks forward to the conclusions of the forthcoming independent scientific study regarding the safety of mining at the Coles Hill site.”
However, critics of the project are scrutinizing the committee membership. The Southern Environmental Law Center, for instance, objects to Henry A. Schnell, who is with the mining business unit of Areva, the French-owned nuclear services company. The company is the world's largest producer of uranium, primarily in Canada, Africa and Eastern Europe.
"Mr. Schnell, as an employee with the industry, clearly has a financial interest in the matter and as such presents a conflict of interest that could impair his objectivity," the SELC wrote in a letter to a division of the National Academy of Sciences.
The NAS study is just one of four planned in Virginia to explore the potential impact of uranium mining in Virginia. Also planned are:
City of Virginia Beach Study PHASE #1 to estimate the water quality impacts in Kerr Reservoir from soluble contaminants and sediment transported into the lake during a worst-case storm event or accident and the additional impacts in Lake Gaston.
Danville Regional Foundation (DRF) Study will examine the regional socioeconomic effects of “the proposed uranium mine, mill, and long-term waste management on people, institutions and economies within 50 miles of Coles Hill…. Uranium mining's benefits and dangers, including its effect on property values, taxes and institutions will be part of scope.”
Virginia Coal and Energy Commission Study #2 will developed a draft socioeconomic study based on oral and written comments received by the Uranium Mining Subcommittee.

In1978 Marline Uranium Inc. company geologists, reportedly taking a short cut from one survey area to another, drove their scintillometer equipped vehicle on the dirt and gravel road bordering Coles Hill, and discovered the radioactive anomaly leading to the discovery of a deposit that at that time they estimated at 30 million pounds of uranium. However, environmental opposition led to the 1982 State ban on mining uranium in Virginia. Then low uranium prices cooled interest in exploration until uranium prices peaked in 2007 at 135/lb. Prices again fell off, but are climbing again, up to $48/lb. That, plus renewed interest in nuclear power as a non carbon energy source, has created renewed interest in Coles Hill uranium, and the estimates of recoverable uranium had risen to a quoted 119 million pounds, “potentially worth $8-10 billion dollars.” at 2007 prices. The current developer of the prospect, Virginia Uranium Inc., describes it as potentially the 7th largest undeveloped deposit in the world, and the largest in the US.

The Coles Hill prospect consists of two separate ore bodies comprising 2,940 leased acres. It is in rural Pittsylvania County in south central Virginia. The property is 6 miles northeast of Chatham, the county seat, which has a population of about 1,300 people and is 20 miles north of Danville. Significantly, the annual precipitation is four feet of rain a year, which drains to the Dan River basin, then to the Roanoke River and on to the Albemarle Sound.


The site is accessed from 29S, 119 miles south of Charlottesville. About 9 miles southeast of Gretna off 29 is Coles Road, or SR 690. It is still a dirt and gravel road that traverses Coles Hill Farm and the two ore bodies. Off the road, on a rounded grassy hill punctuated with cows and old oaks, stands an ante bellum brick home. All the plants and animals look normal. Two years ago on the opposite side of the road, exploratory drilling rigs were busy in the pasture, the water and stone dust they are dredging up being collected in plastic troughs, presumably for safe disposal. This year, they are gone. My Geiger counter quickly finds a radioactive stone flipped up by a snow plow on the side of the road. It is a piece of genuine Virginia uranium ore. In this is rich deep alluvial farmland, rock outcrops are otherwise nonexistent. If this lone outcrop hadn’t been right on the road, the Marline geologist’s scintillometer would not have detected radiation, and the uranium would have not been discovered.

The CEO of Virginia Uranium Inc. is Mr. Walter Coles, an affable 70 something year-old retired federal government employee. Coles Hill is his historic family farm, started in 1785, that along with the Bowen family’s property, sits atop the uranium. He feels he is the one to do the uranium mining and extraction right, and help the community’s economy. Not all in Pittsylvania are convinced that opening Virginia to uranium mining and milling is a good idea in their back yards.
Katie Whitehead’s family owns a tree farm in Pittsylvania County; it's on the Banister River upstream of the proposed mine and mill, but she is still concerned. In 1983, she served as information officer for the Uranium Administrative Group, facilitating public awareness and participation in the study process and public policy decision. Twenty-odd years later, she says she again sees the need for people to get accurate information in order to understand the implications of introducing uranium mining and milling in Virginia. She recognizes the complexity of the issue and has worked with both mining opponents and advocates to foster more productive dialogue. She has written a number of op-ed pieces and has served as chairman of the Dan River Basin Association Mining Task Force. As member of the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce Uranium Study Group, she also participated in writing a report titled Community Concerns Related to Uranium Mining (available online at www.halifaxchamber.net).

When asked to comment for this article, Whitehead said “Anyone working toward educational, health, and economic transformation in Virginia should not be content with easy answers from industry spokesmen but rather seek out reliable sources and ask the hard questions: To what extent has anyone actually studied people working in and living near uranium operations so as to determine the health effects of increased exposure to radiation and heavy metals? What evidence is there in real-life settings that uranium mines, a uranium mill, and hundreds of acres of tailings contribute to a diverse and sustainable economy not just for a short-sighted thirty years, but for the generations who will live with our decisions? Are there net benefits for those involuntarily put at risk by this industry? There is no single cost-benefit ratio. There is one for every scenario and every point of view. Virginians should consider a range of possible outcomes if the moratorium on uranium mining is lifted, from the realistic best case to the realistic worst case. In even the best case, those bearing the risk may see little benefit. Who will our pubic policy serve?”

Concerning the issue raised by Southern Environmental Law Center and Virginia Uranium Inc. concerning becoming a Nuclear Regulatory agreement state, according to Whitehead: “The Virginia Legislature has not even discussed whether to lift the moratorium, much less whether or not to apply for agreement state status regarding regulation of uranium mills and tailings. Virginia’s 1984 uranium study group said that, if the moratorium were lifted, it would be “essential” that Virginia become an agreement state specifically with regard to the licensing and oversight of uranium mills, and thus regulate all phases of uranium operations, not just mining. Agreement states have the option to adopt more protective standards than those of the NRC and EPA, some of which have arguably not kept pace with health research. Virginia or the federal government would also eventually assume ownership of tailings storage sites.”

Meanwhile, on the corporate front, business seems to think that this project is moving foreword and worth an investment. According to Virginia Energy Resources Inc. website:
“ On July 21, 2009, Virginia Uranium Ltd.(the private funding arm holding 100% of Virginia Uranium Inc.) merged with Santoy Resources Ltd to form Virginia Energy Resources Inc. Virginia Energy Resources Inc.’s most important asset is a 24% stake in the giant Coles Hill, Virginia uranium deposit… …Virginia also holds a 32.7% interest in the high-grade Blizzard uranium deposit in British Columbia. This asset has been damaged through a ban on uranium mining imposed by the Government of British Columbia, and is seeking compensation for damages through a court action. “
According to industry analyst Sam Kiri, writing for the Proactiveinvestors website:
Santoy management has a nose for good projects and this acquisition follows a series of similar acquisitions and joint venture agreements. With 30 years of mining exploration experience including three major gold discoveries in Eskay Creek, Snip and Brewery Creek that were subsequently put into production, Santoy’s President & CEO Ronald Netolitzky is not in the habit of acquiring companies nonchalantly. Netolitzky has strict acquisition criteria which include advanced stage projects in safe and workable jurisdictions, preferably with a resource estimate.

According to the Virginia state corporation commission filings, Virginia Uranium Inc.’s corporate board structure now contains people with very good connections to the nation’s energy industries, in addition to the previous landowners and family members.
This company also has some pretty well connected political help. Walter Cole’s brother-in-law, Whitt Clement, is a former state delegate and Virginia transportation secretary under former Gov. Mark R. Warner. And U.S. Congressional candidate State Senator Robert Hurt’s father, Henry Hurt, is a friend of Walter Coles and an investor in the project.

Charlottesville Uranium
Pittsylvania is not alone in potential uranium mining sites. Uranium is a fairly common mineral, including here in Albemarle County. What separates economically viable sites from others is the concentration of uranium and the size of the prospect. Robert Bodnar, a distinguished professor of geochemistry and geology at Virginia Tech, who supports an end to the 25-year-old moratorium on Virginia uranium mining, has commented, “I think there’s a very high probability that there are other deposits of the same size, same grade, as Coles Hill located in the eastern United States.” In an op-ed he wrote, “ Virginia has a varied geology that includes rock types often associated with economic occurrences of uranium … Lifting the moratorium on uranium mining will encourage mining companies to explore for uranium in Virginia, and this could lead to Virginia becoming the ‘Saudi Arabia of nuclear fuel.’”


The Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Publication 38 identifies several anomalously high radiation sites around Charlottesville. “Two of the most significant occurrences are located 6 miles northwest of Charlottesville….….. At occurrence 2 (just off Rt. 676 past Rt. 839 beyond the Whippoorwill Hollow Subdivision) extremely high levels of radioactivity were found in the soil and saprolite…. At occurrence 5 recent excavations for a housing development (within the current Whippoorwill Hollow Subdivision) exposed a broad area of… gneiss and associated schist…….Maximum levels of uranium in the mineralized schist at the surface range from 69 ppm to 140 ppm U3O8….Logs of water wells and analysis of radon gas and uranium in groundwater at occurrence 5 indicate zones of mineralization at depths of up to 131 feet.”

The same study identified 7 sites of anomalously high ground radiation levels, including the recently sold abandoned quarry adjacent to the Charlottesville reservoir
Barboursville Uranium
A website sponsored by The Friends of Barboursville, Inc. identifies another potential local uranium site:;
“At the August 29 DMME hearing, Friends of Barboursville presented several USGS and DMME studies that indicate the presence of elevated levels of uranium at the proposed mine site. The areas rich in uranium are strongly correlated with faults depicted on USGS maps. A map produced in 1981 by Leavy, Grosz and Johnson, based on this data, specifically identifies a uranium and thorium anomaly at the proposed mine site. Aerial radiometric data from flights over the Culpeper and Barboursville Basins shows an area of elevated uranium levels extending through Somerset and Barboursville, between Hardwick and Cowherd mountains. Uranium levels up to six times the regional average can be found in this area.
Before the Virginia moratorium on uranium mining, 2,000 acres of land in Orange County was under lease to uranium mining companies. Local residents were approached by Marline Corporation with offers to buy mineral rights to their land… …At least two aerial radiometric studies (a broad study of the Charlottesville quadrangle and a focused study of the Culpeper and Barboursville basins) were done in the early 1980s. Ground-level studies were also done, as part of the USGS Hydrogeochemical Stream Sediment Survey. These surveys clearly show elevated uranium levels in the Barboursville area…”
It is indeed interesting that Marline Uranium Corporation showed an interest, given the home run they found in Pittsylvania.
Nelson County Uranium
In the November 1984 Vol. 30 No. 4 Virginia Division of Minerals publication titled Uranium and Thorium Mineralization of the Northern Half of the Horseshoe Mountain Quadrangle, Nelson County, Virginia, geologists reported finding samples having anomalous uranium content of 15.3 ppm. They go on to report:
Uranium potential in the area is probably not
favorable…. However,…lithologies…
provide an interesting exploration target. …To adequately determine the
economic potential of these rocks, further work…must be conducted…


To Mine Or Not To Mine:
The Southern Environmental Law Center is against lifting the moratorium. They make the case in their Web site fact sheet, which is reproduced in part below:
If Virginia were to lift its moratorium and developed NRC-equivalent regulations, it could apply for "Agreement State" status.
-- An Agreement State replaces NRC as regulator of uranium mills and waste; Agreement States are not required to conduct an EIS for mining activities.
-- Existing Agreement States such as Arizona, Utah and New Mexico have experienced severe problems with environmental impacts from mining..
What are some potential impacts of mining and milling uranium in Virginia?
• Pollution of groundwater and surface waters from overburden, waste rock and ore, including acid drainage, tailings impoundments and other substances in drilling wastes, brines, solvents, etc., used in the extraction or processing of ore.
• Virginia would be the first state east of the Mississippi to allow mining. Virginia has significantly higher precipitation rates, more extreme weather events, including hurricanes, higher groundwater levels, larger watersheds of interconnected streams and rivers, and greater populations living in relative proximity than sites in western U.S. or Canada where uranium has been mined.
• The impact of significant storm events on uranium mining is one of the concerns yet to be adequately addressed.
• Polluted substances in the air and dust caused by extraction.
• Radon from underground mines, drill holes, surface extraction and processing operations.
• Migration of radionuclides and soil disturbances due to loss of vegetative cover.
• If Coles Hill produces 25 to 109 million pounds of uranium, according to industry measures, it will generate 15 to 65 million cubic yards of waste material. This would translate into a volume equivalent to 75 to 325 SuperWal-Marts (each having a volume of 200,000 cubic yards).
• If the moratorium on uranium mining were lifted, the impacts would not be confined to Coles Hill. Without a moratorium, uranium mining and milling could occur statewide. In the 1980s, exploratory leases were obtained for many sites in the Northern and Central Piedmont of Virginia.
The SEC feels that:
• Any scientific study of impacts should be completed and reviewed by public before authorizing study of needed regulations.
• Before any study is done, Virginia Uranium needs to 1) identify locations where uranium has been safely mined and milled & 2) provide specific plan to mine, mill and dispose of waste

I spoke with Patrick Wales, a geologist who is the project manager and spokesperson for Virginia Uranium Inc. He addressed some of SELC points, noting that: Virginia is already an “agreement state” as of 2009, but it had left regulations concerning tailings disposal and milling to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
He said there actually had been some experience mining uranium east of the Mississippi as a by product of phosphate mining in Florida. (Authors note: but not since 1998)
He feels that the statement “no experience east of the Mississippi” artificially carves out the Eastern Canadian experience. He notes that uranium was mined, until supplies were exhausted, at Elliot Lake, a populated area. He also feels a more apropos comparison area would be the uranium mining experience in France. He says they have mined uranium in an area with a very similar climate, geography, and population (though higher elevation at the mine site) to Virginia. And it was in a rural agricultural area where Limousine cattle are raised. He states they are not currently mining there only because the prospect is depleted.
He said the easiest thing that the Coles and Bowen families could have done is sold out.
Instead they hire local contractors and employees and the benefits remain in the community.

When asked about why Central Virginians should believe Virginia Uranium Inc. now, or more importantly, expect vigilance to be maintained on tailings past the 30 year expected mine life, he replied that “What are we really dealing with 30 feet down is solid granite, of which 99.4% is not uranium, it is quartz, feldspar, and mica." He said regular granite has 2-4 ppm uranium, Coles Hill has 600 ppm, of which we will try to extract as much as possible. He feels in the long term there is over abundance of caution, and rightfully so. “We want to be more cautious than needed. NRC regulates minimum of 1000 years of tailing containment. If you can’t prove you can do it, you don’t get to do it.”
When asked about the merger with Santoy, he said it provided needed capital, and at the same time provided valuable mining experience.

The argument for mining is two fold. Walter Cole’s has argued that it will be a boost for the local and state economy. He also feel that they can get it right in terms of the environment, arguing that he plans to continue living in his ancestral home 300 feet from the mine.

The second compelling argument made is energy, and the perception that we need to pursue carbon free energy sources. There are approximately 435 commercial nuclear reactors worldwide, producing 14 % of the world’s electrical energy. About 104 of these were in the United States, producing 21% of this nation’s electricity. The U.S. has the most reactors in the world, but France and Lithuania derive the highest percentage of electricity, 75%, from nuclear power.
Current world consumption is about 154 million pounds. U.S consumption is about 66 million pounds.
Of supplies, Steve Fetter, dean of the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy says:
If the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has accurately estimated the planet's economically accessible uranium resources, reactors could run more than 200 years at current rates of consumption.
According to the Nuclear Energy Agency, at the end of 2008, world uranium production met two thirds of the world reactor requirements, with the balance from secondary sources such as uranium from weapons stockpiles and preexisting reserves. Dismantled nuclear weapons currently help power 13% of the world’s reactors, and a higher percentage of U.S. reactors. Who would have thought the very weapons that once threatened civilization, would someday toast our bread. Some argue that secondary sources are now in decline. Others feel the actual amount of enriched uranium from decommissioned weapons is being underestimated, perhaps deliberately, to prop up uranium prices. The U.S. mines about 4 million pounds a year, so secondary supply or import reliance for required fuel is greater than 95%.

A study from 2009 (http://www.santoy.ca/i/pdf/43-101ColesHill.pdf) prepared jointly for the now conjoined Santoy Resources Ltd. and Virginia Uranium, pegged the potential uranium mineable to 119 million pounds. If we accept the high estimate of 119 million pounds of recoverable uranium, at today’s price per pound of $48, it will be worth 6 billion dollars. There would be enough uranium to power the United States nuclear reactors for less than 2 years.
Virginia has had a moratorium on uranium mining since 1982. Before uranium can be mined in Virginia, the General Assembly would have to lift the ban.
Virginians shall have to decide if the potential economic benefits and energy needs outweigh the potential environmental and health concerns.

Wick Hunt