Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Uranium loses its glow at SA mining conference: “Uranium mining is a high-risk, low-return sector that poses unique, unresolved and long-lived threats and does not enjoy secure social license.


Uranium hopefuls will be hard pressed to find a positive story about the embattled sector at a mining industry conference this week in South Australia.
 
The last two weeks have seen further evidence of the continuing market fallout from Fukushima on SA’s embattled uranium sector with the closure of the Honeymoon operation and the decision by Marathon Resources to exit the uranium trade, declaring the sector’s ‘risks outweigh the rewards’.

The news comes as a set of uranium junior companies join with the Beverley project’s Heathgate Resources to talk up the sector at the 2013 Mining South Australia conference, which starts today in Whyalla.

Australia’s uranium industry is suffering from:
  • The scrapping of plans for a massive expansion of BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine in SA because of the ‘uncertain’ uranium market
  • A fall in the uranium commodity price of around 50 per cent and larger falls in the share value of uranium mining companies since Fukushima – a continuing crisis directly fuelled by Australian uranium
  • Sustained losses and operational failures at ERA’s Ranger mine in Kakadu
  • Attempts by Queensland uranium promoters to receive ‘royalty relief’ and public concessions even before making any formal applications to mine
  • Projects stalled, scrapped or deferred in WA, SA and the NT
“The uranium industry has long caused trouble, now it is increasingly in trouble,” said Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear free campaigner Dave Sweeney.

“Uranium mining is a high-risk, low-return sector that poses unique, unresolved and long-lived threats and does not enjoy secure social license.

“It is time for politicians to stop accepting industry promises and start genuinely examining industry performance.

“Instead of misplaced industry enthusiasm it is time for a comprehensive and independent assessment of the costs and consequences of the uranium sector.”

https://www.acfonline.org.au/news-media/media-release/uranium-loses-its-glow-sa-mining-conference