Comment: Look at this statement, it is overwhelming: "People who want to participate in the rule-making must submit requests by Feb. 23"! The state of Virginia appointed a committee called the "URANIUM SUB-COMMITTEE of the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission, with only one citizen who worked for the mining group but No citizens from Pittsylvania County are on the Commission, why?
The URANIUM SUB-COMMITTEE are listed below, email them and ask them why the citizens of our county are not part of the Sub-Committe:
Chairman: Delegate R. Lee Ware (804)598-6696 dellware@house.state.va.us, Senator Phillip Puckett (276)979-8181 district38@sov.state.va.us
, Senator Frank Wagner (757)671-2250 district07@sov.state.va.us, Senator John Watkins (804)379-2063 jnwatkins@aol.com, Delegate Watkins Abbitt, Jr. (434)352-2880 delwabbitt@house.state.va.us, Delegate Kristen Amundson (703)619-0444 delkamundson@house.state.va.us, Delegate Charles Carrico (276)773-9600 delccarrico@house.state.va.us, Delegate W. R . “Bill” Janis (804)726-5856 elbjanis@house.state.va.us, Delegate Terry Kilgore (276)386-7011 delegate@mounet.com, Delegate Clarence Phillips (276)762-9758 delbphillips@house.state.va.us, Citizen Harry D. Childress former head of the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, Dr. Michael Karmis, Liaison (540) 231-7057 or (540)231-5273 mkarmis@vt.edu,
The Associated Press
2010-02-01 23:38:00.0
DENVER -
The Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board will consider tightening oversight of uranium mining.
The board in April will consider new regulations proposed by the state Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. The rules would implement 2008 laws amending standards for reclamation, water quality and other areas.
The regulations would cover both hard-rock and in-situ mining, which hasn't been used in Colorado.
People who want to participate in the rule-making must submit requests by Feb. 23.
On the Net: Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety:
http://mining.state.co.us/
Read more:
http://www.examiner.com/printa-2452557~Colo._officials_mull_new_rules_on_uranium_mining.html
Showing posts with label mining... Show all posts
Showing posts with label mining... Show all posts
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Cyclone halts BHPB iron-ore shipments, threatens mines
Publishing Date21 Dec 2009
12:53pm GMT
Tropical cyclone Laurence, which last week caused evacuations of oil and gas rigs, is moving into Western Australia’s iron-ore-rich Pilbara area, causing BHP Billiton to suspend shipments of the steel-making ingredient.
The mining company halted iron-ore shipments after Port Hedland was closed today, Melbourne-based spokeswoman Samantha Evans said in a phone interview. The port was closed at 1am and there are no immediate plans to reopen it, harbour master Lindsay Copeman said.
Laurence last week affected the sparsely populated Kimberley coastal region's energy and mining projects.
Mt Gibson Iron Ltd evacuated 220 employees from its Koolan Island facility. HWE Mining Pty Ltd evacuated workers off Cockatoo Island, where it mines iron ore in partnership with Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.
Cyclone George in March 2007 caused flooding at Energy Resources of Australia Ltd's Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory. That storm killed two workers and injured 16 others at Fortescue Metals Group Ltd's iron-ore operation in Western Australia.
Cyclone Tracy, one of the worst natural disasters in Australia's history, killed 71 people on Christmas Day, 1974 when it struck Darwin, according to the government’s Emergency Management Authority. The storm forced 35,362 of a population of 47,000 to flee, the nation’s biggest peacetime evacuation.
Read more:
http://www.mining-journal.com/production-and-markets/cyclone-halts-bhpb-iron-ore-shipments,-threatens-mines
12:53pm GMT
Tropical cyclone Laurence, which last week caused evacuations of oil and gas rigs, is moving into Western Australia’s iron-ore-rich Pilbara area, causing BHP Billiton to suspend shipments of the steel-making ingredient.
The mining company halted iron-ore shipments after Port Hedland was closed today, Melbourne-based spokeswoman Samantha Evans said in a phone interview. The port was closed at 1am and there are no immediate plans to reopen it, harbour master Lindsay Copeman said.
Laurence last week affected the sparsely populated Kimberley coastal region's energy and mining projects.
Mt Gibson Iron Ltd evacuated 220 employees from its Koolan Island facility. HWE Mining Pty Ltd evacuated workers off Cockatoo Island, where it mines iron ore in partnership with Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.
Cyclone George in March 2007 caused flooding at Energy Resources of Australia Ltd's Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory. That storm killed two workers and injured 16 others at Fortescue Metals Group Ltd's iron-ore operation in Western Australia.
Cyclone Tracy, one of the worst natural disasters in Australia's history, killed 71 people on Christmas Day, 1974 when it struck Darwin, according to the government’s Emergency Management Authority. The storm forced 35,362 of a population of 47,000 to flee, the nation’s biggest peacetime evacuation.
Read more:
http://www.mining-journal.com/production-and-markets/cyclone-halts-bhpb-iron-ore-shipments,-threatens-mines
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Environmental group plans to sue over coal ash at San Juan mine
Comment: Modern mining so safe according the local uranium mining corporations in VA! Don't think so!
EPA expected to issue new rules on coal ash in early 2010
By Marjorie Childress 12/29/09 12:01 AM
Groundwater near the San Juan coal mine in northwestern New Mexico is polluted.
That’s something that both the Sierra Club and New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division Director Bill Brancard agree on. What’s in dispute is how the water came to be contaminated.
The Sierra Club alleges that the San Juan Coal Company has improperly dumped more than 40 million tons of coal ash and sludge into unlined pits, resulting in the contamination of waterways and wells near the mine.
The group says that the waste, and the contaminated water, pose a danger to livestock, wildlife and families in the area, and in early December, the Sierra Club announced that it intends to sue the owners of the San Juan Coal Company.
The company denies responsibility for the contamination.
“San Juan Coal Company is confident that allegations of water contamination as a result of coal combustion by-product (CCB ) placement at the San Juan Mine are incorrect and are not supported by water monitoring data,” Charles Roybal, senior counsel for the coal company’s parent company, BHP Billiton, told The Independent in an email.
Just after the spill, attention focused on storage of wet coal sludge near rivers, and recommendations that risk be minimized by “putting dry ash into landfills with caps, linings and collection systems for contaminated water,” as the New York Times noted.
The disposal of combustion waste is currently unregulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but that may soon change. The EPA has been working to develop a regulatory framework for coal ash disposal since the Tennessee spill, and is expected to issue new disposal rules in early 2010.
At issue: Unlined pits
San Juan Coal Company disposes of the waste from the San Juan Generating Plant in unlined pits at the San Juan coal mine, which is allowed under current state regulations. There are three wells in place to monitor the groundwater in the area.
According to the Sierra Club’s notice of intent to sue, coal waste has been used to fill pits upgrade of “well L” and adjacent to “well D.” Both wells were placed by the coal company to monitor the water going into the Shumway and Westwater arroyos, which exit the mine boundaries and travel downstream.
A representative of BHP Billiton said the monitoring program has been in place for over 30 years, and that data from the wells is given to the state’s Mining and Mineral Division and subsequently made available to the public on a quarterly basis.
According to the data supplied in the Sierra Club’s notice of intent to sue, there are excessive levels of boron and selenium in water from Well D, and selenium, chloride and sulfate from Well L. The environmental group says it will present additional data in its suit concerning other pollutants, like uranium, arsenic, and lead.
“The only possible cause of the increasing pollutant concentrations in ground water drawn from Well L is leaching of pollutants from CCW [coal combustion waste], followed by transport off the permit area either by ground water movement, diffusion, or both,” the group states on page 15 of the notice.
Brancard agrees with the group’s analysis of the water data itself, but says the cause of the pollution isn’t necessarily the disposal of the coal ash in the unlined pits at the San Juan mine.
“The data they have is our data,” he said, “and there are some levels [of pollutants] that go beyond state standards. But it’s unclear what the source of the pollution is.”
The culprit could be a number of things, Brancard told the Independent.
But Jeff Stant, the director of the Environmental Integrity Project and a consultant with the Sierra Club, said that both geography in the area and the preponderance of one metal in particular—boron–makes it clear where the contamination comes from.
The geography places the monitoring wells lower than the waste pits at the San Juan mine with coal ash and “scrubber sludge,” he said.
Of three monitoring wells, one is close to the power plant and coal ash pits, while the other two are six to eight miles from the power plant. The power plant is in a location that wouldn’t be able to intercept the flow of water in a way that would lead to the kind of contamination that exists at those two wells, he said.
“[Due to this geography] the idea that the power plant causes the leaching of the metals into the water is crazy,” he said.
That assessment, in conjunction with high levels of metals like boron, leads Stant to believe that the contamination is due to coal waste disposal back at the mine, not the power plant itself.
“Boron is a very good signifier of coal combustion waste leaching,” he said. “If you look at ash sites throughout the country where there is water contamination, you’ll see high levels of boron.”
New Mexico groundwater quality standards call for no more than 0.75 milligrams of boron per liter of water. The data shows boron well over that standard consistently present in the water going back to 1979, typically ranging from 1.3 to 2 milligrams per liter.
“We feel strongly there is no other way to explain the contamination,” Stant continued.
Read...
http://newmexicoindependent.com/43620/environmental-group-plans-to-sue-over-coal-ash-at-san-juan-mine
EPA expected to issue new rules on coal ash in early 2010
By Marjorie Childress 12/29/09 12:01 AM
Groundwater near the San Juan coal mine in northwestern New Mexico is polluted.
That’s something that both the Sierra Club and New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division Director Bill Brancard agree on. What’s in dispute is how the water came to be contaminated.
The Sierra Club alleges that the San Juan Coal Company has improperly dumped more than 40 million tons of coal ash and sludge into unlined pits, resulting in the contamination of waterways and wells near the mine.
The group says that the waste, and the contaminated water, pose a danger to livestock, wildlife and families in the area, and in early December, the Sierra Club announced that it intends to sue the owners of the San Juan Coal Company.
The company denies responsibility for the contamination.
“San Juan Coal Company is confident that allegations of water contamination as a result of coal combustion by-product (CCB ) placement at the San Juan Mine are incorrect and are not supported by water monitoring data,” Charles Roybal, senior counsel for the coal company’s parent company, BHP Billiton, told The Independent in an email.
Just after the spill, attention focused on storage of wet coal sludge near rivers, and recommendations that risk be minimized by “putting dry ash into landfills with caps, linings and collection systems for contaminated water,” as the New York Times noted.
The disposal of combustion waste is currently unregulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but that may soon change. The EPA has been working to develop a regulatory framework for coal ash disposal since the Tennessee spill, and is expected to issue new disposal rules in early 2010.
At issue: Unlined pits
San Juan Coal Company disposes of the waste from the San Juan Generating Plant in unlined pits at the San Juan coal mine, which is allowed under current state regulations. There are three wells in place to monitor the groundwater in the area.
According to the Sierra Club’s notice of intent to sue, coal waste has been used to fill pits upgrade of “well L” and adjacent to “well D.” Both wells were placed by the coal company to monitor the water going into the Shumway and Westwater arroyos, which exit the mine boundaries and travel downstream.
A representative of BHP Billiton said the monitoring program has been in place for over 30 years, and that data from the wells is given to the state’s Mining and Mineral Division and subsequently made available to the public on a quarterly basis.
According to the data supplied in the Sierra Club’s notice of intent to sue, there are excessive levels of boron and selenium in water from Well D, and selenium, chloride and sulfate from Well L. The environmental group says it will present additional data in its suit concerning other pollutants, like uranium, arsenic, and lead.
“The only possible cause of the increasing pollutant concentrations in ground water drawn from Well L is leaching of pollutants from CCW [coal combustion waste], followed by transport off the permit area either by ground water movement, diffusion, or both,” the group states on page 15 of the notice.
Brancard agrees with the group’s analysis of the water data itself, but says the cause of the pollution isn’t necessarily the disposal of the coal ash in the unlined pits at the San Juan mine.
“The data they have is our data,” he said, “and there are some levels [of pollutants] that go beyond state standards. But it’s unclear what the source of the pollution is.”
The culprit could be a number of things, Brancard told the Independent.
But Jeff Stant, the director of the Environmental Integrity Project and a consultant with the Sierra Club, said that both geography in the area and the preponderance of one metal in particular—boron–makes it clear where the contamination comes from.
The geography places the monitoring wells lower than the waste pits at the San Juan mine with coal ash and “scrubber sludge,” he said.
Of three monitoring wells, one is close to the power plant and coal ash pits, while the other two are six to eight miles from the power plant. The power plant is in a location that wouldn’t be able to intercept the flow of water in a way that would lead to the kind of contamination that exists at those two wells, he said.
“[Due to this geography] the idea that the power plant causes the leaching of the metals into the water is crazy,” he said.
That assessment, in conjunction with high levels of metals like boron, leads Stant to believe that the contamination is due to coal waste disposal back at the mine, not the power plant itself.
“Boron is a very good signifier of coal combustion waste leaching,” he said. “If you look at ash sites throughout the country where there is water contamination, you’ll see high levels of boron.”
New Mexico groundwater quality standards call for no more than 0.75 milligrams of boron per liter of water. The data shows boron well over that standard consistently present in the water going back to 1979, typically ranging from 1.3 to 2 milligrams per liter.
“We feel strongly there is no other way to explain the contamination,” Stant continued.
Read...
http://newmexicoindependent.com/43620/environmental-group-plans-to-sue-over-coal-ash-at-san-juan-mine
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The river that disappeared (because of Modern Mining)
Comment: The definition of "Colliery" - in Australia, "colliery" generally refers to an underground coal mine! So an underground mine is making the river disappear by using all its water and the jerk with the company says they are "pumped its excess water into the creek as a gift to nearby residents"! Really, the river belongs to the people not a mining corporation!
DEBRA JOPSON
REGIONAL AFFAIRS
December 29, 2009
AS SOREN and Sonya Lunoe waited for the hundred or so holidaymakers who booked into their Turon Gates resort near Lithgow for the Christmas break, the river where tourists fish, kayak and swim dropped dramatically, leaving a chain of small waterholes linked by a dry bed.
The drying of the Turon River had happened only three times in the 36 years since they bought the property, and Mrs Lunoe rang her guests to let them know their water play would be curtailed.
As the first families arrived with tents or moved into the 18 cabins, he shipped in 12,000 litres in 10 tanker loads, at $380 each.
The Lunoes and a cattle farmer, Digby MacPhee, believe that the Baal Bone Colliery has sucked the water out of Jews Creek, which feeds into the river.
But the mine's safety and training manager, said that, rather than taking from the river, the colliery was totally self-sufficient and pumped its excess water into the creek as a gift to nearby residents.
''The only reason it has dried up is we have had a major failure in one of our pumps,'' he said.
The pump had been fixed and water was on its way.
Read...
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/the-river-that-disappeared-20091228-lhbj.html
DEBRA JOPSON
REGIONAL AFFAIRS
December 29, 2009
AS SOREN and Sonya Lunoe waited for the hundred or so holidaymakers who booked into their Turon Gates resort near Lithgow for the Christmas break, the river where tourists fish, kayak and swim dropped dramatically, leaving a chain of small waterholes linked by a dry bed.
The drying of the Turon River had happened only three times in the 36 years since they bought the property, and Mrs Lunoe rang her guests to let them know their water play would be curtailed.
As the first families arrived with tents or moved into the 18 cabins, he shipped in 12,000 litres in 10 tanker loads, at $380 each.
The Lunoes and a cattle farmer, Digby MacPhee, believe that the Baal Bone Colliery has sucked the water out of Jews Creek, which feeds into the river.
But the mine's safety and training manager, said that, rather than taking from the river, the colliery was totally self-sufficient and pumped its excess water into the creek as a gift to nearby residents.
''The only reason it has dried up is we have had a major failure in one of our pumps,'' he said.
The pump had been fixed and water was on its way.
Read...
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/the-river-that-disappeared-20091228-lhbj.html
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
New push fights Arkaroola mining
Comment: This blog agrees with Mr. Owen about mining and tourism! Mining and tourism cannot coexist at all! Uranium is located all over Virginia and if the ban is lifted, they could be blowing up the hills and valleys in Virginia for uranium! Ban uranium now!
Posted 4 hours 27 minutes ago
The Wilderness Society has begun a new campaign against mining in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, in South Australia's northern Flinders Ranges.
Peter Owen from the Wilderness Society says that is a good thing but he says mining and conservation simply cannot co-exist in the sanctuary.
"Arkaroola is a South Australian icon," he said.
"The ad that we put in the papers compares this to the Northern Territory Government mining Uluru, I mean that is an absurd proposition but that's the context that we see this latest South Australian proposition.
"Its similar to the Queensland Government mining the Great Barrier Reef ... its hard to even fathom the fact that we're having to have this debate."
Read more:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/16/2773555.htm
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