FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Freeda Cathcart warns developing uranium mining regulations would waste taxpayer money

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2013
Contact:   Freeda Cathcart
Candidate for the 17th House for the House of Delegates
... 540-598-7231
FreedaWorks@gmail.com

 Freeda Cathcart warns developing uranium mining regulations would waste taxpayer money

When Gov. McDonnell considers Sen. Watkins and Del. Kilgore's request to develop uranium mining regulations, he should consider the following:

Virginia spent close to $2 million on state sponsored Working Groups to discuss uranium mining last year. 

 

The estimated cost to develop uranium mining regulations exceeds $4 million for the first year and it is expected to take five years to fully develop them. 

 

Virginia can't afford to waste money on a private industry that isn't economically viable when Virginia isn't fully funding much needed teacher's raises and cutting hours of community college's adjunct professors.

VUI claims that the Coles Hill deposit is “worth an estimated $7 billion” are not based on the current market value of uranium. Recently the price of uranium dropped to $42 a pound. An analysis of the global market reveals a bleak future for the uranium commodity.

 

The uranium ore at Coles Hill is considered a low-grade ore that is not worth mining unless the market price is higher than the cost of extracting and processing it. Estimates vary that the start-up cost of mining and milling the ore at Coles Hill would be between $60-80 a pound. The Chmura report said that $45 a pound might be the breakeven point. 

 

Therefore the current value of the Coles Hill deposit is worthless based on today’s market price.

The parent company of VUI, Virginia Energy Resources Inc. of Vancouver Canada is in fiscal distress. 

 

It had an operating loss of $5,354,146 and has an accumulated deficit of $17,109,894 according to Canada’s System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval for the period ended September 30, 2012. 

 

Recent financial restructuring using bridge loans does not address that their major holding, Coles Hill, is essentially worthless.

The world’s demand for uranium is expected to decrease which would make the price of uranium per pound drop even more. 

 

Uranium mining is not economically feasible in Virginia.

Virginia needs to spend tax payer money wisely by investing in education for the well being and prosperity of our state. 

 

We can't afford to be taken advantage of by a predatory industry.

--
Freeda Cathcart