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It is critical that the uranium mining issue be made a key in stopping the push for more nuclear technology.

International Uranium Mining Issues

Introduction

Uranium mining is about environmental justice, nuclear weapons proliferation, and speculative markets. The flooding of Cameco's Cigar Lake uranium mine in Canada and the nuclear push has prices up worldwide. Is the Enron waiver scam also being used with the uranium market?

Global Uranium Overview

Worldwide uranium mining produced about 41,600 tonnes of uranium in 2005. Though uranium is a fairly common mineral and is widely distributed around the earth, over half of the total uranium mining production came from just two countries: Canada and Australia. Though the U.S. was the largest uranium producing country in the world in the 1970’s, by 2005 only 3% of world production was mined in the United States.

Canada

CCNR: Canada: Uranium Primer

Sharbot Lake Protest

Canada was the first country to mine uranium. The world's first uranium mine was at Port Radium, NWT, on the shore of Great Bear Lake. Canada was also the first country to refine uranium on an industrial scale. Uranium for the World War II Atomic Bomb Project was processed in secrecy at Port Hope, Ontario.Much of the uranium for the Cold War nuclear arms race came from Canada: Port Radium and Rayrock, NWT; Uranium City, Saskatchewan; Bancroft and Elliot Lake, Ontario. By 1960 the American military contracts had been terminated. All uranium mined in Canada since 1965 has been sold for reactor fuel. Additional Note: In 2005 Cameco's Cigar Lake uranium mine was flooded, driving up prices of uranium worldwide.

Citizen's Inquiry on the Impacts of the Uranium Cycle

This immensely important event took place April 2008 and contains over 500 submitted testimonies on twelve major uranium mining issues. All submissions are available to read!

Capital News: Shooting down Canada's peaceful image -

Impacts on Indigenous uranium miners

MiningWatch: Uranium Hype Hits Indigenous Opposition

Rallying ends and lawyering begins in uranium exploration saga

Expert warns Ontarrio about uranium mining

Cameco Uranium Mine

The Hidden World of Radiation and the Uranium Fuel Chain

Cameco’s flooded Cigar Lake uranium mine - cleanup options?

AREVA - Cigar Lake Jet Boring Animation

John Graham Defense Committee - Photos: Uranium Mine

The Bush Uranium Mining Connection

Canadian Uranium Mining: Let France do it!

 

Australia

The History of uranium mining in Australia

Australia is set to become the largest uranium producer in the world. Most of the uranium is on indigenous lands. A huge battle over a deadly industry that produces few jobs but immense wealth for BPH Billiton is at stake.

Australia's Beverly Uranium Mine

Australia has some of the uranium reserves in the world. The Beverly mine is using a technique called In-Situ Leaching (ISL) to extract the uranium. This is an extensive Australian News (video) investigation of ISL mining.

Ranger Uranium Mine on Flickr

The Ranger Uranium Treatment Plant

Sole survivor sitting on a $5b fortune

Australian Protest

Africa

From Bush's lies or EDF's scandals about Niger uranium, n-waste dumping on poor communities, or the Rossing uranium mine in Namibia, Africa is a hotbed for uranium mining for huge global corporations like Rio Tinto.

Africa'a uranium mining hunt is on

Uranium Free South Africa

African Uranium Issues

African Uranium Mining projects

Stock Interview - Tuareg Rebels on Brink of Shutting Down Niger’s Uranium Mining

Mines d'uranium au Niger : Un scandale nommé COGEMA

Iran and Congo's vanishing uranium bars scandal

Wikipedia: Rossing Uranium Mine

 

 

India

The Jaduguda Nightmare: Tailings pipes break

The tailing pipes carrying the radioactive and toxic slurry from the mills of the Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL) burst Saturday night(16/8/2008) in the Dungridih village under the Jadugoda police station of Potka block of East Singhbhum in Jharkhand State of India, spewing the village with uranium waste.

HIMAL SOUTHASIAN | April 2007: Report: Jaduguda fallout

Jaduguda: India's lethal weapon

JADUGUDA, India — Deep in the heart of a grassy valley, thousands of laborers are helping build India's nuclear dreams at the country's only uranium mining complex. Two miles away, deformed children play in small, clay huts.

Majorityworld: Jaduguda uranium mining impact images

Europe

Europe has the strongest anti-nuclear movement in the world. The push to restart the nuclear power issue in Europe has been ferocious. Much has left to be done on discovering more about the scandalous Soviet era uranium mining industry, where no attempts at protecting miners or the environment was the rule.

Los Frailes tailings failure (Spain)

Uranium Mining in Europe

Kazakhstan Uranium Mining

International Uranium Action Day

Chronology of major tailings dam failures

German tailings: Lead-210 and Radium-226

Uranium-Enrichment Myths Busted

Nuclear waste from Urenco and Eurodif left behind in Russia

In-Situ Leach (ISL) Uranium Mining Method Far From 'Benign'

Drire Limousin - 2004 French Uranium mining sites

ISL mining in Russia and Asia PDF File

A Legacy of Ashes: The Uranium Mines Of Eastern Germany

 

Corporations

Top five uranium mining companies

1. BHP Billiton LTD (BHP) - $135 billion
2. Rio Tinto plc (RTP) - $72 billion
3. Cameco Corp. (CCJ) - $13 billion
4. USEC Inc. (USU) - $1.26 billion
5. Fronteer Development Group Inc. (FRG) - $800 million

Uranium Watch: Corporate Links

BHP Billiton

BHP Billiton is the world's largest mining company, and is ranked at 183 of all companies. It was created in 2001 by the merger of Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) and the UK's Billiton, which had a South African background. The result is a dual-listed company. In 2007 Billiton made a hostile takeover bid for Rio Tinto which has not suceeded. Its U.S. holdings include the Utah Group.

Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is the 2nd largest private mining corporation in the world. The company focuses on large, long-term, low cost mining operations in aluminium, copper, coal, uranium, gold, industrial minerals (such as borates, titanium dioxide feedstock, talc, diamonds) and iron ore. Rio Tinto is most active in North America, Australia, South Africa and Indonesia with additional major assets in South America, Asia, and Europe. There are more than 60 operations in around 40 countries.Rio Algom's Track Record

Cameco

Cameco is the world's largest single uranium producer, responsible for about 21% of world production. Based in Saskatchewan, Canada, the company virtually runs the uranium mining industry in Canada, and has extensive gold and uranium exploration and mining interests internationally. In Australia, the company is actively exploring in Arnhem Land (NT) and to the north of Kintyre at Rudall River (WA). The company has close alliances with the Japanese Government (PNC) and French nuclear agency (Cogema) in these areas.

Cogema

Cogema is the French Government-owned nuclear group, one of the largest suppliers of uranium in the world and the only company to offer every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle to the industry, from mining to waste management.

Cogema was created in 1976, from the Production Division of the French Atomic Energy Agency (CEA). The CEA holds a 74.7% stake in the company, which provides services to the civil and military sides of the French nuclear industry, as well as to many international clients. There is no essential division between the military, government and commercial aspects of nuclear power in France, and Cogema lies at the heart of French nuclear operations.

Urenco

Urenco is jointly owned by the governments of Germany, The Netherlands and the UK and has facilities in all three countries. In the last year Urenco has expanded capacity by 7%, boasting that the expansion project at the Springfields, UK plant was its fastest yet. The company is constructing a new uranium enrichment plant called the National Enrichment Facility (NEF) in New Mexico, USA...