Antinuclear

Australia’s mainstream media – ignoring Olympic Dam uranium mine, while they cover Climate Denialism?

19 Oct 11,  There might be some delay in updating this website, due to circumstances.

A pity, because it is an interesting, and rather scary time, in Australian politics.  The mainstream media continues to focus on the ?wrongs and rights of Australia’s carbon tax legislation.   Plenty of coverage to Australia’s anti carbon tax enthusiasts.  Little or no coverage of the international approval as Australia joins the many countries now choosing to act on climate change.

Barely a mention of the hastily rushed approvals for BHP Billiton to create the world’s hugest uranium mine, biggest man made hole, and biggest area of radioactive waste.  The South Australian Parliament must now go through the process of approving  a new Indenture Act –   I bet that Labor and Liberal would like to rush this through too, while Australia’s mainstream media looks away.

In Victoria, the Baillieu government has handed out approvals for coal seam exploration and mining.  However, this government, with not a shred of scientific evidence, has decide to prevent wind energy from going forward.

And – to return to the BHP plan.  As Mike Rann and Mariius Kloppers congratulate each other –  one wonders whether the new big uranium mine might turn out to be an expensive folly.  It won’t make a profit for at least 20 years.  Who knows whether even the copper price will stay high, let alone the uranium price?

The uranium market is in  a mess.  And, as well as the continually down ward price trend, nuclear fuel providers compete with each other.  Thorium might win – no need for uranium, then.  Reprocessing might win. No need for uranium then.  The USA and Russia might increase sales of old weapons grade uranium, seeing that they don’t know what else to do with it – no need for uranium then.

The new BHP Billiton $30 billion copper-uranium mine is an expensive gamble.   – Christina Macpherson

October 18, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina reviews