Antinuclear

‘Loophole’ in Victoria’s uranium ban allows mine to ship element to US

ABC News, By Emile Pavlich and Else Kenned, 8 Nov 24

In short:

Uranium mining is banned in Victoria, but a mine in the state’s west will be able to ship a rare earths concentrate to the US to be processed into commercial quantities of uranium.

The plan has sparked farmer protests, and Friends of the Earth is calling on the Victorian government to block the exports.

What’s next?

The mine is due to start producing and shipping the concentrate in 2026.

A mine in western Victoria is set to produce a commercial quantity of uranium for the first time in Victoria’s history, despite a state ban on uranium mining.

Astron Corporation’s Donald Rare Earth and Minerals Sands Project, about 75 kilometres north of Horsham, was approved by the Victorian government in 2008. 

This year, the company received a $183-million funding injection from US uranium giant Energy Fuels, which it said would allow it to start production in 2026. 

The company will produce a rare earths concentrate, which will be shipped to the US and refined by Energy Fuels in Utah to produce rare earths and uranium.

The uranium will be sold to US nuclear power plants to generate electricity, according to a memorandum of understanding signed between the two companies last year. 

Friends of the Earth national anti-nuclear campaigner Jim Green said there was a “loophole” in Victorian legislation that allowed companies to mine uranium as a by-product of mining other minerals.

Dr Green said that created a “range of issues” around legality, economics and logistics.  

“I’m really quite shocked by this proposal, I didn’t see it coming,” he said. “It is a concern and it could certainly lead to other similar proposals.”………………………………….

Nuclear industry banned since 1983 

There are three operating uranium mines in Australia, according to Geoscience Australia.  

None are in Victoria, where the activity has been banned since nuclear prohibition legislation was introduced in 1983.  

Victoria banned uranium mining to “protect the health, welfare and safety of the people” and limit “deterioration of the environment” caused by radioactive substances and nuclear activities, according to the nuclear activities act.

A parliamentary inquiry report examining Victoria’s nuclear prohibition laws, tabled in 2020, found that groups or individuals who proposed changing the government policy did not present sufficient arguments to convince the committee.  

“Any advantages are speculative in nature, and do not outweigh the identified and proven risks,” the report found. 

If it goes ahead, Astron Corporation’s plan to sell rare earth concentrate to Energy Fuels for processing into uranium and other minerals would be the first example of an Australian rare earths mine producing a commercial quantity of uranium.

The ABC understands Australia’s two existing rare earths mines, Lynas Corporation’s Mount Weld Project and Northern Minerals’ Browns Range project, both in Western Australia, do not produce uranium.

But as the world looks to transition away from fossil fuels, more companies may take up the search, with company Australian Rare Earth announcing in September it would explore for uranium in South Australia.

Changing the fabric of a rural community 

The Wimmera region of western Victoria is known as the state’s wheat belt due to its large production of grains and pulses, producing more than 800,000 tonnes on average per year.  

In total, 428 square kilometres of land is under Astron Corporation’s mining license and the first phase of the mine, planned to start construction in 2025, covers 28 square kilometres.  ……………………………………………………………………………..

………….Regulation concerns

Anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Green said he had concerns about the regulation of the nuclear industry.

“I’ve got safeguards and weapons proliferation concerns,” he said…………………

Dr Green said he also had serious concerns about the White Mesa Mill site in Utah where the uranium would be processed.

“It’s got a long history of controversy, it’s the subject of regular protests from the Ute Mountain Tribe — the local Indigenous people,” he said.

“They have had non-compliance notices from state and federal regulators [and] problems with underground pollution of aquifers.”

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention in the United States are undertaking a study about the health impacts of this site, with results expected next year……….. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-08/victoria-uranium-mining-ban-loophole-mineral-sands/104473328

November 10, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | uranium