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The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) says it would be short-sighted to expand the Northern Territory's Ranger uranium mine now that another major potential deposit has been found. Energy Resources of Australia says it has found a potential further 40,000 tonnes of uranium oxide near the Ranger mine in Kakadu National Park, which could extend the mine's life by seven years.

After decades of delay, the U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comments about a slow-motion contamination risk - the radioactive dirt piles left over from now-abandoned uranium mines in the Young Ranger District along popular Workman Creek in the Sierra Anchas. During the boom years of uranium mining in the 1950s and 1970s, mining companies dug "dozens" of mine shafts following veins of the naturally occurring, radioactive mineral. Most of the once-sealed mine shafts are now open after vandals pried loose the timbers and tore down the warning signs. The mine shafts still have radiation levels that could cause cancer and other health problems.

An independent radiation safety expert from Queensland, who was called in to speak to Ranger uranium mine employees this week about exposure levels, says management is reassessing its procedures. The mine's union expressed concern after a dirty clean up job at the mine three weeks ago.

The U.S. Forest Service is developing an environmental cleanup plan for the San Mateo Uranium Mine under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. The site is located on the Mount Taylor Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest, Cibola County, approximately 12 miles northeast of Grants. * The Forest Service prepared an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) to identify and evaluate several cleanup alternatives to address the waste rock piles associated with past uranium mining. The recommended cleanup alternative is to consolidate the waste rock piles and place them in an on-site repository. A geomembrane would be placed above the waste rock in the repository and would be covered with clean soil, re-vegetated, and armored with rock. Rock armoring would reduce the potential for erosion during heavy storm events and reduce the potential risk of exposure to gamma radiation and direct contact, inhalation, or ingestion of waste rock. The agency is requesting public input and comments on the EE/CA and the recommended cleanup alternative. The EE/CA and the Administrative Record are available for review at the Southwestern Regional Office in Albuquerque and the Mount Taylor Ranger District Office, 1800 Lobo Canyon Rd., in Grants and also available at the following link: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/cibola/projects/index.shtml.

The U.S. Forest Service is developing an environmental cleanup plan for the San Mateo Uranium Mine under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. The site is located on the Mount Taylor Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest, Cibola County, approximately 12 miles northeast of Grants. * The Forest Service prepared an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) to identify and evaluate several cleanup alternatives to address the waste rock piles associated with past uranium mining. The recommended cleanup alternative is to consolidate the waste rock piles and place them in an on-site repository. A geomembrane would be placed above the waste rock in the repository and would be covered with clean soil, re-vegetated, and armored with rock. Rock armoring would reduce the potential for erosion during heavy storm events and reduce the potential risk of exposure to gamma radiation and direct contact, inhalation, or ingestion of waste rock. The agency is requesting public input and comments on the EE/CA and the recommended cleanup alternative. The EE/CA and the Administrative Record are available for review at the Southwestern Regional Office in Albuquerque and the Mount Taylor Ranger District Office, 1800 Lobo Canyon Rd., in Grants and also available at the following link: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/cibola/projects/index.shtml.

The Northern Territory Government says it will speak to mining company ERA and the office of the Commonwealth Supervising Scientist about contaminated water leaking from the Ranger Uranium Mine. About 100,000 litres of contaminated water is seeping from a tailings dam at the mine every day. Environmentalists are calling for the mine's planned expansion to be put on hold.

The Commonwealth supervising scientist of the Ranger uranium mine at Kakadu National Park says investigations are continuing into water contamination at the site. Alan Hughes has told a Senate estimates committee that Energy Resources of Australia has conducted geophysical surveys to determine the impact and extent of leaking from a tailings dam at the mine. Mr Hughes says the company has only preliminary results from the surveys and is not sure if ERA will make the findings public. "I understand that they are having significant discussions with the traditional owners and the Northern Land Council about tailings and seepage issues on an ongoing basis," he said.

The Commonwealth supervising scientist of the Ranger uranium mine at Kakadu National Park says investigations are continuing into water contamination at the site. Alan Hughes has told a Senate estimates committee that Energy Resources of Australia has conducted geophysical surveys to determine the impact and extent of leaking from a tailings dam at the mine. Mr Hughes says the company has only preliminary results from the surveys and is not sure if ERA will make the findings public. "I understand that they are having significant discussions with the traditional owners and the Northern Land Council about tailings and seepage issues on an ongoing basis," he said.

The Australian Conservation Foundation says another contamination incident at the Ranger uranium mine should stop the Fed and NT Governments from allowing the operation to expand. Mining company, ERA has admitted several workers were contaminated clearing up a big yellow cake spill three weeks ago. Earlier this week, it announced a new possible 30,000 tonne deposit.

"Energy Resources of Australia has made it clear it wants to mine the Jabiluka uranium deposit within the Kakadu National Park. ERA owns and operates the nearby Ranger uranium mine, which provides the fuel for one per cent of the world's electricity. At the company's annual general meeting in Darwin today, shareholders were told the company is relying on the approval of a $36 million processing facility to recover an extra 20,000 tonnes of uranium oxide. The company has a mining lease until 2021, but told the meeting it would love to exploit the contentious Jabiluka deposit. "

An exploration company searching for uranium in the Northern Territory has signed a joint-venture agreement worth $3 million with the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation. Bondi Mining operates the Murphy uranium project about a 1,000 south-west of Darwin. Managing director Rick Valenta says the agreement is a strong vote of confidence in the project, which could be as uranium rich as the Ranger mine, near Jabiru.

The uranium industry says Australia has slipped down the rankings of the world's biggest producers and that is threatening its position as an exporter. Industry leaders told a conference in Darwin they were determined to pressure governments to remove more barriers to the expansion of mining. The Uranium Association's executive director, Michael Angwin, said Australia had dropped from being the world's second biggest producer of uranium to the third biggest, behind Canada and Kazakhstan.

A major drilling program has commenced in Western Australia to prove up what could potentially be Australia's fifth uranium mine. The Kintyre deposit, 2000 kilometres north east of Perth, is believed to hold around 36 million kilos of uranium of a similar grade to the Ranger mine in the Northern Territory. Last year, Canadian company Cameco joined forces with Mitsubishi to buy Kintyre from Rio Tinto for almost $700 million.

A Senate committee has heard from environmentalists who are opposed to changing the way uranium royalties are levied in the Northern Territory. Hearings into the proposed changes started in Darwin this afternoon. At present, the royalties are negotiated on a case-by-case basis, but the proposals would see royalties levied at 18 per cent of the mine's profits.