1. Captive mines for VSP sought
2. Six mining companies booked
3. Coal India close to buying mine assets in Indonesia
4. TATA Steel tribal culture centre upgraded to the centre of excellence
5. Coal India shortlists 9 cos for developing underground mines
6. Guv urges mining industry to help conserve nature
7. Goodyear credited with creating mining giant 
8. Tanzania inches closer to new mining initiative
9. $5 billion invested in mining in Ghana
10. Expansion in works for mine with troubled environmental past
11. Prospect of reopening mine has residents on edge
12. Murray, MSHA clash over another Utah mine
13. Uranium mining plan splits Va. county
14. ‘Reserve more funds for lakes’
15. Ministry rejects Rajasthan's proposal on hydropower projects
16. Environmental costs have real impact
17. Impact of economic meltdown less severe in India, says ILO
Mining – India
Captive mines for VSP sought
Staff Reporter
| ‘State has ignored the demand while sanctioning the same to private plants’ |
It has resulted in a steep increase in production cost, says CPI (M) secretary
VSP is spending an additional Rs.5,000 on the production of each tonne of steel
Addressing a media conference here on Saturday, he said that the Central Government had ignored the demand of the VSP for captive mines on several occasions in the past while extending the same benefit to private plants. This was resulting in a steep increase in production cost per and slowly eating into the plant’s profits. The impact of global recession was already being felt and if VSP was not granted captive mines the day was not far off when it could once again go into the red, he felt.
Availability of reserves
Mr. Narasinga Rao said that several representations were made to the Central Government in the past seeking reduction in the additional burden to the VSP but they were not paid any heed. He recalled that the Obulapuram Mines were leased to Brahmani Steels at dirt cheap prices by the Government.
He alleged that former Union Minister of State for Mines T. Subbarami Reddy, who had amassed wealth as a contractor of the VSP in the past, was aware of this but had done nothing to sanction captive mines to the steel plant.
Awards
He said that the VSP had bagged several international and national awards. It had earned a profit of Rs.1,943 crores during the financial year 2007-08. It was ahead of several ‘Navaratna’ plants in earning gross margin on turnover.
In spite of all this, the lack of captive mines was telling upon the health of the steel plant.
The proposal for expansion of the steel plant was delayed by the Central Government by two years, and now after it had given the permission, recession has set in.
He said that all trade unions of VSP (barring INTUC) had decided to stage a collective dharna on February 19 for the achievement of captive mines for the plant.
CPI(M) District secretariat member A. Ajay Sarma and secretary of Steel Plant Committee D. Ch. Venkateswara Rao were present.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020858350300.htm
Six mining companies booked
Staff Correspondent
| Forest Department has charged them with encroachment |
Machineries and consignments seized during raids
Cases booked based on Lokayukta’s report on mining
The mining companies, against which forest offence cases have been booked, include those that are owned by the Lad brothers, of whom Anil Lad is a member of the Rajya Sabha and Santosh Lad, MLA representing Kalghatgi, B.S. Anand Singh, Vijayanagar MLA, and also of a former MP late Veerbhadrappa.
The action by the Forest Department came in the wake of recommendations made by Lokayukta, who investigated the alleged illegal mining activities in the State and submitted a detailed report.
Of 99 mining leases listed in the Lokayukta report, 80 are on forest land with 58 of them shown as having encroached the forestland, according to Muthaiah, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bellary Division.
Mr. Muthaiah told presspersons here on Saturday that action was initiated against 15 mining companies (six during the week and nine in May 2008) based on the surveyed sketches/maps which were made available by the Lokayukta. The machineries and minerals on the spot were seized besides giving instructions to stop the mining activities immediately.
The process is on
Booking of cases would continue against the remaining 42 mining companies, accused of encroaching the forestland, as and when the survey sketches and maps were made available by the Lokayukta.
The following was the list of mining companies against whom cases have been booked. Bharat Mines and Minerals, Bellary; Hothur Traders, Bellary; Tungabhadra Minerals, Hospet; Nadeem Minerals, Bangalore; Ambika Ghorpade, Ms. Chougale Mining Company; Deccan Mining Syndicate; Lakshminaryana Mining Co; Ramghad Minerals and Mining (mining lease no.2451); Ramghad Minerals and Mining (mining lease no. 622); H.G. Ranganagouda mines; S.B. Minerals, V.S. Lad and Sons, Sandur; Veerbhadrappa Sangappa and Co, and J.M. Vrishabendraiah.
Mr. Muthaiah said that during the investigation that would follow, assessment of the extent of ore mined from the encroached land would be made besides calculating the value and the loss caused to the State exchequer.
The exact value of minerals and machineries seized in the past one week could be ascertained after the assessment was completed, he added.
Mr. Muthaiah said that nine mining companies against whom cases were booked in May 2008 had resumed mining operations by getting a stay from the Karnataka High Court.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/08/stories/2009020854590500.htm
Coal India close to buying mine assets in Indonesia
Public sector Coal India (CIL) is likely to soon firm up acquisition of mining assets in
Due to the current global economic slowdown, the prices of mining assets abroad have gone down by as much as 60 to 70 percent, making acquisitions attractive, say government representatives. More freedom under government rules is making it easier for CIL.
“Acquisition of mines abroad is under active consideration and CIL after being accorded the Navratna status can go ahead for acquisitions by itself,” Santosh Bagrodia, minister of state for mines, told Hindustan Times.
He said CIL can acquire assets without the government intervention through its foreign arm, Coal Videsh Ltd.
CIL is interested in acquiring three mining blocks with estimated reserves of over 120 million tonnes in
According to the official, given the limited resources and lack of advance technologies, local companies that are given mining rights are generally not able to harness the full potential of the mines and end up looking for joint venture partners from overseas.
Under revised norms in
Coal
Bagrodia and senior officials from CIL also visited the
A special purpose vehicle, International Coal Ventures Ltd, has been floated by five public sector units to identify and acquire overseas coal assets. CIL, part of the consortium, is searching for coalmines in the
TATA Steel tribal culture centre upgraded to the centre of excellence
The Tribal Culture Centre promoted by TATA Steel has been upgraded to the centre of excellence. The upgraded centre was formally inaugurated by Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel.
Mr Muthuraman was delighted to see the upgraded centre with more facilities and opportunities for the tribals. He said that “Mankind has been chasing the philosophy of equal opportunity for long, but has not been successful in adopting this. However, TATA Steel has believed in Affirmative Action since its inception. By its inherent social consciousness, it has adopted Affirmative Action. Anything that is done should be done in consultation with the people for whom it is done. Through this Centre, TATA Steel will be able to provide the necessary foundation to the people for equal opportunity.”
Mr Partha Sengupta VP (CS) of TATA Steel was also present during the occasion along with other Senior Executives of TATA Steel, members of various tribal associations and senior citizens of
Ms Munni Tiu and Mr Jagarnath Soren, the beneficiaries of one of the projects for tribals shared their experiences with the gathering. Ms Tiu is now the Ward Commissioner of the Gamharia block of Sareikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand and Mr Soren is currently working in the Coke Plant of the Company after completing his trade apprentice training.
However, TCC which was set up in the year 1990 for the welfare of the tribal community of Jharkhand now has an upgraded Heritage Hall and Amphitheatre depicting the heritage and culture of the various tribes of Jharkhand.
Mr Satish Pillai Chief of CSS, TATA Steel in his welcome address informed that the Company has proposed to use TCC for the promotion of rural enterprise, Santhali language, vocational training and art and culture of the tribals with a special focus on the promotion of Jharkhand tribal sports called Kati. Plans are afoot to set up a sports hostel for the tribals in the near future.
Though Affirmative Action was declared as a Policy in 2006 by the Government of India, TATA Steel has been practicing it for over 3 decades now. Through Tribal Cultural Society, TATA Steel has been working for the preservation of the rich tribal heritage and culture of the indigenous people in the state of Jharkhand. A Heritage Hall maintained by TATA Steel in
TATA Steel has done some exemplary work in the state of Jharkhand and has made a huge difference to the lives of the people. It has taken up the responsibility to save and protect the primitive tribes of Jharkhand and bring them at par with mainstream civilization. Now, the company is in the process of taking this model forward to other eastern states like Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
Needless to say that the gamut of TATA Steel’s social outreach program for the up liftment of the weaker sections of society spreads across all segments that include income generation, health and hygiene, education and adult literacy, agriculture and wasteland management. It covers over 800 villages in the states of Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
Coal India
| 17 cos submitted EoIs in June last. |
Australian mining major
Pratim Ranjan Bose
Kolkata, Feb. 8Coal India may invite nine shortlisted private parties from India and abroad for turnkey development and long-term operation of high capacity underground mines in seven virgin blocks, in a pre-bid meeting later this month. The projects, with an estimated annual production capacity of 3-5 million tonnes each, will be funded by CIL.
A total of 17 companies had submitted expression of interest in June, 2008. According to sources, the companies short-listed are: Walter South East Asia, Essel Mining, Anglo American, Reliance Infrastructure, Xeng Zhou Coal Mining Machineries Group, Essar Mineral Resources Ltd, Tiandi Science and Technology Ltd, Europe Ventures Ltd and Bucyrus DBT Europe GmbH.
The short-listing was done on the basis of fulfilling the EoI obligations and submission of further clarifications as was requisitioned by CIL. Sources said that the Australian mining major Rio Tinto’s proposal was among the eight EoIs rejected for not fulfilling the stipulated obligations.
“Considering our aim to include as many parties as possible in the final bidding process, we pointed out the deficiencies, if any, in the EoIs to the respective parties and offered them time to furnish relevant details,” a CIL source told Business Line.
The blocks which are proposed to be developed are Tilaboni under Eastern Coalfields Ltd; Kapuria of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd; Jagannath of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd; Behraband and Khairaha under South Eastern Coalfields Ltd; and Murpar and Borda under Western Coalfields. Of the seven blocks, Kapuria in Jharkhand is a prime coking coal reserve.
Eastern Coalfields, Bharat Coking Coal, Mahanadi Coalfields, South Eastern Coalfields and Western Coalfields are wholly-owned subsidiaries of CIL.
The coal major will finance the cost of development (including creation of supply logistics) of the proposed mines and would enter into long-term agreements with the eligible parties for procurement of coal on operation cost-plus basis.
Preliminary estimates suggest that CIL may have to invest between Rs 600 crore and Rs 1,500 crore for development of each reserve.
Tendering may take time
While the draft document will be finalised following the pre-bid meeting to be held by the end of this month, sources reveal that the actual bidding process may take awhile. Since the reserves are located under different subsidiaries, the respective companies would need to take a series of board approvals to implement the project, allocate fund and customise the tender document to suit the quality of the particular reserve. The process is yet to begin.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/02/09/stories/2009020951720100.htm
Guv urges mining industry to help conserve nature
First Published :
Last Updated :
Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare today, thus, called upon the mining industry to accord top priority to environment protection and conservation measures.
Minerals constitute the backbone of economic growth and with progressive industrialisation, the demand for ore and minerals has gone up gigantically. Therefore it is the need of the hour to balance mining with ecological security through conservation, scientific exploitation and mitigation measures, he said addressing the concluding day function of the 11th Mines Environment and Mineral Conservation Week organised by Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) in association with OCL India Ltd.
Speaking on the occasion, IBM Controller General CS Gundewar emphasised progressive and planned reclamation. As the mining industries increase their production, they should simultaneously reclaim the units that have been exhausted. This would strike a balance as while going ahead they would have ensured that the utilised mines are suitably rehabilitated and reconverted into the green tracts they once were, he said.
Orissa commands a major position in the mineral resources in the country with more than 30 percent deposits found here alone.
Its contribution in fiscal terms in 2007-08 was to the tune of Rs 12,900 crore.
Chief Controller of Mines Ranjan Sahai called upon large mines to adopt small ones and help them with technology and expertise in acquiring best practices for conservation and environment protection.
The Governor gave away awards to the mining industries who have adopted best practices for the year 2008-09. As many as 110 industries had taken part in the week.
Among others, Regional Controller of Mines S Tiu and Executive Director (Plant) of OCL DD Atal spoke.
Mining – International
Goodyear credited with creating mining giant
MR CHARLES 'Chip' Goodyear has been described in media reports as an early riser and a fitness buff, up most days at
Clean-cut, impeccably groomed and possessing boyish good looks, he has also been said to have a low-key style.
And he is no stranger to taking over a company during challenging times.
Raised in
He started his career on Wall Street as a banker advising corporations on mergers and acquisitions and financing.
He went on to become executive vice- president and chief financial officer of Freeport-McMoRan Inc before joining Goodyear Capital Corporation, where he rose to be president.
In 1999, he joined the then debt-ridden Australian mining giant BHP Billiton as chief financial officer before becoming CEO in January 2003.
One report said he was skiing in
He was credited with helping to staunch the bleeding at BHP and steering the company through a merger with
Temasek noted yesterday that he was also early in identifying
In 2005, a report said that as part of his personal investment in the future, he was sending his two children, then 10 and 11, to learn Chinese in
He was quoted as saying that China's rapid economic rise was creating the kind of surge in demand for commodities like copper, iron ore and oil that comes perhaps once in a generation.
He left BHP Billiton on Jan 1 last year. He had once told journalists that he typically stayed at a company for no longer than eight or nine years.
http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/My%2BMoney/Story/A1Story20090209-120492.html
Tanzania
Rating
By JOSEPH MWAMUNYANGE (email the author)
Posted
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) could help reduce the negative publicity the sector has had.
A recent meeting that attracted many sections of society decided that different sectors should choose members to comprise the EITI implementation committee, says World Bank Tanzania Country Office specialist Vedasto Rwechungura.
Mr Rwechungura said
Others including civil society organisations and NGOs are in the process of doing so.
“The Minister for Energy and Minerals will any time now submit the letter to join EITI. The secretariat will then recommend and submit it to the Board, but it takes time for the whole process to be completed,” he said.
Following the government’s announcement last November that it was committed to implementing EITI, a workshop was organised this month to push forward
Participants were from faith-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, media workers’ unions, the Government and its institutions, regional miners associations (from all regions), colleges and research organisations, and mining companies.
Once the EITI is in place, mining companies will have to disclose what they pay in taxes, while the government will disclose what it earns from the sector.
Dr Wilson Mutagwaba, a researcher, said the process of forming the implementation committee had been transparent.
He said a series of meetings was held to get wider representation.
The Minister for Energy and Minerals, William Ngeleja, said transparency in revenue accrued from the extractive industry would ensure that the country’s minerals were beneficial, instead of being a curse.
He said that in 10 years the sector had grown tremendously and contributed to the country’s economic development.
But though the sector grew from a mere 5 tonnes output in 1999 to 50 tonnes in 2007, its contribution to the GDP is still small, at about 3.5 per cent.
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was launched in 2002 to improve transparency and accountability in countries rich in oil, gas and mineral resources.
Currently, 41 countries are full members of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/525902/-/rku4d5z/-/
$5 billion invested in mining in Ghana
than US$5 billion have been devoted to new mining projects in
Dr. R. Anthony Hodge, who is a leading authority on sustainable development in mining, said in an article published on the online version of the Sunday Monitor, a Ugandan publication that “during that time, the national poverty rate has fallen 12 percent.”
He said of
The article which appears to be a strong reaction to critics of the mining industry is titled “How to use
Dr. Hodge who has worked as a professional engineer and consultant to industry and as an advisor to governments in his career cited numerous success stories in African countries where minerals are being mined.
He noted the recent honouring of former Bostwana President by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, an Africa-based good governance group.
The Foundation honoured the former
Mr Mogae has been widely praised for promoting transparency and accountability in the
He said,
Its economy has grown roughly 9 percent annually since 1966, and citizens share in a substantial slice of the benefits derived from its major diamond mines.
The
The Debswana mines in Bostwana, for instance, subsidise 100 percent of the anti-retroviral therapies, infection treatments, and related monitoring for employees and their families.
These efforts have been credited with reducing Aids-related employee deaths by 13 percent between 1999 and 2005.
Dr. Hodges’ findings are as a result of research conducted by his organisation, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), together with host governments, international donors and civil society groups. The study he said, found that
Mineral extraction has positively contributed to economic and political progress in nearly half of the 33 countries studied, he said.
He stated that, beyond the achievements made so far, mining companies can help kick-start growth in developing countries, and cited case studies in
On mining companies’ contribution to Ghana’s healthcare system, he said between 2005 and 2007, in Ghana’s Obuasi district, the mining firm AngloGold Ashanti developed a malaria control programme that brought the incidence of malaria down by 73 percent - with an average monthly reduction of 4,550 cases.
He also cited the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative — a partnership between mining company BHP Billiton, the governments of
This initiative is widely regarded as one of the most successful public-private partnerships to control disease and drive regional economic growth, he said. Adding, such examples show that mining firms can make a significant contribution to both a country’s economic development and its social well-being.
Working in partnership, industry and governments can strengthen local land rights, erect proper protections for the environment, control disease, and ensure that revenues are channelled productively back into communities — where they can make tremendous improvements in the quality of life.
These kinds of collaborative efforts are essential to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and lifting Africans out of poverty, he suggested.
Addressing critics of the mining industry, he said, it’s rare this case is heard, of course. Critics often suggest that the mining industry takes much more from local communities than it returns. According to the “resource curse” theory, countries blessed with minerals and natural fuels are inevitably doomed to predatory governance and poverty.
Dr. Hodge is also currently Kinross Professor of Mining and Sustainability in the Department of Mining Engineering, and Helen and Arthur Stollery Professor of Mining Engineering and Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, at Queen’s University,
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
http://ghanabusinessnews.com/2009/01/11/5-billion-invested-in-mining-in-ghana/
Expansion in works for mine with troubled environmental past
10:36 PM PST on Sunday, February 8, 2009
A
The 57-year-old Mountain Pass Mine off Interstate 15 near the Nevada border has one of the world's few ready supplies of elements known as rare earths, used in manufacturing wind turbines, hybrid cars, fluorescent light bulbs, computer hard drives, DVD players, small electric motors and hundreds of other products.
The world's biggest known source of rare earth elements is in the Inner Mongolia region of
"There just aren't a lot of supply sources that are ready to produce," Orris said in a telephone interview from her
"Rare earths are the enabling elements," said Mark A. Smith, chief executive officer of the recently formed Molycorp Minerals LLC, which acquired the mine last fall from Chevron Mining Inc. "We absolutely see growth in rare earth industrial uses ... and we want
Orris said that in the 1960s, '70s and '80s,
But
Company officials said they expect to start a major retooling effort this year and resume digging ore as early as late next year. They plan to be in full operation by 2011, they said.
Later on, the mine owners want to start using the rare earth neodymium to manufacture powerful magnets needed to manufacture wind turbine generators and small motors, such as those that power car windows. The factory would create about 900 jobs, Smith said. Loans needed for construction of the factory aren't available now because of the recession, Smith said.
Past Troubles
Prospectors in the late 1940s looking for uranium instead found at
Pit mining started in 1952. Miners sent their children to a small school on the property. The mountaintop pit now covers about 55 acres and is about 500 feet deep. In 1996, when it was last in full production, 326 people worked there.
However, while the mine was producing vital elements, it also was polluting the soil and groundwater.
Wastewater from processing the rare earths was pumped to unlined evaporation ponds, where nitrates and other salts leached into underground water on both sides of Mountain Pass, said Mike Plaziak, a supervising engineering geologist for the California Water Quality Control Board, Lahontan Region. The mine is in the south end of the Clark Mountain Range, which divides the
Nitrates and salts both can make water undrinkable.
Unocal owned the mine from 1976 to 2005. In the 1980s, the company began piping wastewater as far as 14 miles to evaporation ponds on or near
The pipeline repeatedly ruptured during cleaning operations to remove mineral deposits called scale. The scale is radioactive because of the presence of thorium and radium, which occur naturally in the rare earth ore.
A federal investigation later found that some 60 spills -- some unreported -- occurred between 1984 and 1998, when the pipeline was shut down. In all, about 600,000 gallons of radiological and other hazardous waste flowed onto the desert floor, according to federal authorities.
By the end of the 1990s, Unocal had been hit with a cleanup order and a
After preparing a cleanup plan and completing an extensive environmental study, Unocal in 2004 won approval of a county permit that allowed the mine to operate for another 30 years. The mine also passed a key county inspection in 2007. The cleanup is ongoing.
Cleaning Up
Now, all wastewater is pumped to onsite holding ponds lined with several layers of plastic.
"Today's practices are not adding more pollution," Plaziak said.
The mine has about 80 monitoring wells that track existing pollution as it moves underground. Contaminated groundwater pumped from another 12 wells is treated to remove toxic materials, said Scott Honan, the mine's general manager.
The mine operators have filled in one of the old holding ponds in a way that prevents rain runoff from seeping in and spreading more pollution. The top has been planted with desert vegetation.
Since 2000, mine operators have invested about $20.1 million in lined evaporation ponds, reclamation of old ponds and other efforts to protect or clean up the environment,
Complying with environmental regulations, including regular groundwater testing, costs another $2.4 million a year, he said.
More cleanup is needed, state and federal regulators say.
The state Water Quality Control Board wants the mine operators to determine the extent of pollution below
In addition, Chevron Mining Inc., which sold the mine to Molycorp Minerals LLC for an undisclosed price, is still on the hook to remove some 14 miles of radioactive pipe and patches of contaminated soil.
Workers are expected to begin carefully removing the pipe and carting it to a specialized disposal facility this year, said George Meckfessel, a BLM planning and environmental coordinator based in Needles. The cleanup had been scheduled to start last fall but was delayed while California Department of Fish and Game representatives survey the route for desert tortoises, a species listed as threatened with extinction. If tortoises are found, a qualified biologist would move them, BLM biologist Larry LaPre said.
Getting Greener
Smith, the new company CEO, stood at the edge of the
Smith, a former mine official for Chevron, is enthusiastic about
"This is a great investment," Smith said. "Rare earth elements are so beneficial to the environment."
The mine's legacy of pollution, he said, is in the past.
"I don't want to produce another pound of product if we don't do it right environmentally. That's how serious we are," Smith said. "We don't want to be just environmentally compliant; we want to be environmentally superior."
http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_S_molycorp09.44b8a72.html
Prospect of reopening mine has residents on edge
By EVE BYRON- Independent Record - 02/08/2009
Miner Aaron Edmondson stands near arched brick retaining walls inside #1 Shaft Station. The retaining walls are a testament to the bricklayer’s skills as well as the money thrown around when the mine was producing millions of dollars gold and silver. (Eliza Wiley Independent Record)
MARYSVILLE — This small town may owe its origins to the Drumlummon Mine, but some of the current residents aren’t pleased with the mine’s possible resurrection.
Billy and Lainie Christensen live in an airy log cabin they built above Marysville’s core, with sliding glass doors framing a view of the
Ryan Abelin lives next door, and Harry McGee resides nearby, in a house built in the 1890s, when the Drumlummon was still churning out gold and silver.
McGee recalls that it was on a Sunday afternoon last summer, shortly after a light rain, when he first heard the sounds of birds chirping in his yard punctuated by the grunts and groans of heavy machinery filtering through those trees.
“I thought, ‘I didn’t move here for that,’ ” says McGee, a former coal miner.
The noise came from the revival of the Drumlummon Mine, McGee said, which a Toronto-based company is considering reopening.
Representatives from RX Exploration, which is currently collecting ore samples at the Drumlummon, said they don’t think they’re the source of all of the recent complaints about construction noise. They point to Marysville Road, which is being widened and straightened as part of a safety project, and wonder if perhaps that’s being mistaken for their work.
“We limit outside (as opposed to underground) operations of our equipment to the day shift, with the exception of air fans and air compressors. …” said Joe Bardswich, chief mining engineer for RX, who added that their equipment doesn’t have back-up alarms. “I do not know the source of the noise which was the basis of the complaints, but based on what I presently know, I cannot fathom how it could have been from our operations.”
Still, Bardswich said the company wants to be good neighbors, and he acknowledges that in the future, construction work outside of the mine to ready it for production may be audible in Marysville.
“Drilling and blasting on the surface are noisy, but when they get underground the noise will be less,” Bardswich said. “So the first blasts will be noisy, but less noisy than the (recent) highway construction.”
Pete Strazdas, a consultant for RX, said when he heard complaints last summer about noise, he would drive into Marysville, shut off his truck’s engine, and listen.
“You can’t detect much, not much more than a vehicle running down the road,” Strazdas said. “It’s more philosophical than anything. People don’t like to see things happen in what they think is a pristine environment.”
Both Bardswich and Strazdas acknowledge the noise will increase, however, if a mill is built here to process ore from the Drumlummon. Current plans call for shipping it to Montana Tunnels near Clancy, or mills in Radersburg or Phillipsburg, but the men say there’s also talk of building one about three miles down valley from the mine.
They also understand that to some Marysville residents, they’re about as popular as a skunk at a party.
“We know they don’t want us here. We’re in their view shed,” Strazdas said. “The mine was quaint when it was quiet. It’s not quaint anymore.”
Lainie Christensen said the community hasn’t heard much about RX Exploration’s plans for the future. But she already has a list of concerns, starting with the recent permit application that would allow RX to pump about 100 million gallons of water out of the mine in order to prospect in old, lower-level shafts, and take rock samples.
She and her neighbors want to know — not just speculate, but know — if or how pumping that much water out of the ground might impact Marysville residents’ wells. They want to know there’s no connection between their water and the mine water.
“My biggest concern is there is a foreign company coming in here and potentially ruining our water table,” Abelin said.
Wayne Jepson, a hard rock hydrologist with the state Department of Environmental Quality, said the question of “connectivity” between the mine’s water and that of the town “certainly is worth looking into” as part of the permitting process.
“We might require the mine to have some observation wells to track the water level so we’re confident nothing will happen to the groundwater,” he said.
But other concerns of the residents might be beyond the scope of what the state can regulate.
They want to know what’s going to be done with the rocks removed from the mine, whether they’ll be milled nearby or trucked to another mill via
“That’s only getting three inches of asphalt on it, and what will those heavy hauling trucks do to that?” McGee wondered.
They also wonder how those trucks will interact with the 400 cars that travel every Saturday and Sunday during the winter to Great Divide Ski Area. They wonder if the mine operations will be around the clock, every day of the week, with the noise becoming the background theme music to their lives.
And then there are the intangibles at this point — how will their town of 70 people change if 300 people are needed to work at the mine? How many people will move to Marysville? Will it boom to 3,000 people like it did when the mine previously operated, or will there be some way to preserve the stillness in this semi-ghost town, where only half the structures are inhabitable?
“I know what it’s like to live through the boom and the bust in a town,” McGee said. “I don’t know what the longevity of the mine would be, but boom and bust aren’t good for locals. The property values go up, the tax values go up and the locals can’t afford it.”
Billy Christensen worries that condominiums will be constructed for the workers to live in, that crime will increase, and they no longer will know their neighbors.
And that’s just while the mine operates. They also wonder that when the mine is played out, if there won’t be any additional environmental disasters. Silver Creek is laced with mercury from historic milling processes, and also has elevated levels of arsenic. No one eats fish from the creek. The entire drainage is a testament to hydraulic mining, with piles of waste rock as far as the eye can see.
“That mine polluted it so bad up here before; they wrecked it,” Billy Christensen said. “Can we look at history and learn from history, and maybe not do this again?”
Lainie Christensen looks around at her quiet home.
“This is a nice little ghost town,” she says. “I don’t want to see those ghosts resurrected.
“We have a lot of history of our own without the mine. We care about this place and money isn’t everything. I don’t see this mine improving our life in any way, shape or form.”
Warren McCullough, DEQ’s environmental management bureau chief, said they’re limited in their oversight, although the state will do what it can to ensure mining is done responsibly.
One of the issues, he noted, is that if less than five acres of the ground’s surface is disturbed, the Drumlummon could fall under the small miner exclusion. RX currently expects above-ground operations to be at that level, and has filed a statement seeking the exclusion.
“If they can meet the requirements of the small miner’s exclusion, they pretty much escape regulation,” McCullough said. “That might work fine for the initial stages, but not if someone is interested in the mine for the long run.”
At this point, only a “checklist” environmental assessment has been performed, and public comments on it are due by
“We haven’t even started the process necessary for an operating permit. This is strictly at the exploration level,” McCullough said. “We want people to ask questions and raise concerns, but if they’re not relevant to the current permit application, there’s not a lot we can do.
“But we would address them to the extent that the law allows. We can only regulate what we can regulate by law.”
Bardswich said he wants to be up front about the company’s intention. RX has extensive underground mining experience, and if the results of the recent sampling are good, they’ll apply for an operating permit that could prompt an environmental assessment or the more in-depth environmental impact statement.
“We cannot jump to this step at this point in time because we do not have enough exploration work done to prepare a mine plan for ore that we have not yet discovered,” he said.
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2009/02/08/local/55lo_090208_drumside1.txt
Murray , MSHA clash over another Utah
Associated Press -
UtahAmerican Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Murray Energy, has asked a federal judge to overturn an MSHA citation requiring the company to change its roof control plan before longwall mining can resume again at the West Ridge mine in
MSHA also says the mining company must keep barrier pillars intact in sections for future mining.
An MSHA spokesman tells The Salt Lake Tribune that the agency wants to make sure there is a plan in place to protect miners from hazards when the coal seam shifts as it is ground away by the longwall mining machine.
Another
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=9806154&nav=menu554_2_3
Uranium mining plan splits Va.
COLES HILL -- Byron Motley's family has lived here in
But Motley is suddenly pondering a move to
Likewise, Phillip Lovelace, the ninth generation in his family to live in Pittsylvania, is considering moving to
Though their roots run deep in Pittsylvania's soil, Motley and Lovelace and other members of the county's Old Guard -- multigenerational families whose ties to the county often run back to the 1700s -- are considering an exodus if their fight to prevent the proposed uranium mine at Coles Hill fails.
At the least, they say, the proposed mine of several hundred acres would wreck the pastoral landscape, increase truck traffic and turn the silence of country life into a cacophony of clanging industrial noise. And at worst, they fear, the mine would pollute the groundwater and streams with uranium and choke the air with harmful residue.
Which is why Motley, 51, is thinking about bugging out if the mine is approved. The alternative, he said, is to "sit here and suck dust."
Geologists say there may be nearly 120 million pounds of uranium, billions of dollars worth, in two large pockets about 6 miles northeast of
Buddy Mayhew is one of those landowners. A third-generation tobacco farmer, he described his neighbors' talk of moving away as bluster. He said he is confident they'll stay if the state study shows mining can be done safely. "I don't believe anybody's going to move."
Mayhew noted that Virginia Uranium chief Walter Coles, whose family has been in Pittsylvania since the 1700s, plans to live in his ancestral home located nearly in the middle of the two uranium deposits.
Before any mine work could start,
The study of uranium mining being conducted by the Virginia Commission on Coal and Energy could take up to two years to complete.
Opponents of the mine plan to use that time to continue to fight. They've organized several opposition groups, circulated petitions, packed public hearings and enlisted the help of environmental groups, all in an effort to urge the General Assembly to keep the moratorium in place.
Virginia Uranium, meanwhile, has agreed to merge with a Canadian mining company to enhance its financial resources. The company and the law firm that represents it have also given more than $7,000 in campaign contributions to some of the 13 legislators who are members of the coal and energy commission's Uranium Mining Subcommittee, which is overseeing the study.
Opponents such as Lovelace and Motley contend that an objective study will bear out their fears. Virtually all uranium mining in the
And while they are hopeful the study will say as much, members of the Old Guard are mindful that Virginia Uranium may get its way. In which case, they are preparing to move.
"It breaks my heart, but we'll leave, without a doubt," said Ed Fitzgerald IV, an eighth-generation Pittsylvania resident whose great-grandfather started the county's first phone company. "I can't believe it's safe. I've read too much about it to believe it's safe for my children."
Aside from his environmental and health concerns about the proposed uranium mine, Fitzgerald said it would destroy a big part of what makes Pittsylvania unique -- a quiet way of life now unknown by millions of Americans and even suburbanites in Northern Virginia and the Richmond area.
"It's a place where the night life is church socials," said Fitzgerald, 48. "Sitting on the porch and watching stars is not for everybody, but it's wholesome."
Patrick Wales, a
No one, he said, intends to do any harm to the county: "We haven't been here 4,000 years, but this is our hometown, too."
Lovelace, though, is convinced a uranium mine would be the death of a county his ancestors helped build. "We've got a pretty county, without a doubt it's a pretty county," he said. "I had the time of my life running around these hayfields as a boy. I think my children and the children of my friends deserve the same chance as me."
http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/article/URAN08_20090207-212206/200937/
Other News – India
‘Reserve more funds for lakes’
First Published :
Last Updated :
He was speaking at a media presentation on “Change of Climate” at the Parisara Bhavan, organised jointly by the
“Nearly Rs 1500 crore is required for de-siltation of tanks. The state does not have enough environment protection projects. The action plans chalked out by government-appointed committees should be timebound.
Everyone should take equal responsibility to reverse climate change,” Chandrashekhar said.
He emphasised on the need to create solar farms in villages to attain energy sufficiency.
Speaking at the event, KSPCB chairman H C Sharatchandra said that the large-scale use of solar heaters would be promoted in the state. Journalist Jeremi Bristow gave a presentation on how environmental issues can be covered in the media.
Ministry rejects Rajasthan's proposal on hydropower projects
The refusal came after a two-member team comprising wildlife experts Ranjitsinh and BC Choudhary from Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in their report said that the proposed four hydro dams would destroy half of the Chambal sanctuary on the river which demarcates the border of MP, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The river is also home for Gangetic river dolphins and crocodiles.
The issue had come up for discussion at a recent meeting of the standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife chaired by Environment Minister S Raghupathy.
To stress the negative impact of the proposed dams, the members in the report also highlighted that the three already existing such hydropower projects on the river had wiped out dolphins, turtle and crocodiles in the surrounding areas.
Rajasthan had sought construction of four Hydropower projects on Chambal river under its Chambal development scheme to meet the power needs of the nearby villages.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200902081502.htm
Environmental costs have real impact
BY MICHAEL HALEY
Environmental costs have real impact
Tuesday, the Napa County Board of Supervisors will look at the principles guiding them in this years budget preparation process, and one thing on the agenda giving me pause is the statement "Pursue new revenues to the fullest extent possible for all services.”
My view is that fees for any kind of permitting process here are too high already.
It is true the county is facing reduced revenue collections due to the economic slump, but increasing fees for people is going to slow the economy even more.
We have a small rental house that we were thinking of putting a new roof on, for appearances sake. The quote for the roof was $7,500, and the fees involved to the county would have totaled $2,300 just for the privilege of doing it. The contractor told me what the county would do for that $2,300 was send an inspector by to make sure the nails were in it. Takes about five minutes. When I saw that I just thought it was too much and didn’t do the roof.
How many other things don’t get done because of high fees?
One of the misconceptions people have about Proposition 13 is that it lowered taxes permanently, and that has just not happened. One of the ways government has made up the lost tax money is through development fees, a kind of property tax. A new house in
The biggest area of cost in regulations are due to environmental issues. The Metropolitian Transportation Commission says that one in three dollars spent on transportation improvements are due to environmental regulations.
Huge amounts of money are being spent on environmental issues in the
We can’t do it because the red legged frog might live along the
It really gets worse than this, because there are layers of unneeded bureaucracy that cost a fortune on top of silly rules that don’t do much. There is an ongoing project to improve the
It has been one thing after the next, but the main problem is there are so many different government agencies who want say so over what is done, County public works of course, but also Fish & Game, NOAA, Coastal Conservancy, Bay Area Water Quality Control District, FEMA, and a few more, I can’t even remember all of them.
A design gets done then one of the other groups steps in and doesn’t like something about it, so it has to be redone, but then someone else doesn’t like that, they disagree among themselves about what the regulations even say, and on and on it goes. We should have one governmental organization with the authority to make these decisions and the thing would have been done by now. Instead five years and about five million dollars later, nada.
People, good grief, we are talking about moving the rocks around on a riverbank here. This has gone from being a $3-4 million project that was supposed to be done by now to a $9 million project that has already spent $5 million and nothing has been done yet.
Last week I was told about a Calistoga bike trail that had a bridge consisting of the bottom of an old rail car laid over a gully. Federal and State inspectors came in and looked at it, found out it was 100 years old and said before you can approve a bike path over this you need to spend two years and a million dollars doing an historical study. I say, why do we even have Federal regulators in
Human beings are going to have some impact on the environment no matter what we do, and we have reached the point of stupidity with these regulations and the attendant expenses. When I was up in
Well, I drank the water anyway and am here to tell about it. There has to be a balance somewhere between meeting human needs and fixing our
People get really hurt by this, you can save a square yard for micro invertebrates yet ruin an economy that causes tremendous hardship. It is always the people at the bottom who end up getting hurt the most. We will spend the $9 million on the Rutherford Dust project, what would that do for coming health and human services cuts in the County? Those are the real choices that we are about to find ourselves confronting.
Impact of economic meltdown less severe in India, says ILO |
| Press Trust Of |
| |
The impact of the global economic meltdown would be less severe in
Duncan Campbell, director of ILO’s Department of Economics and Labour market analysis, has also said that
“The effect of the economic downturn in
The official said, “Progress could be halted if suitable education is not imparted now. In fact, in
The ILO in its recent report on Global Employment Trend had predicted a global job loss to the tune of 1.5 million in 2009 as a direct impact of the global financial meltdown.
Lauding
Stating that the level of social security in
“The time for
“Recession is an opportunity for
The official said that the observations about
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