09/03/09

Mining – India. 1
1. Mining-affected locals begin hunger strike. 1
2. CIL gets mineral concession for 2 coal blocks in Mozambique. 2
3. Illegal mining still happening in Raj, claims NGO.. 3
4. Orissa favourable Investment Destination says UN survey. 4
5. Indian Steel Projects Delayed on Land Acquisition. 4
6. Gowda submits memorandum to Governor on `illegal mining' 5
Mining – International 6
7. Chinese construction will help revive Australian mining. 6
8. Labor's uranium mining policy mischievous, Springborg says. 7
9. Uranium debate rages along Quebec's North Shore as locals oppose mines. 7
10. Rio Tinto sells US mine for 761 million dollars. 10
11. Congressional inquiry into environmental impact of mining in Mindanao sought 10
12. China looks to buy more mining companies. 12
13. De Beers stops mining diamonds in Botswana. 13
14. The paradox of uranium mining. 14
15. Australia to quadruple mining of uranium to step up export 17
Other News – India. 19
16. Tribal University hits roadblock. 19
17. Meet on livelihood for forest dwellers today. 19
18. Gujjar women facing gender discrimination in J&K.. 20
19. Inspection reveals violations at biofuel plant 21

Mining – India

Mining-affected locals begin hunger strike
9 Mar 2009, 0618 hrs IST, TNN

MARGAO: Rallying under the banner of Mission Bypass', residents of Curchorem, Sanvordem, Quepem, Sanguem and surrounding areas have launched
satyagraha' a Gandhian mode of protest to press for their demand for a bypass road exclusively for mining trucks. Protesting the government's "indifferent attitude" to their demand, protesting residents on Sunday began a sit-in indefinite chain hunger strike in front of the Curchorem Curcora Municipal Council (CCMC) building. Earlier, a public meeting was held near the Sanvordem-Curchorem railway station, which then assumed the form a silent rally that wound it way through the busy thoroughfares of Curchorem before culminating near the CCMC building. Explaining the idea behind the Gandhian mode of protest, Martin Fernandes said, "Mission Bypass has been persistently taking up its demand for the construction of a bypass road with various government authorities for the last one year. But, apart from giving hollow assurances, the government has failed to heed our demands. We have therefore decided to adopt satyagraha'. As the doctrine of satyagraha has come to mean vindication of truth, not by infliction of suffering onto the opponent, but on oneself, members of Mission Bypass have decided to go on an indefinite hunger strike beginning on Sunday, until our goal is achieved." Convenor of Mission Bypass Pradeep Kakodkar, in his speech against the government for failing to heed their demands, urged the people to unite and assert their rights. "The government has been making a mockery of the citizens living in areas affected by mining pollution. We have been demanding the provision of a time-bound schedule for the execution of construction of the bypass road from Uguem to Kapxem, aimed at diverting mining trucks away from populated areas. While we acknowledge that the mining lobby has the right to conduct business, we too have a right to breathe fresh air in an unpolluted environment," he stressed. Beginning Monday, protestors will continue with the hunger strike at a specially erected pandal at Curchorem from 9 am to 6 pm everyday.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa/Mining-affected-locals-begin-hunger-strike/articleshow/4242326.cms


CIL gets mineral concession for 2 coal blocks in Mozambique

Press Trust of India / New Delhi March 08, 2009, 15:59 IST

Navratna PSU Coal India (CIL) has bagged mineral concessions for two mining blocks with an estimated coal reserve of about one billion tonne in Mozambique, Coal India Chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya said today.
"We got an official communication yesterday that we have been given mineral concession for A1 and A2 mining blocks in Mozambique," Bhattacharyya told PTI.
The two virgin mining blocks, which are spread over an area of 200 square kilometers, could be possessing between 500 million tonnes and one billion tonnes of thermal and coking coal, he added.
CIL plans to export 85 per cent of the output from the Mozambique mines to India, which would help reduce the country's dependence on coal import.
"As per the deal, we would have to leave 15 per cent of the mined coal for the host country, while the rest we will export," Bhattacharyya said, adding the production from the Mozambique mines could start in a span of over five years.
CIL would soon start exploration of the two blocks, which would take over two years. It would also initiate talks with Indian agencies working in Mozambique for infrastructure and allied support in the project.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/cil-gets-mineral-concession-for-2-coal-blocks-in-mozambique/56314/on


Illegal mining still happening in Raj, claims NGO

Published: March 8,2009

Udaipur , Mar 8 Despite the orders of the Supreme Court, illegal mining continues to take place in Rajasthan, adversely impacting the environment, an NGO has alleged.
In its study -- Rich Lands, Poor People - Is sustainable mining possible? -- released here yesterday, the Centre for Science and Environment alleged that the state government has failed to regulate illegal mining in forest areas.

There was no immediate reaction from the state government.

Despite repeated Supreme Court orders, mining continues unabated in Sariska and Jamwa Ramgarh sanctuary, it alleged.

The study claimed that Rajasthan has thousands of unorganised mines, which can be as small as one-twentieth of a hectare and they fall outside the purview of government control and there were no accounts of them.

This has had a devastating impact on the forest cover of the state. In the Bijola area, there were 23,800 ha of dense forests in 1971; by 1991, only 12,800 ha remained, and only 2,700 ha was dense, it claimed.

Extensive mining of sandstone, marble and other minerals in the state has also converted the Aravallis into a rocky wasteland, the report alleged.

The report recommended that the people&aposs right to say"no"to mining should be recognised, there be independent, impartial preparation of EIA reports and disallowing mining in forests among others.

http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/519347/National/1/20/1


Orissa favourable Investment Destination says UN survey
Sunday, March 08, 2009

Report by Dipti Ranjan Kanungo, Bhubaneswar : Orissa ranked among one of the most favorable destinations for investment. Despite various issues like uncertainty over mining lease, public resistance to mega industrial projects and displacement issues, the state has managed to hold investors trust, an UN survey has said.
The "Investor survey-2008 (IS 2008) carried out by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) made public here ON Saturday. This is the second of such study done by the organisation took into consideration 309 establishments acros 14 districts from micro, small to large industrial units. The survey report released during the ongoing 5th Entrepreneur's Week 2009.The first of such kind of Survey carried out in 2005.
Releasing the survey report Mr.T.Tilhan,co-ordinator,the UNIDO Survey team said that around 93% of the respond and expressed satisfaction with the facilities available in the state. Maharastra leads the table with 94% satisfavtion level aginst the national average of 76%.On the other hand 52% establishment said they will definitely continue business in the state whereas 43% said they 'probably will Importantly in respond to a question on their expansion plans 30 percent answered in affirmative while 36% said "they probably will”. Interestingly 40 percent of the suveyed units said they would go on to recommend Orissa as an investment destination to business associates, while 22 percent said they definitely will.the single window clearance mechanism adapted by the state government since 2005 has played a vital role in speedy clearance of projects. But the survey also revealed some areas where still lots to be done like mines and land allortment, environmental clearance issue.
speaking on this occasion Mr.Ashok Dalwai, commissioner cum Secretary, Steel And Mines and Chairman, IPICOL emphasized on inclusive development and inclusive growth. Citing the example of Satyam fiasco Mr.Sourabh Garg, Secretary Industries laid stress on Good Corporate governance.Mr.Hemant sharma, Director Industries was also present during this occasion.

http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=11329


Indian Steel Projects Delayed on Land Acquisition
Dow Jones Newswires
NEW DELHI -- Several major Indian steel projects are facing delays due to problems in land acquisition and environment-related approvals, according to a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry.
The industry body's study Sunday listed 18 projects that have been delayed, including eight steel projects.
India's federal government plans to more than double the country's steel making capacity to 124 million metric tons by 2011-12, but analysts and industry officials are skeptical.
With the global slowdown in demand and the credit crunch, Indian companies have slowed the pace of expansion.
Earlier this year, global consultants Ernst & Young said the 124 million tons target "seems difficult to achieve."
With a slowdown in demand from key steel consumers such as automobiles, construction of infrastructure and housing projects, analysts are wondering whether there is enough demand to justify the capacity addition.
India's steel consumption in the April-February period fell 1.3% year-to-year to 46.79 million tons, according to government data. In the April-January period, the fall in demand was steeper at 2%.
The country's steel production during the 11-month period rose to 51.5 million tons from 50.9 million tons a year ago, preliminary data from the Joint Plant Committee showed.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123657661020868741.html?mod=googlenews_wsj


Gowda submits memorandum to Governor on `illegal mining'
Bangalore (PTI): A delegation of intellectuals, environmentalists, academicians and social activists led by JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda on Saturday called on Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur and demanded dismissal of three ministers, accusing them of illegal mining and 'defiling' state boundary.
"The acts of omission and commission of condoning and facilitating the acts of three of its ministers amounts to a complete breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the state", the delegation said in the memorandum.
The memorandum did not mention any names but was apparently targeting Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy, his brother and Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy and Health Minister B Sriramulu, all the three from Bellary district, who are into mining business.
It called for a study relating to "assault on the sovereignty and integrity of the state of Karnataka by defiling of its boundaries by the mining mafia from Bellary" and submission of a report to Centre.
It charged that the mining mafia in its "insatiable lust for money and power" destroyed the boundary markers between the state of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh over a running area of 35 kms.'
The memorandum addressed to the President of India alleged that in the guise of mining leases obtained from the Andhra Pradesh government under a company called Oblapuram Mining Corporation (OMC), the mining mafia had destroyed and mined extremely rich iron ore content from hillocks in Karnataka.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200903071640.htm


Mining – International

Chinese construction will help revive Australian mining
Monday, 09/03/2009
Despite concern about the economic slowdown in China, a senior trade commissioiner says demand for Australia's minerals will remain strong.
Christopher Wright, from Austrade, says China is ready to embark on an internal construction program under its $100 billion stimulus package.
Prices for steel-making commodities like iron ore, coal and nickel, have halved in recent times, and they're stockpiled at Chinese ports.
Mr Wright says the backlogs are temporary, and the minerals will soon be used in construction.
"Well, 80,000 kilometres of high speed expressway will consume a lot of that," he says.
"Low-cost housing is going to consume a lot of that.
"The whitegoods rural rebate scheme and the vehicle scheme for the rural environment will consume a lot of that.
"It's a 30-to-50-year expansion and development of China."
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200903/s2510895.htm

Labor's uranium mining policy mischievous, Springborg says
By Penny Timms
Posted 8 hours 32 minutes ago
Liberal National Party (LNP) Leader Lawrence Springborg has questioned the State Government's stance against uranium mining in Queensland.
Mr Springborg is campaigning in Mount Isa today and says he does not understand why the Government is approving exploration permits for uranium if it does not intend to mine it.
"The Labor Party are being a little bit mischievous on this," he said.
"They're actually making available exploration leases for uranium but they're actually saying that they're not planning on mining it.
"The simple reality is they have no problem with exploration, why mining?
"Other states and territories do exceptionally well, it creates thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in royalties which can be invested in hospitals - all of those things that are important."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/09/2510909.htm


Uranium debate rages along Quebec's North Shore as locals oppose mines
8 hours ago
MONTREAL — Lac Kachiwiss has long been valued by the denizens of more than a dozen hunting and fishing camps that dot its secluded shoreline.
Accessible on land only by snowmobile, the wilderness area hundreds of kilometres north of Quebec City provides a winter getaway for many residents of the Quebec port town of Sept-Iles, about 20 kilometres away.
But these days there is another group that treasures the rugged back-country terrain.
A British Columbia-based prospecting company has cast an eye on a rocky bluff that overlooks the lake, where it says lies a vast deposit of increasingly valuable low-grade uranium.
Like more and more regions across Canada, locals are bristling over the prospect that radioactive metal could be unearthed so close to their town.
In Sept-Iles, many fear that mining waste would threaten their drinking water, which is drawn from a nearby lake.
"Eventually it will leak and eventually it will contaminate,"said Sept-Iles resident Marc Fafard, founder of a local group pushing for a ban on uranium mining and exploration in the area.
The property's owner, junior mining firm Terra Ventures Inc. (TSXV:TAS), first stirred up concerns last year when it fired up its exploratory drills.
Hundreds of citizens marched through Sept-Iles in a demonstration and demanded the province suspend uranium exploration and extraction in the region. Around 3,000 signed a petition.
Even Sept-Iles city council unanimously passed a resolution calling for the government to declare a permanent ban.
Neighbouring communities along the northern banks of the Gulf of St. Lawrence - also known as Quebec's North Shore - have recently adopted similar legislation, as exploration intensifies in the region.
Canada is the world's top source for raw uranium, a substance primarily used to make fuel for nuclear power. Most of it is mined in northern Saskatchewan.
But in recent years prospectors have been sniffing for uranium in Labrador and Atlantic Canada - regions previously deemed too expensive to exploit.
And public resistance has come with it.
Several regions, including B.C., Nova Scotia and the Labrador Inuit territory of Nunatsiavut, have established moratoriums on uranium.
Last summer, New Brunswick imposed stricter guidelines on uranium mining.
But in Quebec, a province long recognized as mining-friendly, the government refuses to declare a moratorium.
"For now there's no question, we won't go to a moratorium on uranium," Serge Simard, Quebec's junior minister responsible for mining, told The Canadian Press.
He said citizen concerns are entrenched in their "lack of knowledge" about uranium. In May, the government will take part in a public information forum on the metal for North Shore residents.
"We will bring in specialists, we will possibly bring in people from Saskatchewan to also give all of their information to shine some light for the people who want to have a moratorium," Simard said.
"There is no danger for public health, except that right now it's a question of perception and we want the population to be informed to the maximum."
The price of uranium surged in recent years amid the burst in global demand. It's dropped over the last year, but still remains two-and-a-half times higher than it was five years ago.
Jean-Pierre Thomassin, director general of Quebec's mining exploration association, said mining firms have been spending a lot of cash in the province looking for uranium.
"It would not be very wise for the government to say to these people: 'Well, we made a mistake, we should not have given you a permit to explore there, so bye bye,' " Thomassin said.
"That's not a good message to the industry."
Nuclear power has been gaining popularity as a "greener" energy source that emits fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
But Jim Harding, author of Canada's Deadly Secret: Saskatchewan Uranium and the Global Nuclear System, said the toxic materials used to extract uranium, and the dangers of the metal itself, mean it's anything but green.
He said the uranium mining debate has become a "pan-Canadian issue."
"If I lived in an area where they were doing uranium mining, based on what I know about toxicity, lifespan and environmental health and increased risks, I'd move," said Harding, a retired justice and environmental studies professor.
"We're not studying it, we're acting like a Third World economy that wants to keep our head in the sand because of the short-term economic interests."
Gunther Roelig, president of Terra Ventures, said he sympathizes with local unease in Sept-Iles.
He said it's a matter of informing the public how safe modern mining practices have become.
"Unfortunately, uranium has this incredibly negative connotation where some people really just, you know, freak out," he said in a phone interview.
"It's been physically there on the surface for billions and billions of years.
"Again, I'm not an expert but how much radiation dose do you get when you go to your dentist and have your X-ray done compared to this kind of stuff?"
Fafard left last week for an eight-day, 1,000-kilometre snowmobile trek to encourage locals along the North Shore to attend the forum.
The father of four said it's time to make the controversy over uranium mining a provincial, and even national, matter.
"Our point is that we're not going to be the test bed for case studies for low-level radioactive contamination," said Fafard, who believes radioactive tailings would linger in ponds on the site for centuries.
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j4OLd2C0_okh4I33hC9f599203NQ


Rio Tinto sells US mine for 761 million dollars
49 minutes ago
MELBOURNE (AFP) — Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto said Monday it had agreed to sell a US coal mine to St Louis-based Arch Coal for 761 million US dollars.
Rio Tinto said the cash sale of the Jacobs Ranch mine in Wyoming brought the debt-laden company's asset sales this year to 2.5 billion dollars, adding to three billion offloaded in 2008.
The company is seeking to dramatically reduce its debt with a 19.5-billion-dollar cash injection from China's state-owned aluminium firm Chinalco, although it needs approval from shareholders and Australian regulators.
Rio Tinto shares closed up 1.80 Australian dollars (1.15 US), or 3.94 percent, at 47.5
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jd1IyRnNcGZT2hLog6fiaNFswLGg


Congressional inquiry into environmental impact of mining in Mindanao sought
By Ben R. Rosario
March 9, 2009, 12:00am
Militant partylist lawmakers have sought a congressional inquiry into the environmental impact of mining in Mindanao, saying that unabated mining operations may have triggered last month’s flashfloods and landslides that affected at least 300,000 people in the region. Reps. Teodoro Casino and Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna, together with Reps. Luzviminda Ilagan (Gabriela); LIza Maza (Gabriela) and Rafael Mariano (Anakpawis) warned that mining in Mindanao has also caused various environmental problems and should be regulated, if not totally stopped. The five solons who belong to Leftist partylist organizations, filed House Resolution No. 965 directing the Committee on Ecology to start the investigation. They filed the resolution shortly after Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Constantino Jaraula ordered the suspension of all mining operations in his city. Aside from small quarrying operations in remote barangay territories, also affected by Jaraula’s directive are two large scale copper mining and small gold panning operations in Barangays Dansoliho, Mambuaya, Taglinao, Tagpangi, Tuburan and Tumpagon.
The solons said there are 16 companies on record that are currently operating in Mindanao, eight of which are in Surigao del Norte, three in Cagayan de Oro, and one each in Agusan del Norte,Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, Surigao del Sur. One company is operating in South Cotabato, Saranggani and Dinagat Islands. The lawmakers identified the three mining companies operating in Cagayan de Oro as the Eagle Crest Mining & Development Corp., Cypress Mining & Dev't Corp., and the Glendale Mining & Dev't Corp.
The lawmakers wanted the ecology panel to determine whether the mining operations were to blame for last month’s flashfloods and landslides in different provinces of Mindanao, which affected more than 60,000 families or some 300,000 people.
Citing reports from the National Disaster Coordinating Council, (NDCC) as of January 20, 2009, a total of 27 people died and five others were declared missing including three from Misamis Oriental, one from Surigao del Sur and one from Agusan del Norte, all due to the flashfloods and landslides. The Party List solons said an estimated P600 million pesos worth of properties, agricultural products, infrastructure, fisheries and houses were damaged by the floods and landslides.
The Party List solons said Congress should seriously look into recommendations to ban mining activities in critical areas particularly in small islands ecosystem, primary forests and watersheds, which comprise most of Mindanao.
http://www.mb.com.ph/node/198277


China looks to buy more mining companies
March 9, 2009
THE president of China Minmetals, Zhou Zhongshu, says he is encouraging the establishment of a Chinese metals and mining development fund to be used to invest in international mining companies.
Minmetals has made a $2.6 billion bid for OZ Minerals that has yet to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Xinhua news agency reported that at a media briefing on Friday Mr Zhou said it was the right time for Chinese companies to be expanding overseas in light of falling asset prices and the steady value of the yuan. His company would look to make more acquisitions, he said.
Mr Zhou, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, said both state and private capital could be placed into a fund to take advantage of opportunities.
Minmetals was looking for OZ to provide expertise in mining exploration and management in return for its investment in the company, he said.
It is unclear whether the overseas assets of Minmetals, such as a copper project in Peru, will be bundled into OZ.
OZ has yet to update the market on the sale of its Golden Grove copper-zinc mine in Western Australia and its Martabe gold project in Indonesia. At a results briefing last month the chief executive, Andrew Michelmore, said both sales were expected to be completed by last week, but neither has been announced.
Completion of the Golden Grove sale was said to be subject to an agreement on working capital, whereas the Martabe sale remained subject to financing.
OZ shares closed at 60.5c on Friday, well below the 82.5c cash offer from Minmetals.
Jamie Freed
http://business.smh.com.au/business/china-looks-to-buy-more-mining-companies-20090308-8ser.html


De Beers stops mining diamonds in Botswana
Jonathan Clayton
De Beers, the diamonds group, has halted production in Botswana, the world's largest producer of diamonds by value, because Russia's nouveau riche can no longer afford to spend so much on the precious stones.
The miner is stopping production for at least seven weeks, affecting four mines in the country, jointly owned with Botswana's Government. One of the mines and a processing plant will remain closed until the end of this year. “At times like this, even oligarchs are not going to buy million-dollar jewellery for their girlfriends,” said one Johannesburg dealer who specialises in the high end of the market. “The bottom has fallen out of the market.”
De Beers had already suspended mining in South Africa in December and early January and has instituted voluntary layoffs in Namibia, given the sudden drop in sales of polished diamonds of about 20 per cent. Tom Tweedy, a company spokesman, said that it was the prudent thing to do.
Last year De Beers, which controls 40 per cent of the global trade, invested £42 million in setting up the Diamond Trading Company Botswana to develop the country's potential and create what was intended to be the world's largest rough diamond sorting and valuing operation. Those plans are on hold. Workers at the mine that will remain closed are being offered voluntary early retirement and special leave packages.
This year Angola — which has huge untapped supplies — called off a planned international meeting of diamond producers and dealers, citing the global financial crisis, which has sapped the appetite for any new investment in the sector.
The American market, the traditional home for half of all gem diamonds globally, has collapsed and it may take many years before it rebounds. This could lead to a drop in rough diamond exports of as much as 60 per cent. Tiffany, the luxury jewellery retailer, said that sales for the holiday season had dropped by more than 24 per cent and further drops were likely.
The downturn in the diamond industry and a slump in the prices of gold and platinum resulted in the South African economy shrinking for the first time in a decade. Gross domestic product fell by 1.8 percent in the last three months of 2008 from the previous quarter. This week Lonmin, the world's third-biggest platinum producer, added to the woes by cutting 5,500 jobs at two South African mines. The country's gold production fell by 13.6 per cent, to the lowest level since 1922, recent figures show.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article5870264.ece

The paradox of uranium mining
The sun sets last Thursday evening on the Big Gypsum Valley, where the Sunday Mines are located. The company that runs the mines has proposed an expansion in its uranium operations, and Sheep Mountain Alliance has filed a petition challenging a standing approval. [Photo by Erin Raley]
Perceptions run as wide as the Big Gypsum
By Matthew BeaudinEditor
Published: Saturday, March 7, 2009 3:07 PM CST
His dad had a saying for what the mines would do to him and his family. How different they’d all be.It went like this: “My dad used to say that the only effect the uranium mines had on him was that his kids would be born naked,” Scott Laws says.Sure enough, they were born naked. And they’ve never been sick from growing up in and around the mines that smatter the West, equal parts legacy and tragedy.The mine nearest to him may expand soon, though environmental groups are protesting.
Laws runs the Lamplight Restaurant in Monticello, Utah, and he needs the business the mines provide; without it, he might have to shutter.From here, the crow could fly there in an hour, but Monticello’s differences from Telluride — a resort town that cringes at any mention of mining — cannot be spanned. A chasm as wide as the West separates the two; one needs things like uranium mining while activists in another would wipe it from the earth, bandaging the scars it left on the land and the people who’ve worked it.“They can’t argue the fact that it’s going to be unhealthy for the people who live here,” Laws says. “If we didn’t have that … there’s nothing here.”The uranium market isn’t a distant boogeyman in Monticello, a blink-quick town on Hwy. 491, near the mill in Blanding, Utah. It’s what keeps money in cash registers and pays bills.Industry is spiking. There’s a copper mine in the area, where starting laborers take in $20 an hour.“That makes for a very good income,” Laws says. “Kids grow up well on that.” He would know: his father designed part of the uranium mill in Blanding. Mining is a lifeblood for Monticello and towns just like it, yet there are opposition groups that believe they have just as much right to stop its expansion as those fighting to keep the industry healthy.“There comes a point that you have to say which is more important,” Laws says, “the birds that live in the trees or the families who live on the ground?”It’s an industry that’s folded and fluxed over the past 70 years; there were Miss Uranium pageants in towns long since sunk into the ground. Old roads cobweb forgotten corners of the west end of the county and the eastern reaches of Utah.Spot prices for the element that powers nuclear reactors have fallen off a table over the last year — down from a speculator and hedge fund driven $130 a pound to the mid $40s now — but companies have shown interest in expanding, notably the Denison Mines Corp., a Canada-based company with an office in Denver.Denison was recently granted an approval from the Bureau of Land Management to expand its Sunday Mines Complex, which pinpricks into a small part of the Big Gypsum. That approval was two years in the making as the BLM undertook an environmental analysis and jumped through the myriad hoops mining permits require. It may not advance: Sheep Mountain Alliance, a local environmental organization, jumped on a bandwagon petition that challenges the approval and asks for higher-up review, which could stay or derail the project.Through 26 eloquently penned pages, the filing disputes the BLM’s review, painting it as inadequate on environmental and socioeconomic levels. Among a litany of charges, SMA says the environmental review fails to address water-quality impacts, and the petition also calls for a cumulative review of uranium mining’s impacts across the region — something environmentalists say has yet to be done.Jamie Sellar-Baker, the Dolores Public Lands Office associate manager, stood by the approval. “We were very cautions — we wanted to make sure we covered all of our bases,” she said.Sellar-Baker and her office worked on the analysis for more than year. She said the expansion on the surface would be minimal and was mainly for worker safety, in the form of ventilation holes. She did not have a direct response to the complaint.As to the concerns of environmentalists, “We believe that we addressed those,” she said. “[But] that’s why we have this public process, because there’s always a potential that we didn’t.”Ron Hochstein, the president of Denison Mines Corp., said the expansion is needed for safety as the mines expand underground. “It’s just a progression of the mines,” he said. “The surface disturbance area is extremely small. … A lot of these places we don’t even need to put roads.”Hochstein said the company will also drill test holes, plotting where to mine next.The ore that comes from the Sunday Mines lies in Uravan Mineral Belt, which arcs west from here to Utah through Uravan.The ore is relatively high quality, and the vein employs about 80 people, some of whom come from San Miguel County, Hochstein said. And even with prices bucking, “The fundamentals of the uranium market are still strong,” Hochstein said.Of course, he worries over the long shadow of his industry, and fights the negative perceptions where he can. “It’s not the industry of old,” Hochstein said. “We know so much more, and we can apply so much more technology. We just can’t seem to get rid of that stigma.”About 20 percent of the power in the U.S. comes from nuclear sources.The country consumes 55-60 million pounds of uranium each year, Hochstein said. It produces only 4 million, even though the U.S. has the world's fourth largest reserves of uranium.What’s more, half of the uranium the country uses comes from Russian weapons, marking one of the largest non-proliferation programs ever undertaken. One in every 10 people, when they turn their lights on, tap power from the Cold War, Hochstein said.Hilary White walks a fine line. She’s the executive director of Sheep Mountain Alliance, the group that was part of the petition to stall the expansion. She hopes for projects that could replace the mining industry as we know it.“We are pushing really hard for a renewable energy initiative,” she says. “We’re doing our best to find the right people to make the industry happen.”White says the people who came to meetings about uranium mining, who wondered how those who didn’t need the mining industry could threaten to take it away — they were right, that non-miners had no right to drain lifeblood from communities. She says it’s elitist to walk into communities and say: “No, you can’t have this.”“I’m not going to go to these communities and tell you ‘no mines,’” White says. “I’ll fight it this way, in the courts.”Renewable energy is the future — a clean, environmentally friendly future.“Let’s give them an alternative,” she says. “It’s a really hard line to walk — I’m just frustrated every day.”The sky melts into a lavender dusk and the Dolores River roams, a silver thread, stitching patches of green together.There is noise, but not much. The Big Gypsum Valley pockets nearly every sound.In the distance, lights crack the night, what could be some of the last flickers of the Manhattan Project, which the United States Atomic Energy Commission forged to create nuclear weapons in the 1940s.That program ended in 1962 after more than 1 million pounds of uranium and 6.8 million pounds of vanadium — a byproduct in mining that’s used to harden steel — netted $6 million in royalties for the government.The second leasing program, from 1974 to 1994, netted $53 million in royalties.Now, the ore that comes from uranium mines powers laptops and lamps, but the perceptions of uranium mining haven’t wavered much outside those who mine for it; it still sports the black eyes and busted lips of a past that’s radioactive from mushroom clouds, Superfund sites and cancer-struck miners.But some Utahns and Coloradans see uranium as both the past and the future.“When that money’s not here in circulation, people aren’t getting out and spending money because they don’t have jobs,” says Laws, the Monticello restaurant owner. “I do understand what it does to the environment, but I also understand that we’ve got to have jobs.”

http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2009/03/08/news/doc49b2de7cb0d82203668706.txt

Australia to quadruple mining of uranium to step up export
Adelaide (PTI): As recession looms large on it due to the global economic slowdown, Australia plans to quadruple the mining of uranium to step up its export amid speculation that Labour government may modify its policy of not selling the yellow cake to non-signatories of NPT, including India.
BHP Billiton, which owns one of the country's biggest mines 'Olympic Dam' in South Australia, would increase mining of uranium from 4,300 tonnes per annum to 19,000 tonnes, state Premier Mike Rann told visiting Indian journalists here.
Rann, one of the influential leaders of the Labour headed by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, said that besides uranium, his government decided to step up mining of copper from 180,000 to 730,000 tonnes and gold from 80,000 to 500,000 ounces.
The South Australian Premier, a long standing "admirer and friend" of India, said the province's rich mineral resources should be fully utilised to beat global recession.
Australia, a burgeoning economy posted 0.5 per cent negative growth for the first time in eight years, triggering fears of economic crisis among its affluent 21 million people.
"The Olympic Dam mine would surpass Chile Escondida to become the single largest mine in the world. No. 1 in uranium, No. 4 in copper and No. 5 in gold. Once the expansion takes place, something like a million-and-a-quarter tonnes on rock will be moved every day by 10,000 workers," Rann said.
The increase in mining of uranium, which was hitherto confined to only three mines, would enable Australia to overtake Canada as the world's leading supplier of uranium, Rann said.
"Olympic Dam alone will produce 35 per cent of the world's uranium and its reserves lasting for 100-150 years. It will supply more uranium than all of Canada's mines put together," he said.
Rann, however, sounded non-committal about Australia reversing its decision not to supply uranium to India, but at the same time said the issue would be discussed by Rudd during his visit to New Delhi, expected to take place later this year.
"There could be lot of negotiations," he said, but declined to elaborate.
Rann replied in negative when asked if Australia could benefit by supplying uranium to India, which plans to set up a number of nuclear power plants in the light of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and IAEA's permission to New Delhi to take part in nuclear commerce for power generation.
"I don't think so. We have China, Britain and even the US shifting to nuclear energy in a big way in the coming years. There will be no dearth of buyers," he said.
Rann, at the same time, outlined the marked change in Australia's policy on uranium mining, emphasising that its nuclear policy was not static.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200903081153.htm

Other News – India

Tribal University hits roadblockStaff Reporter BhopalThe establishment of the first university of its kind in the country, the Central Tribal University, in the State at Amarkantak has been delayed as university administration has termed the land piece allotted by the State Government not sufficient as per their requirement. After repeated representations, the Government identified 65 acres of land, not in Amarkantak but at Lalpur, 20 km away. However the university administration says that the allotted land is not sufficient. As per university plans, the allotted land would be used for establishing academic blocks of the university and they need more land inside Amarkantak for establishing the administration block of the university.Among the reasons being cited for not giving land inside Amarkantak are that the point of origin of Narmada is too close; that its catchment area would be blocked; and that sadhus oppose the project since it would “pollute the holy atmosphere” of the town. Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) was launched in April 2007. For its location, the Union Government chose Amarkantak, the picturesque holy town where the Narmada's origins lie. The varsity was allotted a budget of Rs 275 crore and it was to become operational in the academic year 2008-09. The substantial tribal population of MP was the reason Centre zeroed in on State. In July last year, 188 students were admitted, 70 of them tribals.

http://dailypioneer.com/161451/Tribal-University-hits-roadblock.html


Meet on livelihood for forest dwellers todayPNS BhubaneswarA workshop on "facilitating livelihoods for forest based communities: legal feasibility of village level bio-diesel fuelled energy system in tribal Orissa" will be held on March 9 at the Hotel New Marrion here. Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy will inaugurate the workshop.A Carbon Neutral Bio-diesel Fuelled Energy System (CNBFES) was developed as a village scale technology using local forest based oil-bearing species such as Mohua, Karanj and agricultural oil seeds such as Niger. Such conversion of fruits and seeds into fuel not only leads to value addition in the local economy but also opens up the possibility of local-fuel for provision of basic services such as water supply and sanitation and augments other local livelihoods. But the production of bio-diesel from local resources faces policy hurdles with respect to access and control over forest produce and procurement of alcohol. With an objective to identify key policy hurdles and to look at the legal feasibility of such energy system for tribal communities of the State, a study was undertaken by the ELDF, New Delhi, commissioned by the NRMPO in cooperation with the CTx GreEn. In order to address the policy gaps and hurdles the study has identified, a larger policy dialogue with key stakeholders including senior bureaucrats was designed. It is expected that such an initiative would help to use the bio-diesel based energy systems.

http://dailypioneer.com/161494/Meet-on-livelihood-for-forest-dwellers-today.html


Gujjar women facing gender discrimination in J&K

Author: Noor Khan
Published: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 at 16:31 IST
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Srinagar, Mar 8 : More than 1.4 million Gujjar women have been facing gender discriminations in various state government organisations in Jammu and Kashmir, a new survey has found.

There presence in all the major institutions in the state since 1947 is almost negligible as per the survey conducted by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation (TRCF).

Releasing the report on the International Women's Day, National Secretary of TRCF Javaid Rahi today said that early marriage system, illiteracy, extreme poverty and nomadic way of life is causing dark shadow over the future of Gujjar women, who constitute more than 14 per cent of the state's population, residing in the most backward, hilly and border areas.

He said although the State Government has provided 10 per cent reservation since 1991 to Gujjars under Scheduled Tribe category, but it is surprising that the presence of women folk of this tribe in political and government affairs is almost zero.

The survey revealed that since 1947 no Gujjar women has either been elected or nominated as member of state legislature or parliament till date, he said.

The survey also said that only three women from this community have qualified state administrative service examinations during the period. MORE

http://www.samaylive.com/news/gujjar-women-facing-gender-discrimination-in-jampk/612758.html

Inspection reveals violations at biofuel plant
By Deborah Gates • Staff Writer • March 9, 2009
PRINCESS ANNE -- Almost a year after the biodiesel fuel manufacturing plant exploded, killing a contract worker and shaking nearby homes, an inspection of the Greenlight Biofuels plant remains open, a spokeswoman at the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health agency said last week.
The MOSH inspection of the Princess Anne Industrial Park plant identified five "serious" violations among a total of seven safety-related breaches, according to an inspection report by the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration. In a report by OSHA, for which MOSH is the designated inspector in Maryland, Greenlight currently owes a total of $12,600 in penalties tied to the May 18 explosion.
The inspection was one of three ordered by MOSH after the blast that Greenlight officials blamed on a welding process that a town elected official also has said was discontinued.
OSHA also imposed $4,400 in total penalty against Diversified Mechanical Services, Inc. of Comstock Park, Mich., hired to do contract work at the Greenlight plant, according to an OSHA report. Three of four violations were classified as serious, and Dori Berman, a MOSH spokeswoman, said the case has closed. Violations cited involved fire prevention, for which the company was fined $2,900. Diversified Mechanical, a first-tier contractor on the biodiesel plant project, still owes $3,500 in OSHA penalties, according to an electronic violations report.
A third corporate inspection tied to the accident closed almost immediately after it opened because the owner at Dan's Welding, a Diversified Mechanical subcontractor, was killed in the blast, Berman said.
"There were three companies total we looked at, and one was the sole proprietor, Dan, and there can't be a citation on a non-existing company," she said. "(Dan) was the sole owner with no employees. Greenlight is still an open case."
More details on the Greenlight inspection would be made public after the case closes, Berman said.
In September, Greenlight resumed the manufacturing of biodiesel fuel for vehicles and furnaces by converting chicken fat and other greases at the Princess Anne plant. The re-opening was amid protests by area residents who told elected officials they feared for their safety and property values. Some even called for the relocation of the plant to a section of the sparse industrial park farther from populated areas.
Production also restarts as the demand wanes for U.S. renewable fuels in the wake of cheaper oil and gasoline prices, according to U.S. Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez, D-N.Y, chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee.
In the last seven years, the number of biodiesel plants grew from nine facilities that produced 50 million gallons of fuel in 2001, to 176 plants producing 2.6 billion gallons in 2008, according to Velazquez. New ethanol plant construction dropped over the past six months and more than 25 plants have closed nationwide, Velazquez said.
"Until recently, the biofuel industry had been a small business success story, revitalizing rural economies while reducing our dependence on foreign sources of oil," Velázquez said. "Now, these enterprises are struggling to stay afloat."
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20090309/BUSINESS/903090335/-1/newsfront2