Spring Break
Mining
Ricki Dugdale
Issue date: 10/9/07 Section: News
Weld County may contain a new uranium-mining site as Denver-based Powertech Uranium Corporation continues to push for the required permits for the Centennial Project, against the wishes of some northern Colorado residents.
The proposed mining site, which includes 5,760 acres of uranium in Weld County, would be located approximately 11 miles outside of Fort Collins, according to the Larimer County Web site.
Uranium is used in many countries for creating nuclear power, or energy.
Coloradans Against Resource Destruction (C.A.R.D.) is a group in Northern Colorado that is committed to preventing the development of the mine. On of the group's main concerns is that uranium mining will cause water contamination and, therefore, consumption by residents in the area. And consumption of uranium can cause a higher risk of cancer.
According to its Web site, C.A.R.D. is aiming "to protect northern Colorado from the environmental, health and economic impacts of uranium mining by Powertech or any other mining company."
"My biggest concern is radioactive pollution in the water, land and air," Weston Sands, a junior psychology major, said. "Everywhere there is a mine, there has been a leak."
In-situ leaching (ISL) or in-situ recovery mining will be used to extract the uranium from the sandstone formations underground. Unlike conventional mining, ISL involves injecting alkaline chemicals into the groundwater, which dissolves the uranium within the sandstone, and is then pumped out and processed.
ISL re-circulates the wastewater produced from the pumping and Powertech says they will minimize the consumption of that water.
"No matter what guarantee a company makes, there is always a leak and we want to know who's going to clean it up," Sands said.
Contamination of the groundwater in mines in Texas, Wyoming and South Dakota has occurred in the wake of ISL mining. Although, ISL mining is considered less harmful than traditional mining practices, the risk of contamination is still high.
The proposed mining site, which includes 5,760 acres of uranium in Weld County, would be located approximately 11 miles outside of Fort Collins, according to the Larimer County Web site.
Uranium is used in many countries for creating nuclear power, or energy.
Coloradans Against Resource Destruction (C.A.R.D.) is a group in Northern Colorado that is committed to preventing the development of the mine. On of the group's main concerns is that uranium mining will cause water contamination and, therefore, consumption by residents in the area. And consumption of uranium can cause a higher risk of cancer.
According to its Web site, C.A.R.D. is aiming "to protect northern Colorado from the environmental, health and economic impacts of uranium mining by Powertech or any other mining company."
"My biggest concern is radioactive pollution in the water, land and air," Weston Sands, a junior psychology major, said. "Everywhere there is a mine, there has been a leak."
In-situ leaching (ISL) or in-situ recovery mining will be used to extract the uranium from the sandstone formations underground. Unlike conventional mining, ISL involves injecting alkaline chemicals into the groundwater, which dissolves the uranium within the sandstone, and is then pumped out and processed.
ISL re-circulates the wastewater produced from the pumping and Powertech says they will minimize the consumption of that water.
"No matter what guarantee a company makes, there is always a leak and we want to know who's going to clean it up," Sands said.
Contamination of the groundwater in mines in Texas, Wyoming and South Dakota has occurred in the wake of ISL mining. Although, ISL mining is considered less harmful than traditional mining practices, the risk of contamination is still high.
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