uranium- here to stay

Article on miningnews.net .....

Federal Government fights for uranium

Tuesday, July 19, 2005
AUSTRALIAN Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane has revealed the Federal Government has sought legal advice on its options for overruling state government legislation banning uranium mining, as it attempts to finalise a uranium export deal with China within 12 months.

Speaking with Melbourne paper the Herald Sun, Macfarlane said the Government had all but given up on both Western Australia and Queensland, but was still considering its options in the Northern Territory.

Macfarlane said South Australia was now the only state with the required uranium resources to meet the demand needed for the Chinese export market, and as such, he would be meeting with BHP Billiton next month to discuss the proposed $5 billion expansion of its massive Olympic Dam mine. Under the expansion plan, uranium production from the mine is flagged to more than triple from 4500 tonnes to around 15,000t per year.

Last week it was revealed the Federal Government had given the go-ahead for a nuclear waste dump to be built on Commonwealth land in the NT.

The dump will be built either in Fisher's Ridge near Katherine, or Mount Everard north-west of Alice Springs, or Hart's Range to its north-east.