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Sorry can't get the picture to copy on this computer but its a pretty tunnel. This is an official translation by the English language service of Prague Daily Monitor
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Australian dollars for Czech uranium
By MILAN K. OSVAAG / HOSPODÁØSKÉ NOVINY / Published 18 April 2008
Translated with permission by the Prague Daily Monitor
ÈTKJust a tunnel with lorries coming in and out.Australian firm Uran Limited plans to start mining uranium in the Vysoèina region. The Czech Republic has currently only one uranium mine, run by Diamo. Negotiations entered their final stage yesterday when Uran Limited and the Environment Ministry presented their mining plans to municipal authorities in Havlíèkùv Brod and Jihlava.


The firm needs a concession from the municipalities to avoid potential restrictions from the Environment Ministry.

If the firm is permitted to start examining the area, the municipalities will not be able to prevent it from future mining because they will not participate in further approval proceedings.

Billions underground
Estimates put the amount of uranium in the area of Pøibyslav, Polná and Jemný at 5,000 tonnes; there are another 6,000 near Brzkov. The uranium is worth about CZK 40 billion. The Environment Ministry didn't give Uran Limited permission to conduct research in Brzkov, and the company has filed an appeal.

Uran Limited has invested in the uranium industry in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Bulgaria. Besides the Czech Republic, the firm is also looking into Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries.

"We want the local municipalities to understand that the research activities are not harmful, and therefore they can approve them," says Uran Limited spokesperson Jan Vlèek. Research, costing some CZK 500 billion, will last four years, and mining could start eight to 10 years later. The firm applied for permission to start research in the area last year, but the Environment Ministry turned it down, as Uran Limited did not have a concession from every municipality in the area. The Australian firm is changing its tactics. It is offering the municipalities CZK 800,000 annually in exchange for their concession.

If mining begins, the company has promised to pay twice that amount, plus 5% of its annual mining profit.

The municipalities will announce their decision next week. A financial bonus will also be considered. "We will ask for AUD 50,000 for a concession to start research," says Pøibyslav Mayor Jan Štefáèek.

Once negotiations are settled with the municipalities, the company will talk to the Environment Ministry. "All three applications for mining permission are now being evaluated. We expect to announce our decision by the end of April," spokesperson Jakub Kašpar told Hospodáøské noviny.

Czechs involved in research
The Australian company has begun cooperating with Czech experts in Vysoèina. They are expected to further participate on the uranium research.

"Our company has a close partnership with the firm Timex Zdice, whose employees work for us as geology advisers," says Uran Limited Executive Director Kate Hobbs.

The state-owned Diamo could also profit from mining in Vysoèina. It is the only firm in the Czech Republic with mining permission in the Rožná mine near Dolní Rožínka. The company's annual output is some 300 tonnes of pure uranium. The firm also runs a facility for ore processing.

Uran Limited might use the facility. Diamo would charge about CZK 800 per 1 kilo of processed uranium, company head Jiøí Jež said.


Although many politicians have said they would not permit uranium mining in the country, the situation does not seem definite yet. "The municipality will discuss the firm's financial bonus next week. I don't want to make estimates of what its decision will be," Štefáèek said. Formerly a strong mining opponent, Štefáèek has now lowered his voice.

It would be a disaster
"Our town is surrounded by the area where Uran Limited wants to search for uranium. Mining is the main subject of the talks, not the research. It would be a disaster for us," says Polná Deputy Mayor Jaroslav Sobotka. He adds that representatives of the population-5,000 town will do everything to prevent the uranium research. They are afraid of the potential environmental damage and say hundreds of thousands of crowns will not change their position. Uran Limited spokesperson Jan Vlèek sees the situation in a different light. "We have spoken with the municipalities' representatives in the area several times. Those from Vìžnice or Jamné seem quite happy with our plan. These municipalities will be deciding next week," he says.

Uran Limited has repeatedly confirmed it intends to pay a fee to all seven municipalities in the area. It also says current mining technologies are more environmentally friendly.

Kate Hobbs says the mines in Vysoèina would look like tunnels with lorries coming in and out.

"We believe uranium mining is possible without impacts on society and the environment if modern technologies and environmentally-friendly methods are applied," she says.

Money for the state firm
Regardless of the methods, Uran Limited would have to use the facility for ore processing run by the state-owned Diamo in Rožná. "Otherwise, the business wouldn't be profitable," said Diamo Director Jiøí Jež.

Diamo Deputy Director Marián Böhm said the facility can accommodate another firm thanks to its high capacity. "But it is difficult to estimate how much money this would bring," he added. Jež estimates some 3,000 tonnes of uranium are to be found in the Vìžnice and Polná areas with an estimated value reaching over CZK 20 billion thanks to growing prices.

Uran Limited expects another 6,000 tonnes of uranium to be found in Brzná in the Vysoèina region. Environment Minister Martin Bursík threw out the company's request to conduct research in this area, however. "We've appealed the decision, but the new one hasn't come yet," Vlèek said.

Besides the Vysoèina region, uranium affects the lives of residents in the Podještìdí area. The latest protests against declaring the area in the vicinity of Kotel a protected mining area were held in Liberec last week. There's an estimated 20,000 tonnes of uranium worth a minimum of CZK 120 billion near Kotel. "We don't want to launch mining there. But the law requires us to apply for mining permission, because mining in the area would be profitable," says Jež. Diamo has already applied for mining status for the site. "If we don't apply, someone else will," he added.

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Originally published in Czech in Hospodáàské noviny and translated into English by Monitor CE.
Republished in the Prague Daily Monitor in cooperation with iHNed.cz.