Monday could be interestingTHE Federal Government will not stand...

Monday could be interesting

THE Federal Government will not stand in the way of Curnamona Energy proceeding with its uranium mining trial in South Australia's northeast.

Its Department of Environment and Water Resources has told the company the trial does not fall under the provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Now only state approvals from the Department of Primary Industries and Resources SA and local government authorities are needed to progress with the trial.

Curnamona shares yesterday jumped 14.5 per cent to $2.69 on the news, while shares in parent company Havilah Resources, which owns 50.6 per cent of Curnamona, increased 17.7 per cent to $2.59.

Curnamona chairman Bob Johnson said if the trials were positive, then further environmental and other approvals would be sought from Canberra "to allow us to mine and export uranium . . . at the same time we will apply for a mining lease from the SA Government and proceed as quickly as possible to production".

Curnamona intends using the in-situ leach-mining method, involving pumping a solution into wells to dissolve uranium underground and then extracting the solution for above-ground treatment.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21552476-913,00.html