WINDHOEK (Mineweb.com) --Namibia’s new uranium mine, Langer Heinrich Uranium (LHU), was this week maintaining its innocence after environmental group Earthlife Namibia fired a broadside and accused them of not being transparent and of withholding information on how the development of the project was progressing.
In a statement this week, Earthlife Namibia’s director Berchin Kohrs appealed to the Namibian government, the Ombudsman, trade unions, the media and civil society to keep a close watch on Langer Heinrich Uranium's activities, adding that her group is concerned about radiation, pollution, the tailings, water and electricity consumption, as well as the health of the mineworkers.
The Langer Heinrich Mine, 80 km east of the coastal town of Swakopmund in the protected Namib Naukluft Park, is a subsidiary of the Australian mining conglomerate, Paladin Resources that is listed on the ASX and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
“This group (Earthlife) has invested a lot of money and energy in trusting the promises of the Managing Director of LHU, Garnet Halliday, and in the end got stranded in the desert,” said Kohrs. “We would also not like investors to see Namibia as a place where they can make easy profits, with little concern for human and animal health and the environment.”
Earthlife Namibia alleged that people visiting the park, a major tourist attraction, would be exposed to higher than internationally acceptable levels of radiation. The mine would also become the single largest consumer of water in Namibia, using 1.3 million cubic metres per year.
Kohrs said, at one point, LHU's management promised a group of environmentalists and researchers access to the mining area. But when the group arrived at the concession area, it was refused entry.
She cited a German film team that was also refused permission to interview the mine developers, who allegedly said they did not see what benefits that would do to the company.
Kohrs also noted that no public meetings were held in the capital Windhoek, although LHU had promised that such would be held in October last year. Meetings have already been held in the coastal towns of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.
“When Earthlife requested a copy of LHU's public PowerPoint presentations given in October 2005 in Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, they didn't even bother to reply,” said Kohrs.
She added, “It must be remembered that the concession area is in the Namib Naukluft Park, a prime national park of Namibia , which hosts unique biodiversity and landscapes, and is a source of substantial tourist revenue. Key issues of concern that have not been properly accounted for are radiation, pollution, the tailings, water and electricity consumption, as well as the health of the mineworkers.”
However, this week, LHU’s managing director Garnet Halliday was maintaining the uranium mining project had the blessings of the Namibian government and officials from the ministry of mines and energy were constantly monitoring activities through “numerous formal site visits”.
“Generally due to the intensive construction and mining activities on site we restrict site visits to minimize disruption and consider the safety of all people that enter the site,” said Halliday. “Our commitment to maintain communication is well know within the Swakopmund and Walvis Bay communities through the regular quarterly Public Participation meeting that have been maintained and well attended from the very first held in October (last year).
“At these meetings we provide details of the project and respond to individual concern and general questions. In fact Earthlife has attended several of these meetings in the past and we have been willing to respond to their concern in this open forum environment.”
But controversy has been tailing the LHU project since last year when Paladin was awarded a 25-year mining licence by the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The World Information Services on Energy (WISE), a pressure group working on nuclear energy issues, has strongly opposed the venture, voicing fears ranging from ground and surface water pollution to radioactive gas emission.
Namibia's human rights group, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), has likened the venture to “licensing our death and destruction", according to its executive director Phil ya Nangoloh.
Germany's Oeko Institute also says an environmental impact assessment for Langer Heinrich has grossly underestimated the hazards caused by uranium mining.
The project, which is being developed at a cost of US$92 million, is now 80 percent complete and will be competed as stated in December, said Halliday, adding that a milestone was achieved in August when the crusher was commissioned ahead of schedule.
LHU expects to make its first shipment of yellowcake or uranium oxide in the first quarter of 2007
Halliday said there were currently over 600 construction workers on site of which over 80 percent were Namibian.
“Despite the intensity of activities, we continue to maintain safety and environmental standards and are proud to announce that the project has achieved over 1 million man hours without a lost time to injury,” he said.
Guys, thats to the Green movements we have global warming - need I say more.
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