Bad press for RIO's Ranger mine - may make planned expansion difficult?
Uranium truck mishap in Kakadu Lindsay Murdoch January 7, 2011
THE bogging of a semi-trailer loaded with uranium oxide, or yellowcake, in Kakadu National Park has highlighted the danger of transporting the dangerous material long distances by road, conservationists say.
None of the material, contained in 44-gallon (200-litre) drums in two shipping containers, leaked when the semi-trailer bogged on the side of the Arnhem Highway on Wednesday as the driver pulled over to let a truck pass about 20 kilometres from the long-troubled Ranger uranium mine.
But Dave Sweeney, nuclear campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation, said the incident showed the dangers associated not only with the Ranger mine but also the federal government's proposal to build Australia's first national nuclear waste dump on a remote cattle station 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek in central Australia....
Can you imagine what would happen to the U spot price if the Queensland floods happened in NT. It happened in 2007 and we know what happened to the spot price then. Ranger produces 10% of the world supply but is dwindling and needs to expand to maintain supply. RIO must be very nervous about production at both the Ranger and Rossing mines. Anyone know where they can secure a mine with long term supply?
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