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Latest report from by James Finch

Political Help for Uranium in New Mexico
March 13, 2007 01:00 PM EST

It started with SJM 10, a senate memorial which pointed out the necessity for nuclear energy and uranium production in New Mexico. Mission accomplished. From Governor Bill Richardson on down, state legislators and the administration suddenly became aware of the valuable resource their state was sitting on. At today’s value, the uranium resource of approximately 600 million pounds is worth more than $54 billion.

New Mexico state senator David Ulibarri’s senate initiative, initially designed to increase public awareness of uranium mining and nuclear energy, has now taken on a larger dimension. After the New Mexico Senate Rules and Conservation Committees passed his SJM 10 bill, Senator Ulibarri decided he accomplished what he hoped for – to help launch a study of uranium mining safety.

“I just wanted to bring dialogue. I think it’s already done that,” he told us. “I represent an area that is ‘grassroots’ pro-nuclear – the Grants and Cibola area. What I want to do is to get a compromise and say: ‘let’s work together and get a study done.’ I want a study that is based on something concrete, not innuendos.”

.“It’s all emotion right now, and it got out of hand,” Senator Ulibarri told StockInterview. “You have a bunch of environmentalists that are scaring the people. I feel we need to start planning. The mining is going to start coming, like it or not. We need to start planning with them so we get our concessions. The industry is a friendly industry. We have to work with them.”

The study is now in the process of being launched by the state’s Department of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources. According to a source close to Senator Ulibarri, the uranium mining safety study will be funded by the uranium industry and will include assistance from New Mexico Tech University. Ulibarri told StockInterview, “We can’t depend on coal and oil. We have to diversify.”

Grants, New Mexico is still widely referred to as the “Uranium Capital of the World.” It is at the center of the senate district Ulibarri represents – Cibola County. Companies which are expected to benefit as a result of the uranium mining safety study include Laramide Resources (LMRXF), Strathmore Minerals (STHJF) and Uranium Resources (URRE).