Nontechnical Summary Uranium Mining in Virginia In recent years, there has been renewed interest in mining uranium in the Common- wealth of Virginia. However, before any mining can begin, Virginia’s General Assembly would have to rescind a statewide moratorium on uranium mining that has been in effect since 1982. The National Research Council was commissioned to provide an independent review of the scientific, environmental, human health and safety, and regulatory aspects of uranium mining, processing, and reclamation in Virginia to help inform the public discussion about uranium mining and to assist Virginia’s lawmakers in their deliberations. eneath Virginia’s convene an independent rolling hills, there committee of experts to Bare occurrences of write a report that described uranium—a naturally occur- the scientific, environmental, ring radioactive element that human health and safety, and can be used to make fuel for regulatory aspects of mining nuclear power plants. In the and processing Virginia’s 1970s and early 1980s, work to uranium resources. Addi- explore these resources led to tional letters supporting this the discovery of a request were received from large uranium deposit at Coles U.S. Senators Mark Warner Hill, which is located in and Jim Webb and from Pittsylvania County in southern Governor Kaine. The Virginia. However, in 1982 the National Research Council Commonwealth of Virginia study was funded under a enacted a moratorium on contract with the Virginia uranium mining, and interest in Center for Coal and Energy further exploring the Coles Hill Research at Virginia deposit waned. Polytechnic Institute and In 2007, two families living in the vicinity of State University (Virginia Tech). Funding for Coles Hill formed a company called Virginia the study was provided to Virginia Tech by Uranium, Inc. to begin exploring the uranium Virginia Uranium, Inc. The expert members of deposit once again. Since then, there have been the National Research Council committee calls for the Virginia legislature to lift the served as volunteers, without payment for their uranium mining moratorium statewide. time, for the 18-month period during which the To help inform deliberations on the possi- study was conducted. bility of future uranium mining in Virginia, the The resulting report is intended to provide Virginia Coal and Energy Commission an independent scientific and technical review requested that the National Research Council to inform the public and the Virginia legislature. The report does not focus on the Coles Hill deposit, but instead considers uranium mining, processing, What Is Uranium? and reclamation in the Commonwealth of Virginia Uranium is a radioactive element found at low as a whole. The committee was not asked to consider concentrations in virtually all rock, soil, and the benefits of uranium mining either to the nation seawater. Significant concentrations of uranium or to the local economy, nor was it asked to assess can occur in phosphate rock deposits and the relative risks of uranium mining compared with minerals such as pitchblende and uraninite. the mining and processing of other fuels, for example coal. The committee was also not asked to make any recommendations about whether or not uranium mining should be permitted in the Commonwealth of Virginia. What is Uranium Used For? The main commercial use of uranium is to make fuel for nuclear power reactors, which provide 20 percent of electricity generation in the United States. As with power stations fueled by fossil fuels Figure 1. A sample of the uranium-containing mineral uraninite. such as coal or natural gas, nuclear power stations Photograph by Andrew Silver, Brigham heat water to produce steam that in turn drives Young University. Image courtesy of turbines to generate electricity. In a nuclear power the United States Geological Survey. station, the nuclear fission of uranium atoms replaces the burning of coal or gas. shown in Figure 2) of concentrated uranium. Projections for future energy use by the Nuclear Predicting Future Demand for Uranium Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy The market for uranium is driven by the electric Agency show that by 2035, reactors in the United power industry’s need for nuclear power. As of States are expected to require 12,000 – 25,000 short November 2011, the United States has 104 nuclear tons (10886 – 22680 metric tonnes) of uranium per reactors in operation, and in 2011 these reactors year. In 2010, the United States imported 92 percent required 20,256 short tons (18,376 metric tonnes, as of the uranium that it needed to fuel its nuclear power stations. Understanding future uranium demand is diffi- cult because it is hard to predict when aging reac- tors will be retired, and when new reactors will be constructed. Also, unan- ticipated events at nuclear power plants, such as the Chernobyl or Fukushima accidents, could affect how people and governments plan for and utilize nuclear power. This impacts demand for nuclear energy Figure 2. Projections for uranium requirements to fuel nuclear reactors in the United States and, therefore, uranium. through 2035. Source: Compiled from data in NEA/IAEA (2010). – 2 – Where does the Supply of Uranium Come From? Uranium comes from mining uranium ore deposits, from existing stockpiles held by government and commercial entities, and from recycling uranium from sources such as nuclear warheads. In 2009, world uranium mining fulfilled 74 percent of world reactor requirements, and the remaining 26 percent came from secondary sources such as stockpiles and decommissioned warheads. Uranium was produced in 20 countries in 2010, but eight countries accounted for more than 92 percent of the world’s Figure 3. World uranium production in 2010. Eight countries accounted for more than uranium production (see 92 percent of global uranium production. Figure 3). The United States Source: WNA (2011) produced 3 percent of global uranium. Overall, world uranium primary production production increased markedly from 2003 to 2006, increased steadily between 2000 and 2009, with but then slowed due to operational challenges and Kazakhstan, Namibia, Australia, Russia, and Brazil lower uranium prices. showing marked increases between 2006 and 2009 to Geological exploration has identified more offset decreased production in Canada, Niger, United than 55 occurrences of uranium in Virginia (see States, and the Czech Republic. In the United States, Figure 4). These are located primarily in the Figure 4. Uranium occurrences (not necessarily uranium ore deposits) identified in Virginia so far. The red square in the lower, central portion of the map indicates the Coles Hill deposit. Source: Adapted from Lassetter (2010). – 3 – Piedmont and Blue Ridge regions. In order for a uranium occurrence to be considered a commer- What Are Tailings? cially exploitable source of uranium ore, it must The solid waste remaining after recovery of be of sufficient size, appropriate grade (have uranium from uranium ore in a processing plant enough uranium compared to the other rock in the are the ‘tailings.’ Tailings consist of everything deposit) and be amenable to mining and processing. that was in the ore except the extracted uranium. Of the sites explored in Virginia so far, only the Tailings from uranium mining and processing deposit at Coles Hill is large enough, and of a high operations contain radioactive materials enough grade, to be potentially economically viable. remaining from the radioactive decay of uranium, such as thorium and radium. Tailings are The Lifecycle of a Uranium Mine and typically neutralized and compacted to reduce Processing Facility water content, and then stored in tailings impoundment facilities either above or below the The process of taking uranium ore out of the local ground surface; modern best practice is for ground and transforming it into yellowcake—as storage below the ground surface. well as the cleanup and reclamation of the site during mining and processing operations as well as after operations have ceased—includes several remove impurities and produce yellowcake. This components: involves both physical processes (such as crushing and/or grinding) and chemical processes (i.e., Mining: There are three types of mining that could dissolving uranium from ore using acids or bases, be used to extract uranium ore from the ground. called leaching). Separation, drying, and packaging These are open pit mining, underground mining, are also part of the sequence of uranium processing and in situ (‘in place’) leaching/in situ recovery steps. The choice of the type of processing depends (ISL/ISR—the process of recovering the uranium on the nature of the uranium ore and its host rock from the ground by dissolving the uranium minerals as well as environmental, safety, and economic in liquid underground and then pumping that liquid factors. During uranium ore processing, several to the surface, where the uranium is then taken waste products are created, including tailings or out of the solution). In effect, ISL/ISR combines leached residue (the solid waste remaining after mining and some of the processing steps. The recovery of uranium in a processing plant, see box), choice of mining method depends on many factors, and waste water. including the quality and quantity of the ore, the shape and depth of the ore deposit, the type of rock Reclamation: Reclamation and cleanup to return surrounding the ore deposit, and a wide range of the site to as close as possible to its pre-mining site-specific environmental conditions. Because of state can occur either while the site is being the geology in the Commonwealth of Virginia, it is mined, or after mining and processing operations very unlikely that ISL/ISR can be used to extract are complete. Reclamation includes decontamina- uranium anywhere in the state. Accordingly, the tion and cleanup, such as demolition of buildings report focuses on conventional mining—open pit and other structures, to prepare the area of the mining and underground mining, and the processing mining site and processing facility for other of the ore that comes from conventional mines.