Two Southside groups urge legislature to keep uranium mining ban

By: Rex Springston | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: January 18, 2012

Two groups representing business and community leaders in Southside Virginia asked the General Assembly today to retain the state's 30-year ban on uranium mining – at least for now.

Members of the groups spoke at a news conference in the General Assembly Building. Six Southside lawmakers participated in the presentation.

The groups are the Virginia Coalition, representing the Halifax County-South Boston area, and the Alliance for Progress in Southern Virginia, representing the Pittsylvania County-Danville area.

The groups urged Gov. Bob McDonnell to appoint a commission of experts to examine recent studies on uranium mining in Virginia and report back on mining's pros and cons.

"We seek the best environment to attract and grow world-class businesses," said Ben Davenport, a Chatham businessman. "In this regard, we worry about the stigma of uranium mining."

Virginia Uranium Inc. wants to mine and mill the radioactive metal from what it believes is a 119 million-pound deposit, worth about $7 billion, in Pittsylvania County about 145 miles southwest of Richmond.

Before that could happen, the legislature would have to lift the uranium-mining ban it created in 1982