In-Situ Leach Mining URANIUM MINING | THE NUCLEAR FUEL CHAIN | ENRICHMENT AND CONVERSION >>

Also known as Solution Mining, ISL has been used with horrifying consequences in the United States, Europe and the former Soviet Union. in Australia, companies wanting to develop prospective ISL sites have been allowed to establish long-running, large scale ‘trial mines’ using this method (Beverley and Honeymoon in South Australia are the most notorious of these) while the government tries to find a way around community opposition to the projects. At an ISL site, a series of wells are drilled into the orebody. Millions of litres of strong acid or alkaline solution are then injected directly into the groundwater, stripping the uranium from the host rock and mixing it into the water. In the center of a circle of injection wells, a production well sucks most of the uranium bearing water up to the surface and pipes it into a processing plant where the uranium is recovered and the wastes pumped away. Obviously, deliberately poisoning a groundwater body in this way plays hell with the chemistry of the rock formation. While the acid is mobilising the uranium atoms, radioactive thorium, radium and radon are also forced into solution, as well as varying amounts of other toxic metals such as lead and cadmium. These all have to be dealt with as part of the waste stream, or else they are left below ground to create even more insidious pollution within the groundwater systems. Paladin, Acclaim and others are insisting that this violation of the earth fits their definition of ‘environmentally friendly’, because the milling operations are less complex than traditional open cut or underground mines and there are no huge tailings dams to worry about. This hides the stark truth of solution mining: workers will still be exposed to life threatening levels of radioactive dust and radon gas. Lung cancers and birth defects in children are the most common side effects of working at a uranium mine. the surrounding environment is going to be contaminated irreversibly. Attempts at groundwater rehabilitation have failed at ISL sites around the world, leaving a legacy of radioactive and chemical pollution to spread downstream of the minesites. the interwoven nuclear power and weapons industries that uranium mining companies service are an undeniable threat to all living creatures. Here are a few of the ways In-Situ Leach (ISL) mines will poison our country as they have poisoned parts of Europe, Russia and North America... Escape of leaching solutions Uranium-bearing liquids can escape from the ore zone through any hole or opening through leaking boreholes, fault planes running across the aquifer system, old underground mine shafts, etc. This can lead to permanent groundwater contamination far from the minesite. Problems in geochemistry When the solutions are injected into an orebody aquifer to mobilise uranium, many other minerals are also dissolved. Other radionuclides and heavy metals are mobilised also. These can include radium, arsenic, vanadium, molybdenum, cadmium, nickel, lead and others. In the process, these minerals can be concentrated a thousand times or more. Precipitation of solids Due to the nature of the groundwater and orebody chemistry, solid minerals can precipitate from solution. (These include calcite, gypsum, jarosite and other minerals.) These new solids can reduce or even completely block the flow of solutions through the intended areas, leading to unpredictable results or premature mine closure. Waste water disposal In-Situ Leaching produces extremely large quantities of waste water and solutions which need to be disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner. These are from the bleed water (excess pumping water) and waste solutions from the uranium extraction plant. These liquids are mixed and re-injected into the same groundwater as that being mined, or injected into a deep aquifer away from other users of ground water or potential environmentally sensitive areas. Extremely high concentrations of radionuclides and heavy metals can be found in these waste waters, and the disposal area also needs rehabilitation after In Situ Leach mining is finished.   Adapted from ISL - Out of Sight, Out of Mind The Hidden Problems of ISL Worldwide - Gavin Mudd for SEA-US

click for larger image “ISL offers an environmentally friendly and low cost solution...” Paladin's John Borshoff, proudly quoted in ‘Shares’ August 1998 ISL Links SEA-US Website. ISL - An Overview The Case Against Uranium Solution Mining - SEA-US. This page links to a detailed report on ISL by Gavin Mudd

the Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia email robin@anawa.org.au