Random Thoughts on a Wayward Bus

[JohnIraq]

Uranium Mines takes years...

Hi Aries4747,

I'd like to voice my appreciation for you posting this incredibly informative stockinterview.

I have been looking closely and with some interest at the Federal and State application process for permits to explore and mine Uranium Oxide Ore in the State of Utah. Specifically my interest has been piqued by the activities of RSDS (Russell Industries), a pink sheet stock which began accumulating mining claims in San Juan County, near Monticello, Utah, this year, they have amassed 254 claims to date and recently embarked on the Permit Application trail.

In an effort to corroborate their public statements, in which they have stated that they have indeed begun to engage the regulatory process, and to better educate and familiarize myself with the specific requirements for approval, I have exchanged e-mails and phone calls with representatives of the Federal Bureau of Land Management, the Utah State Division of Oil, Gas and Minerals and the US Forest Service.

These representatives have been enormously helpful and kindly related both general and specific information pertaining to the application process and Russell Industries activities to date. Although both Federal and State referred to the potential for environmental assessments they certainly didnt relate anything close to the amount of information contained in your post... it certainly does cause me to raise an eyebrow (roger moore style...) at the degree of regulatory approval required... with one caveat however, and if anybody can confirm this question, I'd appreciate a heads up... I am wondering if the Environmental Protection Agency (when conducting their environmental impact assessment) and the Department of Natural Resources (when examining the full body of collated data), operate something of a 'sliding scale' for the requirements to be met... In otherwords, are the requirements quite this stringent in every case...? I pose this particular question because the Federal Officials I have spoken to, indicated quite specifically, that in the case of Russell Industries the environmental requirements for certain of their claim areas, may not be quite so rigorous... the reason...? They have purchased a number of claims which were 'previously' mined commercially for Uranium Oxide Ore, mostly back in the 1950's, this in and off itself does not mean that the EPA wont scrutinize their application I'm sure, I'm equally as sure that the requirements to be met in the '50's were certainly not as restrictive as they are now, but as commercial operations were once in effect, it seems that a precident may have been set for their reinstatement.

I found the following paragraph from your post most interesting and I would heartily recommend anybody interested in the Permit and Approval process for Uranium Mining Operations (...I'm sure theyre just queuing around the block..!) to give this a couple of good read throughs.


The next step would be how long would it take to get the permit after you submit it and get all this information in your applications. That is a little more variable and, again, it depends upon the agencies and who is involved in it whether you’ve got the Federal agencies like NRC, EPA (which typically you are going to have EPA anyway), whether you are have BLM involved or the forest services. These are all contributing factors on how long it’s going to take. StockInterview: What is the general procedure: how much paperwork is involved, and who reviews it? Richard Blubaugh:It will be several volumes by the time you are through. You could be looking at anywhere from four to six of those 3-inch binders. It would all go to the NRC and the state agency. You wouldn’t send all of that to the EPA. They are just focused on the groundwater so you pull all the groundwater stuff, and they may have some additional requirements that go to EPA. StockInterview: And what if the accumulated data is incomplete? Richard Blubaugh:All agencies have what they call their completeness review so when an application comes in, the first thing they do is do a completeness review and make sure that everything that’s required is in the package, in the application. That’s before they even look at any of the content. They simply look to see that all the pieces are there. Then, NRC has indicated they are going to take a closer look during the completeness review, which they said could last up to 90 days. But it’s more than a completeness review. It’s a completeness and adequacy review, which means that at the end of that period, if your application is complete and adequate, then they are going to continue to review the application for licensing. If it isn’t complete, then what they are going to do is return it to you. They are going to be a little more explicit in why it isn’t complete and where the inadequacies are which will give you a good idea of what else you need to do. At that point then, they go into the EIS (Environmental Impact Study) process. The EIS process has been noted to take anywhere from 18 to 24 months, and longer if you have strong opposition. StockInterview: How much does the environmental permitting process cost? Richard Blubaugh: It does cost a small fortune. The costs are going to vary again depending on the project, area and whether or not an EIS is required, all those different factors will come into play. (Editor’s Note: We checked with Strathmore Minerals’ John DeJoia and Uranerz Energy’s Glenn Catchpole, both of whom confirmed that environmental studies would likely cost in the neighborhood of about $1/pound of uranium mined on a company’s project.)

Your post certainly offers much informtion for consideration, the application process for mining permits may very well be considerably more complicated and time consuming than it seems at first glance.

Cheers, J.