Virginia Is Sitting on the Energy Mother Lode ( MAX SCHULZ )

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ^ | July 26, 2008 | MAX SCHULZ

[fella]

environmental activists who raise the specter of nuclear contamination and who are determined to prevent scientific studies of the issue.

Our true enemies will not even allow us to consider nuclear power. This is Jane Fonda's crowning acievement. And shows us the power of jusr one propaganda movie. I realy like Jack Lemmon's movies but the fact that he did this with her is truely saddening.

[okie01]

The irony is that Nuclear and offshore drilling are probably two of the best options for the environment.

Unfortunately, environmentalism ain't about the environment; it's about handcuffing capitalism.

[neverdem]

BTTT!

[Gopher Broke]

Tell our Gov Kaine it is time to dig for uranium NOW....

http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm

[HereInTheHeartland]

“Jack Dunavant, head of the Southside Concerned Citizens in nearby Halifax County, is another outspoken critic. He paints a picture of environmental apocalypse. “There will be a dead zone within a 30 mile radius of the mine,”

Jack is an uninformed dunce who apparently likes to fund the Saudi royal family and the Iranian regime.

We must bring (American produced) nuclear energy to the market quickly.

[neverdem]

I don’t think your governor likes this story too much, IMHO.

[SunkenCiv]

In Pittsylvania County, just north of the North Carolina border, the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States -- and the seventh largest in the world, according to industry monitor UX Consulting -- sits on land owned by neighbors Henry Bowen and Walter Coles. Large uranium deposits close to the surface are virtually unknown in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River... Virginia is one of just four states that ban uranium mining. The ban was put in place in 1984, to calm fears that had been sparked by the partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island outside of Harrisburg, Pa. in 1979.

[JDinAustin]

leave it in the ground and use seawater extraction. no mine tail wastes too boot.

http://jolisfukyu.tokai-sc.jaea.go.jp/fukyu/mirai-en/2006/4_5.html

25000 Yen is $263 American this is double the current mined price but since raw yellow cake price is less than 3% of total cost of power for a modern nuclear plant a doubling is irrelevant.It takes 8 kilos of yellow cake to make 1 kg of 4% UOX LWR fuel which is typically burnt up to a value of 45 Gigawatt days per ton of UOX. Yes that’s 45 billion watts hours over a 24 hour period or put another way 45*24hours = 1080 Gigawatt hours per ton. So 8000 kg raw yellow cake makes 1080 billion watt hours. Which at an average American retail cost of .08cents a kilowatt hour is worth $86,400,000. While the cost of the raw uranium is 8000*263=$2,104,000 simple math 86 million in sales vs 2.1 million in raw uranium costs.Its not a matter of if but when seawater uranium is used by the current light water fleet. As soon as the mined cost hits $263 a kg or this process drops in price due to economics of scale to the current $80 kg seawater yellow cake will be economically viable. There are 4.5billion tons of uranium dissolved in seawater an effectively endless supply at even 10 times the current rate of consumption. Given that Fast neutron spectrum reactors use raw uranium 50 times more efficiently when they come on line 50 times less raw uranium will have to be mined. A good example is the CANDLE reactor it’s a once through fast reactor that uses 40% of the raw uranium as opposed to just .7% in a LWR all without reprocessing or enrichment. The Japanese are on the ball when it comes to long term energy security.

http://www.nr.titech.ac.jp/coe21/eng/events/Ines-2/pdf/2A3/22_Sekimoto.pdf

The waste issue is solved too.

http://www.aie.org.au/syd/downloads/DB-MHR%20Presentation.ppt