US MINING CHALLENGES RELATED TO CRITICAL ELEMENT EXTRACTION, COLES HILL, URANIUM DEPOSIT REFLECTIONS

The Coles Hill Uranium deposit in Virginia is a good "Case Study" that can be used to discuss the Social, Political, Environmental and Technical challenges of US Critical element extraction and their ultimate use. Many of the challenges encountered by the possibility of mining this deposit were/are not related to the Geology of the deposit or the associated mining and production of the deposit but related to social "license" and political acceptance of resource extraction (J.A. Chermak, Elements 2014). Uranium is primarily used for electricity generation and is expected to become an even more important elemental resource in the United States energy production portfolio as energy consumption continues to grow and as the US slowly transitions away from the fossil fuels. The majority of Uranium supply currently used in the US is not mined in the US and this along with other relevant information is discussed in the National Academy of Science Report titled "Uranium Mining in Virginia". (2011).

This presentation will highlight some of the lessons learned regarding both real and perceived social and environmental impact identification at the Coles Hill Uranium Deposit in the context of the Environmental, Social and Health Impact Analysis process. Example strategies that have and could possibly lead to improved social and political support at Coles Hill and at other mining projects will be discussed.