Black Range Minerals (ASX - BLR) Uranium Exploration Expansion On Hold

Published on Wed Sept 15 2010

Fremont County commissioners on Tuesday put off making a decision on a proposal to expand uranium exploration so that they can get input from an independent water expert.

The commission heard more than three hours of testimony during a public hearing Tuesday which focused on Australia-based Black Range Minerals' request to expand exploration on an additional 2,220 acres of property known as the Hansen Deposit, which is believed to be the largest uranium deposit in the district, said Michael Haynes, Black Range managing director.

The commission voted to table the issue until its 10 a.m. Sept. 28 meeting to allow the county's independent hydrologist a chance to comment on the expansion.

Black Range initially received permission from the Fremont County Commission in June 2008 to resume Taylor Ranch area exploration after it had started in 2007 without a permit. The company is working to determine whether or not it would be economically viable to commercially mine for the ore by conducting exploratory drilling on about 5,000 acres of the 8,000-acre Taylor Ranch site in the Tallahassee Creek area off Colorado 9 west of Canon City.

Haynes said after drilling eight test holes and considering the current economic climate, he thinks it would not be viable to mine for uranium on the Taylor Ranch site, "right now." Additional, modern information is needed, he said.

Haynes said Black Range wishes to expand exploration to the south of the current site. He said the company would limit exploration to 800 drill holes as previously approved by the commission.

"We don't seek to do more work, just to cover a slightly larger area," Haynes said.

Of the 19 speakers who voiced opinions during the hearing, only two were in favor of the expansion. Of those who opposed it, concerns were voiced about high levels of uranium in domestic water wells to threats to wildlife and plummeting property values.

Virgil Burke said his well has, "Gone up to three times the allowable limit (for uranium) since they started drilling the first holes. It has cost me $5,000 to get the radiation down to where it is safe."

However, Black Range hydrologist Susan Wyman said there is not enough data to determine if there are any definite trends.

"There are elevated uranium contents in that area -- some have gone down, some have gone up, but it could be normal sample variability," Wyman said. "We have not seen a statistical increase in water (uranium) concentrations."

Opponents also said new monitoring wells were not drilled to get background data before exploration drilling resumed.

"Those wells were to be drilled to monitor for the health and safety of the residents and they were not drilled. Who was watching them instead of rubber stamping compliance forms," Nancy Seger, who opposed the proposal, asked.

Wyman said the monitoring wells were put on hold because Black Range was looking at an additional exploration area and it would be appropriate to locate some of those monitoring wells in the new exploration area, if approved.

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