UCIL applies for uranium mining in Meghalaya

Shillong, Feb 22 (UNI) Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) has submitted its application to the state government for mining natural uranium in the state.

The company has submitted four sets of documents, which include White paper, Executive Summary on Environment, Detailed Project Report and a mining lease, to state Chief Secretary S K Tewari recently.

It has also submitted the Executive Summary on Environment to Meghalaya Pollution Control Board.

UCIL has proposed to develop an opencast mine in Kylleng-Pyndengsohiong-Mawthabah uranium ore deposits having average grade of 0.085 per cent and also establish a processing plant near Mawthabah in state's West Khasi Hills district.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 814 crore to the company.

''This is a stepping stone towards mining of uranium ore in the state and now we are waiting only for the seal of approval from the government,'' UCIL Geologist Sunfriday Kharlyngdoh told UNI here today.

''We have requested the Meghalaya government to lease 237 hectares of land for 30 years to carry out the mining and processing of the natural uranium ore,'' the UCIL official said.

For over one-and-half-a-decade, UCIL has been trying to set up uranium mining and processing unit at Domiasiat and Mawthabah in the state's West Khasi hills district.

However, it failed to start the mining project following strong opposition by Hills State People's Democratic Party and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement, which are the allies of Congress-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government, the Khasi Student's Union, Meghalaya People's Human Rights Council and Langrin Youth Welfare Association.

The anti-mining groups opposed mining of uranium in the state fearing health and environment hazards in the state.

However, Mr Kharlyngdoh said UCIL has also adopted an environmental plan for effluent treatment of waste rock and mill tailings is also envisaged to protect the environment and public in accordance with the regulatory norms.

''Environmental scientists from the Environmental Assessment Division of BARC and Jaduguda Health Physics Unit of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre have also taken baseline radiological and related surveys around the proposed site,'' he said.

The Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) has found uranium oxide reserves, estimated to be about 9,500 tonnes in about 9.22 million tonnes of ore, in Meghalaya. During an initial survey, the UCIL found the area around Kylleng-Pyndeng-Sohiong has about 10,000 tonnes of uranium.

The uranium deposits in Meghalaya is the largest, richest, near-surface and low-cost, sandstone-type uranium deposit discovered in India so far.

The ores are spread over a 10-square-kilometer area (six square miles) in deposits varying from eight to 47 meters from the surface.

UNI