urg::: Uranium mining interest beyond expectation: Minerals Council

[Len Kanaar - FoE Sydney]

ABC

Last Update: Wednesday, September 7, 2005. 9:15am (AEST)
Uranium mining interest beyond expectation: Minerals Council

The Minerals Council says interest in uranium has swelled beyond 
expectations in the month since the Commonwealth took control of 
approving new mines in the Northern Territory.

The council's Kezia Purick says there are now 25 companies mining and 
looking for uranium in the Territory, or interested in doing so, 
compared to about 16 a few weeks ago.

She says most of the explorers are Australian, alongside three 
Canadian companies and one French.

"We have a mixture of large corporates for example the Rio Tintos and 
companies of that level," she said.

"But we have some medium-sized companies, Paladin Resources. And then 
we have a swag of junior exploration companies.

"A lot of them out of Western Australia because that's obviously a 
big heartland of the mining industry for Australia."

Ms Purick says there is no reason why most of the companies now 
exploring cannot progress to actual mining.

"I mean it's not unusual for a company to take between five and 10 
years from the beginning of exploration to a financial commitment to 
mine and that will be the same for this enthusiasm and burst of 
interest in the Northern Territory.

"It could be we have a mine within two to five years and then we 
could perhaps another one or two, 10 years, five years after that."


© 2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation