Uranium mining became a topic for Virginians starting in 2007. At that time a corporation with interests in uranium deposits announced plans to reopen a mine in Pittsylvania County. Currently Virginia bans uranium mining statewide (dating back to 1982). But with the market for that energy source on the rise, some are calling for re-examination.
I’m somewhat a fence-sitter on this issue for now. My knowledge of the metal is mostly handling processes for depleted uranium as used in military applications. Perhaps that taints my opinion a bit. But I’ll keep an open mind and my opinions to myself.
However there is one potential impact of mining activity which I can assess from my fence rail – disruption of battlefield lands. Here’s a map from the Piedmont Environmental Council showing potential uranium sites in Virginia:
Yes, Virginia is blessed with a lot of the uranium. But allow me to highlight the “former mining leases” in the upper part of Virginia. Here’s a map of the Piedmont showing the locations of those former uranium mining leases.
On the right of the map is the Potomac River. To the northeast (upper right) are the outskirts of the Washington, D.C. metro area and Fairfax. The red areas indicate uranium deposits which were considered accessible in the early 1980s before the ban was in place. The concentration extends from just south of Warrenton to the southwest past Orange.
Within or at least adjacent to those former lease areas are the Rappahannock Station (one and two), Brandy Station, and Cedar Mountain. Of course looking at the broader area of potential impact, there’s Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania and Manassas battlefields. Certainly preservationists should keep an eye on the discussion about Virginia uranium.
Cedar Mountain should not become a “Cedar Creek.”
