Here at Navajo council Resources & Development Committee’s Subcommi ttee on a Proposed agreement between the Navajo Nation and URI/Uranium Resources Inc. of Texas for URI to conduct a demonstration project involving In-Situ Uranium Mining near Church Rock, N.M. Before I go any further, please excuse all typos and grammar errors and misspelling because I’m typing as fast as I can from this meeting at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Ariz. Subcommittee member are Chairperson Leonard Tsosie and Vice Chairperson Leonard Pete.
URI CHRISTOPHER JONES
we wud drill core frm ore body and put in nitrogen filled bag so no air and ship to Colorado for testing to measure water left behind. Or establish production system at CR and inject water into ore body and over time extract uranium and store there. Lab is faster. It can be representative of ore body. Demonstration where drill under ore body takes more time and more expensive but risks little different. Those are two ideas on table.
demo project is required by Nuclear Regulatory Commission license. so wat ned to do with subcommittee is to establish project.
URI VICE PRESIDENT MARK PELIZZA
Radium in aquifers decays to radon. At unit 1, west of Crownpoint, averages higher than wat is allowed by Environmental Protection Agency for water. People concerned about water contamination shud be glad that we have identified the water is not healthy to drink
NEPA
we asked for ISL study of another location of wells. URI said they have proven studies, facts that this ISL/In-situ leach uranium mining is feasible to work on Navajo reservation and we asked for study.
URI PELIZZA
When did you ask for? I’m sorry I guess it got lost in the meeting notes.
L.TSOSIE
Was the request in writing?
NEPA
It was during meeting and URI Pelizza with with URI attorney.
URI PELIZZA
you can come and look over my shoulder at my laptop here and see what you can find.
one thing pple don’t realize that restoration effort uses more water and that water is not exactly as it was. companies spend billions on dollars on mines on research and is that enough for group/public. We have several options including one with monitor wells. Is group satisfied with USEPA sampling numbers? I can bring in detailed drilling logs, have cross sections.
L.PETE
my biggest concern and also of public is contamination of ground water. I know that tapping into ore deposit where there is aquifer, wat is permability? how do u measure? what is direction flowing? how long take water to travel 100 feet?
URI PELIZZA
permability can be measured thru pump test and not understandble to anyone in this room. Church Rock site, water moves ten feet in one year so 100 feet takes 100 years. But if problem in mine fields that is why water monitoring wells.
