India to Begin Uranium Mining in Meghalaya to Boost “Nuclear Power Capacity”

Text of report by Indian newspaper The Asian Age website on 13 February

[Report by Manoj Anand: "Meghalaya Uranium for Reactors"]

Shillong, Feb 12 – The Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) intends to start uranium mining in Meghalaya to augment India’s installed nuclear power capacity up to 20,000 MW by 2020. This has been disclosed in the UCIL white paper on the proposed Kylleng Pyndeng Sohiong Uranium project at Mawthabah in West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya.

“Mining of uranium from Mawthabah is meant to provide nuclear fuel for the country’s atomic reactor,” the white paper submitted to Meghalaya government said, adding: “The UCIL proposes to develop an open cast mine in Kylleng Pyndeng Sohiong Kylleng Pyndeng Sohiong where uranium ore deposits having an average grade of 0.085 per cent of U-308 would be mined.” The UCIL has also informed the state government that it intends to set up a processing plant Mawthabah.

The estimated land requirement for the corporation is about 351 hectares to accommodate mining area, initial over burden dump area and tailing disposal area, mine facilities, plant roads, plant raw water intake road, processing plant besides township areas. The UCIL has proposed that land required to be acquired should be notified as per the provision of the Land Acquisition Act of the Meghalaya government. “The UCIL will pay the compensation for acquisition of land free from encumbrance before the project starts,” the white paper said.

On employment the UCIL said that 70:30 ratio between local and non-local people had been envisaged based on the requirement of skilled category workers. “As a policy all the unskilled workers as well as semi-skilled and skilled workers depending on the availability will be recruited among project affected families and other local people,” the UCIL stated.

In order to protect the environment the UCIL has worked out a detailed environmental management plan for effluent treatment and confinement of waste rock and mill tailing. In this regard scientists from Jaduguda Health Physics Unit and Environment Assessment Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre have taken up baseline radiological survey around the proposed site.

In addition, the Northeast Hill University has been assigned the task to carry out detailed study on environmental impact of the uranium mining in the area. The white paper said: “The mining has been planned for annual production of 375,000 tonnes of uranium while the estimated overburden quantity is about 2.5m tonnes.” The UCIL, in its white paper, has also apprised the state government of its detailed master plan of developing the mining and its adjoining areas.

The proposed mining of uranium in the frontier state is yet to take off following the opposition of NGOs and local people of the area. The white paper has been seen as fresh attempt of the UCIL to convince the Meghalaya government on some of the important aspect of the uranium mining. Before this, the UCIL had organized several seminars and meetings to create public opinion in favour of mining in the state.

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