Daniel Sherwood’s Weblog

Wall Street Journal “Oriental Granted Additional Uranium Exploration Licenses in South Korea”

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/oriental-granted-additional-uranium-exploration/story.aspx?guid=%7BA48A3B2A-86FA-4B18-A611-A5FCF5DC99CE%7D&dist=hppr

South Korea has granted a second set of licenses for a forgien Mining company to explore for Uranium. Oriental Minerals Inc. was granted the second set of licensees to begin exploration for uranium and vanadium in the Ogcheon Belt in the center of the country. A total of three licenses were issued each for exploration of a 2.82 km2 area. Researchers are positive the mines will yield large amounts of deposits, similar to mines found in the United States. OTL has stated that it has committed to complying with all health and safety regulations. At present I could not locate any news of interests groups trying to stop the mining. In the United States Uranium mining is heavily monitored by federal agencies and by watchdog groups. The primary concern with mining uranium is the potential that workers are exposed to radiation and that some mining processes result in radioactive material being leeched into local water systems. I trust that the Korean government is looking aware of these potential environmental related issues. It will be interesting to see if any incidents occur in the next couple years.