 |
|
Australia, the Saudi Arabia of uranium SYDNEY - A ban on the opening of new uranium mines in Australia is likely to crumble within months, raising the stakes in Asia's battle to contain nuclear proliferation - and stop regional superpowers manipulating energy supplies. China and India, grappling with energy crises, are leading the race to tap into the world's biggest deposits of uranium as politicians sever a decades-old alliance with the powerful environmental movement. Asian investors and importers have been lining up since PrimeMinister John Howard's federal Liberal government broke with the uranium ban after its re-election in 1996 and ordered the Northern Territory, which it indirectly rules, to allow new mining. But Canberra has no jurisdiction over mining in the states, and its gesture meant little until the Labor Party, which is in opposition at the federal level but controls all state governments, announced late last year that it favored lifting the moratorium on mining that was declared 25 years ago. The three resource-rich states that had been holding out against a resumption of mining are now starting to fall into line, with the government of Queensland becoming the first to break ranks on Friday after a study found that the lucrative coal industry would not be affected. South Australia, already earning massive royalties from two working uranium mines that pre-date the ban, has said it is ready to switch sides, leaving only Western Australia in the opposition camp. In Perth, Premier Alan Carpenter has said Western Australia, which has limited gas and coal reserves, wants to leave the uranium in the ground as a domestic energy source for the future, by which time there might be a solution to the nuclear-waste conundrum. However, Labor's annual conference, scheduled for late next month, is expected to adopt the pro-mining strategy to placate business leaders ahead of a federal election that will be called this year, forcing Carpenter to relent. "We will soon be the largest uranium producer in the world, and we will have the largest mine in the world, the Olympic Dam, within a couple of years," Labor's National Development spokesman, Chris Evans, said while lobbying Carpenter in his home state. "Labor's got to acknowledge that reality and move on." Go to link to view full article. Article From http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IC28Ad02.html Article Posted By Alan Boyd on |
