Hundreds protest planned uranium mining

Several hundred people were protesting against possible mining of uranium in North Bohemia on Sunday. A uranium ore deposit near the community of Kotel, North Bohemia, was discovered in the 1960s but mining there never started due to poor economic prospects. Earlier this year, however, a mining company asked the authorities to establish a protected deposit area on the site which environmental organisations consider a first step leading to the launch mining. Local inhabitants fear that mining could start in the area as the prices of uranium have skyrocketed in the last decade. The deposit is estimated to contain some 115 000 tons of uranium ore which – at current prices – is worth between 500 and 600 billion crowns, or around 30 billion US dollars.

Author: Jan Richter