The end of Karoo Uranium Mining

ABERDEEN — It was tucked away in a formal press release: PENINSULA wants to sell its stake in the Karoo uranium mining. More than 10 years of efforts and millions of dollars wasted? But why?

As late as June 2017 the company praised its Karoo holdings as world-class and ensuring the future of the company.

Now the Australian PENINSULA ENERGY says it intends to concentrate on its North American uranium field in Wyoming.

Is this a victory for the residents of the Karoo?

Some sceptics assume it’s not. One capitalist will just be replaced by another one, the thinking goes. Who cares for groundwater, for dust contamination, for damaged roads? The new owners may just continue with the wicked plans to mess up the Karoo.

“We believe it is the end of uranium mining plans in the Karoo for the foreseeable future,” said Dr Stefan Cramer, SAFCEI Science Advisor.

In a press release issued earlier this week, Cramer, a former resident of Graaff-reinet, stated, “Resources are limited, production costs are escalating and the infrastructure is absent. It was plain economics that made the company take this rather drastic decision. After all: Why bury more money into a plan that had no future from the beginning. The writing was already on the wall for some time: The removal of former CEO Gus Simpson to be replaced in April 2017 by a North American uranium insider, the futile and often incompetent efforts of PENINSULA’S local counterparts to secure even prospecting rights, the growing opposition from within the South African administration and – last not least –the increasing knowledge and awareness among the local farming communities.”

However, the battle for anti-uranium mining activists is not yet over completely as PENINSULA will most probably try to sell its stake to other investors.

“In today’s world, there will always be someone wishing to make money. But for all practical purposes, this is is the end of uranium mining in the Karoo. Others have tried before and got nothing than bloody noses, like the French AREVA, who wrote down even larger sums for their Karoo uranium adventure. Unless suddenly uranium and nuclear energy become the darlings of the economic world. But all signs are there that this entire industry is dying a slow death. Good that the Karoo was spared the final battles. Now people can concentrate on what the Karoo can do best: Extensive agriculture, enthralling agritourism and unabundant renewable energies. The path to a better future is now open,” concluded Cramer.