Nuclear-hungry nations eye Africa’s uranium deposits
In the 1980s, western nations tried to help Africa by assembling celebs to croon about its woes. Today we see how silly that is, so we’re back to extracting resources instead. It’s so much more direct, and with energy consumption rising, it will help for a long time! As whispers of a nuclear renaissance grow into a dull roar, for instance, uranium-rich areas are bracing for a boom. Namibia’s Roessing Uranium Mine, which opened in 1976 but fell on hard times, is back in full swing. The two-mile-long, nearly-one-mile-wide, over-1,000-foot-deep mine, owned in part by Iran, recently made its first delivery to China. A second mine will open nearby soon, and three others are in the works, pleasing local leaders. But concerned observers aren’t convinced. “They cannot tell us that they are safer than before,” says Bertchen Kohrs of Earthlife Namibia. “Who says that some day we won’t have to take back the nuclear waste here in Namibia?” Oh, Bertchen, relax. Angelina would never let that happen.
