Friday, March 29, 2024

Government maintains stance on uranium mining

Share

Lands, Energy and Water Development Minister Christopher Yaluma.

Government has maintained its stance to exploit and mine uranium in a secure and safe environment for the benefit of the Zambian people.

Mines, Energy and Water Development Minister Chris Yaluma said uranium mining was not harmful to people provided measures are taken into consideration.

Mr. Yaluma disclosed in a speech read for him by his Deputy Isaac Banda at a uranium workshop in Lusaka yesterday that government has engaged a Finnish Geological Survey to work with the Zambian experts to enhance the aspects of safety, health and environment in the uranium regulations.

He said concentration of naturally occurring uranium does not raise the radiation levels above the recommended safe levels by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He hoped that the workshop will clear some of the fears and misconceptions on uranium exploitation and mining.

And speaking earlier, Finnish Ambassador to Zambia, Pertti Anttinen,said his government was happy to provide support to Zambia’s Ministry of Mines towards a secure exploitation of mineral resources.

Ambassador Anttinen emphasized that the exploitation of uranium has to be done securely in every aspect in order to safeguard the wellbeing of the people and the environment.

QFM

33 COMMENTS

  1. Mines, Energy and Water Development Minister Chris Yaluma said, “uranium mining was not harmful to people provided measures are taken into consideration.”

    EXPLAIN THE MEASURES!

  2. Number 2, the minister is not a mining engineer, he is a politician (I dont know his other qualifications) but the PS should elaborate on the measures, the minister is just a mouth piece.

    • It is pretty sad that Wylbur Simuusa, a mining engineer, has been replaced with a mere politician who mimes his master’s voice without understanding what he is saying.

  3. @ Princess – let’s just say ‘Run for the hills!’ won’t work :) Great question. I came across this link. The justification part is chilling. Kinda made me think of the Japanese guys who volunteered to stay in the nuclear plant post tsunami.

    .world-nuclear.org/info/inf24.html

  4. Iwe chikala NO.4, do you know who ba Chris Yaluma is, He is probably more educated than the entire of your family combined stanyoko. He has all the qualifications that you dream of as a B.Sc Electrical Eng, MBA, etc kolwe iwe. Ba Chris can resign today and will never suffer as he has made his money at ESKOM in SAwhere he worked as a director for more than 20years and only resigned when he became a an MP Malole last November. He never joined politics for money but as a retirement part time job to himself busy. Learn to research before exhaling your smelly breath ba mumbwe imwe.

  5. #6 Natty.. zoona watukana, the way you write about Yaluma as if you where his lecturer!. But to be blunt, I don’t know why Zambians likes using TITLES. All my former “professors”/ teachers back in Scandinavia during all my BA + Masters never used any of Dr, Prof, etc we all called them by first name.
    Is Obama a Dr. B. Obama or what? Joe Biden is one of most educated politicians in USA, but those guys never make decisions based on class-room theories. My point is that Judge your Zambian ministers by WISDOM.

  6. #8 Nostra – Educate these 3rd worlders! They like titles like crazy. One former Zambian ambassador to the UN based in New York, insisted on being called Mr. Ambassador, he would not address me when I called him by his name. I wonder what he prefers to be called now that he has been recalled! Total Recall!

  7. I hope those measures will be in line with the fact that people’s lives will be protected,because Urenium is not an ordinery mineral were a person can come out and say measures will be put in place without specifications of what those measures may be.

    Please elaborate further mr minister sir,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

  8. Number 6, i think you are can’t comprehend the simple english that “patambala” wrote, he/she didn’t deserve those insults , if you were a campaign manager for Chris (MP) it doesn’t matter the man is now representing zambians and the same boss of yours that you shower with diaspora qualifications asked malawi Govt. to pay for the fuel that UKWA donated ..watch this space…the Cobra is pissed off. Anyway apologise to patambala, we need to bring sanity on this blog.

  9. Uranium minning and concentration, that explians the visits from Bush to hirrary clinton even gates. Ba barotse baka mileka??

  10. The debate above raises key issues which have resulted in our down fall as a country. Look at our MP they prefer to be coall honarables, when they is nothing noble about 80% of them, before one knowns it they are in court our corruption and abuse of offices. But you find a carde at the court calling such suspects or even found wanting honarable. Honarable can be inter-changed with admirable, tell me what is admirable with someone laying that in 90 days people will have more money in their pockets?

  11. @ 6 I think yu have over reacted to @4, infact he was protecting the Minister, he was explaining to @ 2 the role of a Minister, and I hvent seen any malice. It would not be a wrong idea to apologise,I know you an African like me but but it does not hurt to say sorry. GOD BLESS ZAMBIA

  12. The Uranium is in Isoka (Muchinga Province) my province….I used to wonder why some people there had like burnt arms…its all this unsafe Uranium….. did you know that Amerians have made base there in fear that it might go to wrong hands….. I would also echo calls to avoid insults…its very un Zambian these days….

  13. @ 8 Zambia is not Denmark, there is nothing wrong in using titles. Nali ku Denmark abengi bachitafye cohabit, while we respectively go through marriage processes, then ifya first name thats their culture, as long as its not retrogressive lets maintain our culture, look at bamwenye born and bred in Africa but they still mantain their culture. And over there almost everyone has been to school so what if one uses a title, but here it makes a whole lot of a difference and others are encouraged especially young ones to want to go further in education and have the titles. GOD BLESS ZAMBIA.

  14. Zambia should start exporting uranium to Israel,Iran,North Korea,Iraq,Syria,Argentine,India,Russia,America,Japan,GermanyPakistan,Brazil,China.Please lets avoid politics of poverty.Uranium is used for medical and energy requirements.

  15. Naimwe ba @12 muleimweneshamo kwati tamwali ba monk. I thought everyone understand the 90 days concept, do we need to belabour this point again. I refer you to one of the call boys, he will explain lol! GOD BLESS ZAMBIA.

  16. What was the concept? To me that was classic example of deciet. And deciet cannot be thought as being honarable thing to do. What will the call boy say, when it is them who feel cheated the most. Stop this blind loyaty it does not help. Let us forget the 90days and come back to other issues like wind fall tax, removal of cardes from govt offices, Levy’s family tree and what is happening with the forest now, untendered contracts and State house renovations. At least we thought some of the things would change looking at the energy his HE the president spent telling the nation how he will do things differently with all his experince. We expect things to change through accounting for what he said he believed in.

  17. There is nothing magical about uranium mining.  The product called yellowcake is not directly usable for bombs or power.  It has to be enriched in high tech plants like ones the Iranians are being stopped from setting up by the Americans and Israelis.  Malawi, Namibia, Niger etc have been mining uranium for some time now.  There is no need to make a song and dance about uranium mining.  In any case, the miners are private companies that are owned by the same westerners who are busy rattling our cages.

  18. The Americans have been worried about DRC for some time and have done nothing about it.  Even the uranium in the nuclear bombs they used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki came from DRC.

    See this link for how things could be worse:  http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=53962.  

    I don’t imagine that Zambian uranium mining will be that lax in security.

    • That is very detailed and scary stuff, I would send additional resources to all border towns and posts of Zambia with the DRC. Scanners to be bought for the rail ports as well now. This is some scary stuff.

  19. With words like these 2016 cannot come any sonner so as we elect Miyanda and ban all Uranium mining. That stuffis dangerous, as long as it mined in Isoka and passed through Northern province it’s okay with me. Leave the beautiful women of Southern, Eastern and western province alone. We need no radiation in these places lol.

  20. @ Anti-Kaponya no# 23

    That is very detailed and scary stuff, I would send additional resources to all border towns and posts of Zambia with the DRC. Scanners to be bought for the rail ports as well now. This is some scary stuff. Every LT blogger should read that scary stuff; please especially guys that did general science in high school and domestic read the above and now know its true dangers.

  21. It is not mis-conceptions and fear, has any one hear watched the hills have eyes? Looked at those deformed people of NAVADA USA, things that really did happen and don’t play with radiation.

  22. I would rather we exploited oil exploration, at least then we would know what would be killing our people. It would be physical and not leave women giving birth to the X-men.

  23. Go ahead minister , we can safely mine uranium and create jobs and more oney. Malawi is making money. Their Uranium passes through zambia our country to Namibia, but we have never been harmed.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading