Although for years it looked as though the end of uranium mining in the Czech Republic had arrived, the situation now seems to be changing.
According to information available to HN, the state-owned company Diamo has handed the Industry and Trade Ministry a proposal to renew mining in Stráž pod Ralskem.
Stráž has one of the biggest uranium deposits in Europe. The area has been mined since the 1960s, but extensive ecological damage and the collapse of the Soviet Bloc prompted the state to close down the mines. For locals, as well as for members of the Green Party, the resuming mining is an explosive topic, just like the issue of brown coal mining limits in the Most area.
The state could make far more money selling uranium than it did in the 1990s. Proponents of mining see a window of opportunity now that nuclear energy is experiencing a revival, as countries try to look for alternatives to Russian gas.
“We have done a study on how to resume mining [in Stráž], but it’s early days,” says Diamo head Jiří Jež. “You need to realise that given current prices, we have material worth CZK 500 billion right under Stráž. We can’t let the uranium just lie there,” he says in an interview with HN.
Even Industry and Trade Minister Martin Říman says resuming mining operations in Stráž might not remain a taboo topic forever. His energy plan proposes making the most of local resources, and this includes uranium. According to the minister, this means specifically the deposits in Stráž. “Sure, we’re talking about Stráž,” says Říman. “But the mining would need to be ecologically sound. Not the disaster created here by the previous regime.”
