CHATHAM, Va., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A Virginia man who owns the land over what could be the largest uranium deposit in the United States wants the state to end its ban on uranium mining.
Walter Coles told The Washington Post that he has rejected offers from mining companies for his land because he wants to make sure that any work that takes place benefit's the area by providing jobs and being done safely. He has formed a company, Virginia Uranium, that is lobbying the legislature to approve a study on whether uranium mining can be carried out safely in Virginia.
"There's too much uranium here. Somebody's going to mine it," Coles said. "I felt like while I was alive, it was my duty to make sure it was done right."
Coles' 200 acres in Pittsylvania County are used to produce cattle, hay and wood. The farmland sits on top of an estimated 110 million pounds of uranium.
If the site becomes a uranium mine, it would be the first in the United States outside dry and empty areas in the West.
