We've made the papers again!

There has been a lot of local media coverage of the uranium issue in the past week. The Haliburton County Echo contains two articles written by Matt James: one is about Bancroft Uranium's Monmouth Uranium Project and the other is about us. Pick up a copy of the Echo (December 18, 2007, Vol 124 No. 51) and check it out. In addition, the current issue of The Highlands Courier (Dec. 7 - Jan. 8) contains a number of articles regarding the uranium exploration activity happening east of us in Frontenac County.

We have spoken with a lab in Kingston who will test our water for roughly $15 per sample. We should have all the details finalized shortly after the Christmas holiday.

Thanks to everyone who has shown their support.

Happy Holidays!

Robin and Christine

Update on Uranium Activity in Highlands East (and elsewhere)

Sadly, Bancroft Uranium Inc is going to begin drilling on their Monmouth claim in January, 2008. The claim is located along Hwy 503 in Tory Hill. The Irondale River runs through it. You can find more information on their website.

We are currently investigating getting our water tested for uranium. We encourage everyone to get their water tested now so we have baseline readings before drilling begins. Once we determine the cost and procedure, we will coordinate the water testing for all who are interested in participating. We will have more information on this in the next couple of days.

We recently had a letter to the editor published in the Star in response to their article on Donna Dillman's hunger strike. Donna Dillman, a grandmother from eastern Ontario, has been on a hunger strike since early October to protest uranium mining in her area. Visit the Canadian Coalition Against Mining Uranium (CCAMU) website for more information on the situation in eastern Ontario.

Finally, hunting season has passed and we have been hearing rumours of continued staking activity in our area.

The word is out and interest is growing rapidly! Thanks to everyone who has contacted us and shown their support.

Christine and Robin

Fight Uranium Mining and Exploration in Haliburton

Uranium Exploration in the Haliburton Area

As you may or may not be aware, the Highlands East and Bancroft areas are actively being staked and claimed for potential uranium mining and exploration. Currently, roughly 17% of Monmouth township has been staked (appox. 8500 acres). This includes both private property and crown land. El Nino Ventures, one of the two larger stakeholders in Monmouth, has claimed a total of 9,765 acres in Faraday, Cardiff and Monmouth townships and is currently exploring the Amalgamated Rare Earth claim in Monmouth. Another prospector has claimed roughly 5,000 acres in Monmouth.

Your land could be staked! In Ontario, most property owners hold only the surface rights and not the mineral rights to their land. This means a prospector (anyone who applies and pays the $25 licence fee) could come on to your land without being required to notify you and claim the mineral rights. The mineral rights holder can then start exploring (this could include drilling, digging, stripping, building roads, etc. ) on your land. Under the Ontario Mining Act, there is nothing the surface rights owner can do to stop this. But we can try! For more information on mining and mineral rights in Ontario, follow this link to the Government of Ontario website.

How This Affects You

Health: Uranium causes cancer! This report from the BC Medical Association triggered a seven year moratorium on uranium mining in BC.

Environment: Potential contamination of drinking water. The Irondale River runs right through one of the large claims. The Irondale links to the Burnt River and the Drag River which feed many of the lakes in Haliburton. Open pit uranium mining WILL contaminate the river. Any accident would cause widespread environmental catastrophe. Though government might say safety is their highest priority, even the most modern uranium mines in Saskatchewan have flooded and been closed down. 100 PERCENT SAFETY CANNOT BE GUARANTEED!

Nuclear energy is dirty energy, don't be hoodwinked by those who tell you it's "clean energy". This website from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission lists the Bicroft and Dyno Mines in Cardiff, which were producing uranium mines in the 1950's, as being under a waste facility licence.The mine tailings sat for 40 years before anything was done and then all they did was berm the "pit". (I have been told by a friend that the "pit" is actually a swamp between two lakes, more on this soon). The tailings from uranium mining have a half life of a half million years. Since there is no ideal way of storing radioactive waste, the waste dumps will need to be managed by future generations in perpetuity to avoid environmental disaster. If we mine uranium now, we leave a colossal mess for future generations.

Property: Uranium mining and exploration will decrease the value of your property! Would you buy land that was claimed for potential uranium mining? Would you want to live near a uranium mine? Would you want to live down river from one?

Who we are

We are a group of residents in the Highlands East area who are concerned about the detrimental effects that uranium mining and exploration will have on our health, our environment and our homes. Many of us are directly impacted by the staking activity that has gone on in our area. Contact us at fighturanium@gmail.com.