RICHMOND — Attorneys for a Virginia company that wants to mine a rich deposit of uranium are trying anew to end the state's decades-long ban on the mining of the radioactive ore.
A federal judge in December rejected Virginia Uranium Co.'s bid to lift the 1980s vintage ban. The Pittsylvania County company had argued that the federal government should have the ultimate say on uranium mining, not the state.
This month, attorneys for Virginia Uranium filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
The object of the court fight is a 119-million-pound deposit of uranium beneath the rolling hills of Southside Virginia.
The company has also seeking relief in a state court, arguing the state ban violates the company's property rights.