WA Govt Lifts Uranium Mining Ban

The West Australian government has formally lifted an administrative ban on uranium mining, opening the way for dozens of new projects throughout the state.
The previous Labor government had excluded uranium from all mining and massage therapy pregnancy exploration leases since June 2002.
WA Premier Colin Barnett says cabinet has decided that the ban should be lifted immediately.
'The Labor party tried to make the election a referendum on uranium mining,' Mr Barnett said.
'If they did, they failed,' he added.
'And it's significant that the federal Labor government and professional massage chair most state Labor governments now support uranium mining.'
Mr Barnett said he expected it would be at least three years before the first uranium mine would be uprunning in Western Australia.
'The price of uranium has fallen from around $US80...to $US48 today but there's no doubt that demand for uranium will continue to rise strongly,' Mr Barnett said.