It is debatable, whether or not the positives outweigh the negatives. The main positives of mining Uranium include, nuclear power, relatively cheap, it is found everywhere and does not emit harmful gases to the environment. Nuclear energy is very cheap, and effective, it just takes a lot of maintenance and attention. Additionally, the process of making electricity from uranium through nuclear fission, is not harmful to the environment, in comparison to other fossil fuels. As mentioned above, Uranium is found everywhere, even in the ocean. If scientists discover a way to safely mine Uranium from the ocean, it is virtually …show more content…
This would also be a fairly cheap way of mining Uranium in the long run, because only a few mines would be needed and they could all be in the middle of the ocean, away from humans. Additionally, whilst that technology is being invented, we could convert all the new Uranium mines to in-situ leaching mines. This technology is already developed and is very cheap and safe, compared to open pit mining. Conventional mining involves removing rock from the ground. In contrast, in situ leaching involves leaving the ore in the ground, and recovering the minerals from it by pumping a dissolving agent into the ground, then brining the now Uranium-rich solution back to the surface. As a result, there is minimal surface disturbance and no waste generated (see Figure 5). However, this method needs to be carefully monitored so that it does not contaminate