Company files 2nd lawsuit seeking to mine uranium

(AP) A mining company that wants to tap one of the richest deposits of uranium in the world says it has filed a second legal challenge to Virginia’s 33-year ban on the mining of the radioactive ore.

Virginia Uranium Inc. said its attorneys filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Wise County Circuit Court.

The Chatham company abandoned its campaign to end the state moratorium on uranium mining in December 2013 after incoming Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe made it clear he would not support the lifting of the ban.

The company has an ongoing legal challenge to the state’s ban on uranium mining in federal court based on the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The state-court lawsuit filed Wednesday said the mining ban violates the Virginia constitution.

Virginia Uranium is seeking to mine a 119-million-pound deposit of uranium in Pittsylvania County.