Argentine atomic-energy authorities are negotiating with the provincial government of Mendoza in a bid to reopen South America’s largest open-air uranium mine. The federal government argues production must resume at the Sierra Pintada mine in southern Mendoza province because Argentina will need to rely increasingly on nuclear power in a climate of rising oil prices and growing domestic energy demand. Until recently, Mendoza officials had flatly opposed the project, arguing that Argentina’s nuclear-power authority, the National Atomic Energy Commission (Cnea), had yet to address ongoing environmental impacts from the mine’s 16 years in operation. But last month, Cnea President José Pablo Abriata and Mendoza officials reached a tentative compromise under which Cnea would draft a remediation plan to resolve environmental problems remaining... [Log in to read more]