In the 1980s, uranium leases were filed on thousands of acres of land in Virginia including Fauquier, Orange, Culpeper, and Madison Counties, stretching along the Piedmont to Pittsylvania in Southside Virginia.

• View map of Piedmont counties with former uranium mining leases
• View map of former uranium mining leases in southern Virginia

At that time, the Commonwealth undertook an extensive study of uranium mining. It was costly, time consuming, and divisive. When it was over, the General Assembly and Governor decided it was in the best interests of the people to maintain a moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia.

A new corporation, Virginia Uranium, Inc., is seeking to lift the moratorium.

Although the primary focus on the uranium debate has been on the Coles Hill site in Pittsylvania County, most of Virginia's population would be impacted by uranium mining, especially areas downstream or downwind of mining sites.

Next Section: Read about the uranium mining and milling process.