MINING company Anaconda Nickel NL has received initial environmental approvals from the Environmental Protection Authority. The authority has recommended to the Western Australian government that the company can begin development of its Murrin Murrin nickel deposit. Uranium a hot topic THE federal government agreed to conduct a wide-ranging senate inquiry into uranium mining. The decision came as the West Australian Greens and the federal opposition put serious pressure on the government to examine the environmental, health, social, safety impacts and to inspect the agreements with countries that import uranium from Australia. The inquiry will also examine the role of the Office of the Supervising Scientist in monitoring uranium operations as well as the effectiveness of government scrutiny of mining proposals. Branding it unnecessary waste of tax payers’ money, the government will appoint a seven-member committee on uranium mining and milling which is expected to report back before the last parliamentary sitting of the year. Conservation and Aboriginal groups welcomed the inquiry however Labor has failed in its bid to hold a specific inquiry into the expansion of uranium mining in Kakadu National Park. Green senator Dee Margetts said limiting the investigation to Kakadu was reprehensible by Labor given that there were 12 potential sites for development in WA and South Australia. Uranium mining’s last inquiry was the 1977 Fox Report.