L'uranio in Italia: dalle prime ricerche geominerarie alla controversa miniera di Novazza

Beginning in the late 1940s, a regional-scale geochemical and geophysical prospecting survey for radioactive minerals was launched in Italy. A ‘hectic’ season of prospecting for uranium- and thorium-bearing ore deposits began. It aimed at finding out mineral resources that, in the long term, could contribute to the full development of a nuclear industry on a national scale. These surveys were part of a wider European program to increase sources of raw materials for the nuclear energy supply chain. Several areas of the Italian peninsula, and particularly the Alps and Prealps, thus became destinations for field surveys in search of uranium deposits. Novazza in the Orobie (Bergamasque) Alps (Lombardy, northern Italy) and the nearby Vedello Valley (Valtellina) gained considerable importance in this regard. The paper aims to provide an overview of the history of uranium research in Italy, from the earliest geological investigations in the Alps and Prealps to the historical events involving the mineralization of the Orobie Mountains: Italy’s largest uranium deposit.