CHATHAM -- A brief flurry of shouting occurred about an hour into an emotional but generally civil meeting Tuesday night about the prospect of uranium mining and milling near the small Virginia town of Chatham.

The people who might suffer or prosper or experience a mix of both if uranium mining and milling proceeds in Pittsylvania County lined up to share with members of a subcommittee of the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission their concerns or support for such operations.

Virginia Uranium Inc. wants to mine and mill uranium ore from extensive deposits beneath farmland about six miles northeast of Chatham. Exploratory drilling earlier this year, allowed by state permit, suggests that the deposits contain about 119 million pounds of uranium, according to Patrick Wales, the company's project manager.

The ore body has been described as the nation's largest undeveloped uranium deposit. Virginia Uranium estimates the ore that would be mined and milled could be worth as much as $10 billion.

The commission subcommittee is soliciting input that could help define the scope of a study investigating uranium mining's possible impacts -- both for the region and the commonwealth.

Among many other suggestions, residents said an independent study should examine the effects of uranium mining and milling on public health, the environment, public perceptions about the region, home values, agriculture, long-term management of wastes and economic development.

Mining supporters cited possible economic benefits for the region, as well as the mine's potential as an important source of domestically produced uranium for nuclear power plants. They insisted that the work could proceed safely.

Opponents outnumbered supporters among the night's speakers.

The public meeting was held at Chatham High School's auditorium, which can hold about 450 people. It was mostly full when the meeting began.

From the start, subcommittee chairman Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan County, emphasized that the Southside Virginia gathering was intended to solicit recommendations from the public about what a study of uranium mining should examine. It was not, he said, a forum about whether the study or the mining should proceed at all.

The evening's two biggest stirs occurred when opponents of the mining stepped over that line.

Jack Dunavant, chairman of Southside Concerned Citizens, began by questioning whether the Coal and Energy Commission or its subcommittee could be objective, given that a few commission members had received political contributions from Virginia Uranium. Dunavant similarly questioned the involvement of a center at Virginia Tech that he said would have a vested interested in the mining going forward.

Ware's attempt to redirect Dunavant's comments to the meeting's stated purpose failed. A member of the crowd shouted, "You tell them, Jack!"

To enthused applause, Dunavant warned the subcommittee that state legislators should not try to force uranium mining on the region.

"If Richmond tries to shove the uranium issue down our throats, we will fight until the bitter end, until the last man falls," he said.

Shireen Parsons, a community organizer who has fought mountaintop removal coal mining, cited previous "bogus studies" that supported that controversial mining process. She objected to the meeting's stated constraints on commentary and its related three-minute time limit. She called the process a "travesty."

But residents also voiced support for the study and the mining and milling if valid research shows it can be safely accomplished.

One man said he hopes he can return to the Chatham area and find a job befitting his college degree. Others said the struggling regional economy could benefit from new jobs and an improved tax base.

If mining someday proceeds, the uranium ore would likely be milled on-site, which could present more environmental problems than the mining itself. Mining around the area known as Coles Hill would continue for an estimated 30 to 40 years, Wales said.

Walter Coles Sr. is chairman of Virginia Uranium. Virginia Uranium, along with two families, including Coles', either owns or controls about 3,000 acres where mining and milling could occur, Wales said.

In the early 1980s, another company explored the deposits and contemplated mining. But in 1983, Virginia essentially banned uranium mining because of safety concerns. The ban remains in effect.

As envisioned, once the subcommittee completes the scoping phase of the study, the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech would compile that input into a form that could be submitted for consideration to the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy would conduct scientific research, said Ware, examining the mine's potential for environmental contamination, possible effects on human health and other potential impacts.

There is no guarantee that the National Academy would take on the study, though there is plenty of precedence for similar research for critical issues facing states.

Ware said that a separate study might be necessary to examine economic impacts.

In March, the House Rules Committee of the Virginia General Assembly effectively killed a bill that would have authorized a study of the pros and cons of uranium mining.

But the Coal and Energy Commission announced in November plans to proceed with the study.

Ware said that study funding will come from the House Commerce and Labor Committee.

In early 2008, Virginia Uranium said it would contribute $1 million to help fund a study. This week, Walter Coles Jr. backed away from that offer.

"As a business, there would be nothing more pleasing than not having to contribute anything," he said. "A year ago, it was easier to raise capital for a company like ours."

Several speakers Tuesday expressed concerns about funding sources and wondered why the state should pay for a study when Virginia Uranium has not yet submitted its own detailed plans for the mine.

An American Indian speaker elicited a small standing ovation when he asked the panel to consider uranium mining's spiritual impacts and whether such work could be equated with raping "mother earth."

"Is this a spiritual desecration? Is this a sin against God?' " asked Barry Carter, chairman of the Occoneechee-Saponi Indian tribe.

One man asked panel members to imagine during deliberations that the mining operation was within a mile or two of their homes. Ware said that was his intent.

Ware said he believes the scope of work study should be ready by spring for the subcommittee's review.