RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Opponents of uranium mining in Virginia say they have the votes in a Senate committee to block legislation that would effectively end a decades-old state moratorium on mining the radioactive ore.

They said Tuesday the vote won't even be close.

The predictions are coming from the Virginia Coalition, the Alliance for Progress in Southern Virginia and the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Sen. John Watkins' legislation is scheduled to be heard Thursday by the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. He did not immediately return a message left with his office by The Associated Press to respond to the dire predictions for his bill.

Virginia Uranium Inc. wants the General Assembly to end the 1982 mining ban so it can tap a 119-million-pound deposit of the ore in Pittsylvania County.