business and costs « nuclear-news

AREVA loses in the scramble to sell nukes to Czech Republic

UPDATE 2-CEZ dumps Areva from Temelin nuclear tender ReutersOct 5, 2012
* CEZ says Areva fails to meet requirements
* Disqualification leaves U.S., Russian firms in tender (Adds quotes, shares, details)
By Jason Hovet and Jan Korselt PRAGUE, Oct 5 (Reuters) – Czech power group CEZ threw out Areva’s bid for a multibillion-dollar contract to expand the Temelin nuclear power plant, leaving U.S. and Russian firms to contest the country’s biggest-ever energy deal. Continue reading →

October 5, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, EUROPE | Leave a comment

Gloom and doom for uranium market getting worse

Miners pressured as uncertainty sours uranium market Reuters Oct 5, 2012

* Uranium spot price hits new 2-year low, miners’ shares sag

* Idled Japan reactors weigh as politics unclear

* Uranium price seen stagnant to lower over next months By Julie Gordon…

TORONTO, Oct 5 – Eighteen months after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, the spot price for uranium hit a two-year low this week, putting the squeeze on the already depressed shares of uranium miners.

With a looming election keeping Japan from making a decision on how much, if any, of its nuclear reactor fleet it will keep, and slowing growth inChina weighing on the broader resource sector, it will likely be months before uranium prices start moving back toward pre-Fukushima levels.

“In the near term, the price of uranium is going to go sideways to down,” said Raymond Goldie, a senior mining analyst at Salman Partners in Toronto, adding that the spot price is not likely to start recovering until March or April 2013.

That is bad news for producers Cameco Corp, Uranium One Inc and Paladin Energy Inc, which have watched their shares plummet since a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan in March 2011, crippling the Fukushima-Daiichi atomic power plant.

Cameco, the world’s largest publicly listed uranium producer, has lost more than 48 percent of its market value in the aftermath of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Uranium One is down 62 percent, while Paladin has fallen 72 percent. Continue reading →

October 5, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Areva and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group pull out of UK’s nuclear power project

British nuclear plans suffer blow as Chinese investors pull out Two new nuclear projects in the UK suffer as firms in running to buy a stake pull out Terry Macalister and Adam Vaughan The Guardian, 3 October 2012 The government’s nuclear energy plans were in trouble on Wednesday with Chinese investors withdrawing interest in two projects and local councils postponing a decision on hosting atomic waste storage.

Areva, the French nuclear engineering group, confirmed that it had pulled out of the running to buy a stake in Horizon Nuclear Power, the enterprise planning to construct new reactors at Wylfa in Wales and Oldbury in Gloucestershire. Areva said its partner, the state-owned China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPC), had also shelved its
bid….

This is a blow for the government because Areva is the most advanced with getting regulatory approval for the design of its European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) while the Chinese are considered to have the deepest pockets. Continue reading →

October 4, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

New nuclear reactor now being built North of Tokyo

Work resumes on Japanese nuclear reactor http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-02/japan-resumes-reactor-work/4290390 By North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy,2 Oct 12, A Japanese power firm has resumed construction of an atomic reactor, despite government plans to phase out nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

The reactor – 650 kilometres north of Tokyo – is being built by the J-Power company which had planned to have it operational in two years’ time. The company says it has now resumed construction of the reactor which was halted work after the Fukushima meltdowns. Continue reading →

October 3, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Fukushima compensation payments 1.24 trillion yen, and rising

TEPCO must compensate nuclear accident victims quickly The Yomiuri Shimbun, 2 Oct 12
The government should further enhance its system to resolve disputes over compensation for damage caused by the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant so people suffering from the nuclear accident can be helped appropriately and quickly.

By late September, 940,000 compensation claims had been made against Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the nuclear plant, for damage caused by the crisis. The claimants and TEPCO have reached agreements in 860,000 cases. The total compensation has already reached 1.24 trillion yen and will increase further. This shows the seriousness of the accident, which has forced 160,000 local residents to evacuate.

Under a compensation scheme for the damage caused by the crisis, the government first pays evacuees the money and later requires TEPCO to repay it. Compensation is calculated based on criteria set by the government’s Committee for Dispute Resolution for Compensating Damages from the Nuclear Power Plant Incident.

The criteria require TEPCO to pay compensation for such expenses as evacuation transportation fees and damage to farmers and other people who lost their businesses due to the crisis.

The agreement ratio has been high in initial compensation negotiations, but many crisis victims are still dissatisfied with the amount of reparations…… http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/editorial/T121001002720.htm

October 3, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Fukushima 2012, Japan | Leave a comment

USA’s nuclear industry moribund, so it lobbies for easier export rules

Nuclear Firms Seek Eased Export Rules as U.S. Demand Wanes Bloomberg News, By Brian Wingfield October 01, 2012 The U.S. nuclear-power industry is seeking to ease export restrictions so it can sell equipment and technology to nations including China and Russia as domestic demand wanes for reactors.

Regulations unchanged since the end of the Cold War impede U.S. companies in gaining export licenses, putting suppliers at a global disadvantage, according to a report released today by the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based group whose members include
Exelon Corp. (EXC) and Southern Co. (SO)…..
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this year issued its first reactor-construction licenses in more than three decades, while U.S. companies struggle to arrange financing for additional units.

A glut of natural gas has lowered prices for the fuel, discouraging investment in more expensive sources including nuclear power.

Southern’s reactor project in Georgia is awaiting final approval 2 1/2 years after winning a conditional $8.3 billion Energy Department loan guarantee. The NRC in August imposed a two-year freeze on final decisions for power-plant licenses in response to a court decision
requiring a reassessment of risks associated with storing nuclear waste……..

October 3, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, politics | Leave a comment

How multinational uranium companies diddled Tanzania out of its tax revenue

the transfer of Mantra Resources Limited to ARMZ enables its former shareholders to pocket $1.04 billion without paying capital gains to the Tanzanian government…. Mantra Resources Limited of Australia was supposed to have paid capital gains tax to Tanzania.

Sh320bn loss looming over uranium project , 29 September 2012 By Felix Lazaro, The Citizen Dar es Salaam. Tanzania risks losing about Sh320 billion in mining taxes because of weak legal checks, particularly when it comes to uranium.

Local mining experts said yesterday that the country must go back to the drawing board and put in place a watertight policy and regulations before it allows uranium mining.Earnings from the mineral are believed to have the potential to turn around the lives of thousands of poor Tanzanians.

The chief concern right now, though, is that some subsidiaries of multinational firms licensed to explore uranium in Tanzania are capitalising on a weak legal and institutional framework to transfer ownership to affiliated companies. Continue reading →

September 29, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AFRICA, business and costs | Leave a comment

Rebound in uranium prices just not happening

Cameco hit with downgrade as hopes for uranium rebound fade
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/market-blog/cameco-downgraded-amid-relentless-decline-in-uranium-price/article4570023/ DARCY KEITH The Globe and Mail , Sep. 26 2012, The rebound in the uranium market some speculated would surely follow the big-time drubbing the sector experienced in the aftermath of the Japanese Fukushima nuclear disaster isn’t exactly materializing. Continue reading →

September 28, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | 1 Comment

Uranium price slump for the long term

Short-term dip in uranium prices now a long-term slump Peter Koven | Sep 26, 2012“……..Eighteen months after the incident, uranium prices continue to hit new lows. The spot price sunk US50¢ to US$46.50 a pound this week, which is the lowest level since 2010, according to Ux Consulting. Investors briefly drove the spot price above US$135 in 2007.

The long-term price has also declined, though it is higher at US$60, reflecting the fact buyers will pay more for material delivered mid-decade or later.

TD Securities analyst Greg Barnes noted that September is usually buying season in the uranium market, so the current weakness is not a good sign.

Although sales volumes in the spot market have been very weak, there is more than enough uranium around to supply utilities, so any investing bet on the commodity is really a bet that nuclear power demand will substantially grow in the years to come….

.. questions about the future of nuclear continue to linger. Japan recently pushed reactor re-starts further into the future, while maintaining plans to phase out all nuclear power by the 2030s. And French President François Hollande reaffirmed his campaign promise to reduce the share of nuclear power in France’s energy mix to 50% from 75% currently.

“With two of the world’s most important nuclear markets questioning the longer-term outlook for nuclear power, we expect [the] uranium price to be in for another 12 months of lacklustre performance,” Mr. Barnes wrote in a note.

That view is widely shared by investors .

September 28, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear energy capacity growth slowing after Fukushima: IAEA (Reuters)
26 Sept 12- The U.N. atomic agency cut its forecast for nuclear energy
growth for a second year as the industry continued to feel the effect
of the Fukushima disaster in Japan and said most of the expansion
would be in Asia.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said its projection for
global nuclear generating capacity by 2030 was down between one and
nine percent compared with last year.

Against expectations before the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in
Japan, the projections are between eight and 16 percent lower.

September 28, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | Leave a comment

Poorly paid, dangerous, work of nuclear sub-contracted workers

Desirability of nuclear power is the real question, THE HINDU, 28 Sept 12
MADHUMITA DUTTA“……In France, over 20,000-30,000 workers dubbed as “nuclear nomads” are subcontracted annually in the 58 nuclear reactors operated by Électricité de France S.A. (EDF) located in 20 sites which contribute 78 per cent of the electricity produced in the country.

EDF subcontracts over 1,000 companies, who employ the “nuclear nomads,” sometimes of foreign origin, to do the dangerous maintenance, repair and clean-up work in these plants, exposing them to ionising radiations. In her book “Nuclear Servitude: Subcontracting and Health in the French Civil Nuclear Industry,” French social scientist Annie Thébaud-Mony has highlighted this division of labour and “risk” by subcontracting dangerous work in the French nuclear power industry.

In the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, over 18,000 workers were hired to clean-up the power plant, who were all subcontracted to do dangerous radioactive clean-up work. These men, hailed as “national heroes” by many, were actually local residents rendered unemployed by the disaster or were daily wagers from city slums.

Since the 1970s, Japan has had a dubious track record of subcontracting maintenance
work of reactors to outside companies which hire workers on a short-term basis who remain employed till they reach their radiation exposure limit (Nuclear Nomads: A look at the Sub-contracted Heroes by Gabrielle Hecht in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January 9, 2012)…. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/desirability-of-nuclear-power-is-the-real-question/article3939373.ece

September 28, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | employment, France, Japan, Reference | 1 Comment

Uranium not a wise investment

the message remains that Japan is moving away from nuclear power in a big way.

Japan’s decision can only be described as a huge one with major effects on commodities markets….. [Japan’s] loss will negatively affect demand for uranium

That may mean more years of grief for long-suffering Cameco shareholders.

investors would be smart to invest in the companies benefiting from the change, rather than hoping that somehow nuclear power makes a big comeback.

Japan Says Sayonara to Nuclear Power The Motley Fool, By Tony Daltorio – September 24, 2012 It is 18 months since the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and finally, the Japanese government has made a decision about the future of nuclear power in the country. The government has stated that it will phase out nuclear power entirely by 2040. This would make Japan the second major country, after Germany, to announce such a withdrawal from nuclear power. Continue reading →

September 25, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium industry not viable: production costs exceed revenue

Nuclear Energy’s Limp Causing Uranium Prices to Stumble Forbes 24 Sept 12 When the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami knocked out Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactors, they also took down the price of uranium. The hesitance to resume nuclear operations not only in Japan but also elsewhere in the world has caused the demand for the nuclear feedstock to diminish.

Indeed, uranium prices have fallen from about $68 a ton before the nuclear crisis to $47 a ton as of September 2012, which is the lowest they have been in two years. ….
“Overall, the uranium market conditions continues to be in wait and see mode as utilities are generally well covered for the next few years, and suppliers are similarly heavily committed,” says Cameco, in its quarterly report to shareholders.
It’s expected to be a long two or three years before uranium prices pick back up. Earlier this month, Japan’s government said that it would end its use of nuclear energy by 2030. Meantime, Germany has said it would also phase out its nuclear program while Italy and
Switzerland have expressed similar sentiments.

Cameco, for example, has said that uranium prices must reach their pre-Fukushima levels before development would become profitable.
Meanwhile, BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance just said that it would cease production at one of its Australian mines, noting that it was no long a viable concern in today’s pricing environment. BHP says that production costs exceed revenue from product sales.

September 25, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Doom and gloom for the uranium industry – no improvement in sight

End of last month, the price had fallen to US$49.25 and for most of September, it hovered at the US$48 mark. This is almost 60% below the entry level target as calculated by Bannerman. The impact on the development of new mines, is obvious.

I believe the commodities boom is over, or at least on hold for another five years. In the meantime, no new mines.

Our Anticipated Uranium Projects Will Not Go Ahead, Except One [analysis] Equities.com Daniel Steinmann All Africa Global Media 22 Sept12, Bannerman Resources, the Australian company driving one of four new uranium projects in Namibia, recently said at a mining conference, the price for uranium U308 needs to be between US$75 and US$90 per pound (0.454kg) to drive any new investment in greenfields uranium mines.

Hidden in this seemingly neutral observation and analysis, are many serious consequences for the further development of the uranium sector Continue reading →

September 23, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Namibia, Uranium | Leave a comment

Fort Calhoun nuclear repairs: Exelon Corporation to get $millions from Omaha Public Power District

NE: Nuke plant fixer to get millions September 20, 2012 Joe Jordan | Nebraska Watchdog OMAHA—The price-tag to get the troubled nuclear power plant at Fort Calhoun up and running after nearly 18 months is in, and it’s loaded with zeroes.

Nebraska Watchdog has learned that the Omaha Public Power District—unable to get the reactor on line itself—is shelling out $400 million to a private firm, Exelon Corp.

Exelon will be paid $20 million a year for the next 20 years, according to information released by OPPD.

Nebraska Watchdog requested but was denied copies of contracts between the utility and Exelon.

OPPD said state law covering confidential information—involving trade secrets, academic and scientific research—allows those contracts to “be withheld from the public.”

OPPD did provide a “summary of key provisions of the Exelon agreements” information that included the $400 million payout….. The Fort Calhoun plant is still on the shelf and OPPD officials believe Exelon will get the reactor running sooner than later.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has the final say over start-up, has given no indication when the plant will be back on-line. http://watchdog.org/56953/ne-troubled-nuke-plant-costing-millions/

September 22, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

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