Uranium « nuclear-news

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

China still has poor record on nuclear safety, uranium environmental damage

Should China be involved in the UK’s nuclear energy infrastructure? Guardian UK, Paul Dorfman, 21 Sept 12“….In Tibet, the Chinese nuclear industry is engaged in a determined effort to secure uranium deposits located in Amdo, where leaching and open pit extraction are reported to have resulted in significant environmental contamination. Regulation of safety oversight mechanisms is relatively weak in the Chinese nuclear industry, and according to a recent Nuclear Materials Security Index report, China ranks 29th among the group of 32 nuclear nations in terms of nuclear security and materials transparency. Although it’s to be hoped that greater corporate social responsibility and sensitivity to vulnerable industrial communities is evolving in both Russia and China, it’s still troubling to reflect on their respective human rights situations, documented by Amnesty International……http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/sep/21/nuclearpower-energy?newsfeed=true

September 22, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, environment, safety, Uranium | Leave a comment

Concern over Idaho wildfire at uranium contaminated site

One area of concern is a defunct uranium mine and milling operation 5 miles west of North Fork, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a cleanup several years ago of polluted soil, hazardous wastes and piles of raw uranium and thorium ore.

No decontamination of buildings at that site was ever performed, and at least one of those buildings burned in the fire, according to officials from the state Department of Environmental Quality

Idaho wildfire roars through former uranium mine site Laura Zuckerman
Reuters, September 21, 2012 SALMON, Idaho Continue reading →

September 22, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | incidents, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Atmosphere of gloom about the future of the uranium industry

[Cameco] now finds itself selling some of its output below the cost of production.

China continues to review approvals for new reactors amid concerns about safety

Uranium outlook bleak, Rebound two years off estimates BLOOMBERG NEWS SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 Uranium’s rebound from the Fukushima nuclear accident may take one or two years longer than analysts estimated, prolonging the languishing recovery of Cameco, whose stock price has lost half its value since the March 2011 tragedy.

Just a month before the tsunami struck, shares were trading at $42.39. Wednesday they closed at $21.01.

The price of uranium for immediate delivery declined to $47 a pound as of Sept. 17, its lowest in two years, according to Ux Consulting, a Roswell, Ga.-based uranium information provider.

BHP Billiton Ltd. and Paladin Energy Ltd. have slowed or deferred development this year of some projects to produce the raw material in nuclear reactor fuel…… Continue reading →

September 21, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

And down down again goes the price of uranium

Uranium Recovery Postponed as Price Drops to 2-Year Low Bloomberg, By Christopher Donville – Sep 19, 2012 Uranium’s recovery from the Fukushima nuclear accident may take one or two years longer than analysts estimated as stockpiles in Japan and Germany keep prices low and cause mining companies to defer new development.

The price of uranium for immediate delivery declined to $47 a pound as of Sept. 17, its lowest in two years, according to Ux Consulting, a Roswell, Georgia-based uranium information provider.BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Paladin Energy Ltd. (PDN) have slowed or deferred development this year of some projects to produce the raw material in nuclear reactor fuel……

BHP, the world’s largest mining company, last month put on hold an expansion that would make its Olympic Dam project in Australia the biggest uranium mine.

Cameco Corp. (CCO), the world’s third-largest producer, said in July that its Kintyre uranium project in Australia would need a $67 uranium price to be economical. The company sold uranium for $42 a pound during the second quarter..

… Paladin, an Australian company that mines uranium in Africa , is delaying a feasibility study on phase four of its Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia , the company said on a conference call in May….Dustin Garrow, Paladin’s executive general manager of marketing.: “You’d have to see $85 uranium on a sustained basis to justify construction of new mines ..”

September 20, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

S. Korea urges U.S. to allow ‘peaceful’ nuclear enrichment SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) –– South Korea called for the United States to approve it undertaking “peaceful” enrichment of uranium and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, a government think tank said Monday, as little progress has been made in bilateral negotiations to revise the countries’ nuclear accord.

Under a 1974 accord with the U.S., South Korea is banned from enriching uranium or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. The allies have held five rounds of formal negotiations since 2010 to rewrite the bilateral nuclear cooperation treaty, which expires in 2014…..
Some nonproliferation experts say pyroprocessing is not significantly different from reprocessing, and pyroprocessed plutonium could be quickly turned into weapons-grade material….. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2012/09/17/38/0301000000AEN20120917002600315F.HTML

September 17, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | reprocessing, South Korea, Uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium- No Thanks, say Danville and Pittsylvania County residents

Poll: uranium mining ban should remain in place Go Dan River 14 Sept 12, The majority of Danville and Pittsylvania County residents do not want to see the state ban on uranium mining lifted.

That was the bottom-line result of a poll taken by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Survey and Evaluation Laboratory for the Alliance for Progress in Southern Virginia, which was released at a news conference in downtown Danville on Thursday.

More than 550 Danville and Pittsylvania County residents participated in the poll.

Jay Poole, a spokesperson for the alliance, said he was surprised by two things the survey revealed: the number of people who were aware of the issue, and the number of people who had already formed an opinionon the issue.

“The overwhelming margin of support in opposition to the proposed uranium mine in Pittsylvania County was striking,” Poole said.

Although 54 percent of respondents said they thought a mine might help the local economy, they clearly felt that was offset by potential risks, with 53 percent saying they do not want uranium mining in their backyards, compared to 29 percent who support the idea of a uranium mine at Coles Hill near Chatham.

When asked how they thought agriculture and the wood products industry would be affected, 63 percent said they felt it would be negatively impacted.

Sixty-three percent of respondents also said they are concerned about the affect such a mine could have on water quality, and 60 percent said they believe it would reduce property values in the region…. http://www2.godanriver.com/news/2012/sep/13/poll-uranium-mining-ban-should-remain-place-ar-2202990/

September 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Lynas rare earths plant – troubles are far from over

The world will witness one of the biggest civil disobedience events in this nation”

Mr Ibrahim has demanded that Australians ”hear the frustrations of Malaysians” over the project.

First Weld war looms – Malaysians mobilise to fight Lynas plant, The Age, September 13, 202 Lindsay MurdochACTIVISTS are planning a multi-pronged attack to try to stop the Australian miner Lynas Corp opening a rare earths
processing plant in Malaysia.
Opposition parties, led by Anwar Ibrahim, are also planning to make the $230 million plant a key issue of the country’s national elections, which must be held by April next year. They have vowed to shut the plant if they oust the government. Continue reading →

September 13, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Malaysia, RARE EARTHS, Uranium | 2 Comments

Thorium’s radioactive fission products

the fission products from a Thorium reactor are a worry, Technetium-99 has a half life of 220,000 years, uranium-232 produces thallium-208 (a nasty wee gamma emitter), Selenium-79 (another gamma emitter with a 327,000 year half-life), evenThorium-232 is a problem with its half life of 14 Billion years (and while the T-232 isn’t a major worry, all the time during this 14 Billion years it will be decaying and producing stuff that is!).

Thorium Cycle questions and problems http://daryanenergyblog.wordpress.com/ca/part-8-msr-lftr/8-3-thorium-lftr/ Questions have also been raised by some nuclear scientists about the Thorium cycle, in particular the proposed one that the LFTR would use. I’m not a nuclear physicist so I’ll merely forward you on to the relevant paper here , and a rebuttal here . The crux of the argument seems to be the proliferation risk (I’ll come back to that one later), the fact that a number of its spend fuel outputs (such as Technetium-99) are “nasty stuff” with a long half life and the fact we’ll still need supplies of Uranium to get Thorium reactors going again whenever we have to turn it off (which will happen at least once a year or so during its annual maintenance shutdown). They also highlight a number of technical issues, which I discussed in the chapter on HTGR’s. Continue reading →

September 12, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Reference, Uranium, wastes | 1 Comment

Toxic thorium wastes linger after 40 years: cleanup unaffordable

40 years later, toxic waste still haunts pockets of DuPage County Thorium cleanup nears finish line, but federal funds are in doubt January 21, 2012|By Erin Meyer, Chicago Tribune reporter Lurking beneath the surface of the West Branch of the DuPage River are the remnants of radioactive contamination left behind by a
factory that was shuttered almost four decades ago.

The Rare Earths Facility in West Chicago not only was a major employer in its heyday, but also became the site of a large mound of discarded radioactive waste that locals called Mount Thorium. The notorious impact the radiation from the factory had on the area eventually led to lengthy cleanups that have cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

The final phases of efforts to remediate the waste from Rare Earths are in sight, but officials say funding sources they have relied on in the past have dried up or are becoming increasingly uncertain due to changing priorities and congressional squabbling.

About $21 million is needed for work scheduled this year on the West Branch of the DuPage River and an adjacent creek, officials say. But more than a third of that is still up in the air….. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-21/news/ct-met-superfund-cleanup-20120118_1_thorium-cleanup-kress-creek-radioactive-waste

September 10, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | RARE EARTHS, Uranium | Leave a comment

Lynas rare earths gets temporary license, but strong opposition persists

Protests Promised Over License for Malaysia Rare Earth Plant NYT, By LIZ GOOCH KUALA , 6 Sept, LUMPUR — Activists who have waged a lengthy campaign against a rare earth refinery in Malaysia refused to back down Thursday after the authorities gave the Australian company behind the project the green light to proceed.

One group has vowed to blockade the port in the Malaysian town of Kuantan, near the plant, if the company, Lynas, tries to import raw earth materials from Australia.

“We are prepared to paralyze the whole port until the raw materials leave our port,” said Wong Tack, chairman of the group, Himpunan Hijau. “The world will witness one of the biggest civil disobedience events in this nation.”…. Lynas said that it would address the “principal cause of the community anxiety” — what to do with the radioactive byproducts from the plant — by turning the material into “processed co-products” for use mainly in manufacturing, like materials for roads and buildings. The materials would be exported, the company said. The company’s statement did not say to which countries it might export the products……

activists are not satisfied that the plant, estimated to cost 2.5 billion ringgit, or $802 million, will be safe.

“We will not allow an ounce of raw material to reach our shores,” said Mr. Wong, adding that Himpunan Hijau would recruit “thousands of people” to block the port 24 hours a day when the raw earth material arrived.

“We need to send the strongest warning to Lynas — don’t even dream about operation. This is an all-out war,” he said.

Another group, Save Malaysia Stop Lynas, said it was considering filing for a court injunction to try to stop the plant from operating.

Tan Bun Teet, the group’s chairman, said Save Malaysia Stop Lynas had already obtained leave from the courts for a judicial review of both the Atomic Energy Licensing Board’s approval of the temporary operating license and of the decision by the minister of science, technology and innovation not to revoke the license.

He insisted that the board should have waited for the outcome of those judicial reviews before issuing the license…… The committee’s findings — that Lynas should receive the license because it had fulfilled legal provisions and standards more stringent than international standards — were dismissed by activists who claimed the committee was an attempt to “whitewash” the issue. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/business/global/protests-promised-over-license-for-malaysia-rare-earth-plant.html?_r=1

September 7, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Malaysia, RARE EARTHS, Uranium | Leave a comment

Suffolk Council joins Virginia Beach and Norfolk in opposing uranium mining

Councils in Virginia Beach and Norfolk adopted similar resolutions earlier this summer. Chesapeake’s council is set to take up the matter Tuesday.

Suffolk council OKs resolution against uranium mining By Jeff Sheler The Virginian-Pilot September 6, 2012 SUFFOLK The City Council added its voice to those of other Hampton Roads cities calling for the continuation of a 30-year ban on uranium mining in Virginia.

By a unanimous vote, the council adopted a resolution Wednesday that opposes the mining and milling of uranium in Pittsylvania County, which it described as a potential threat to the region’s water supply. Continue reading →

September 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, Uranium, USA | 3 Comments

Kazakhstan’s nuclear fuel bank or nuclear graveyard?

Nuclear fuel bank or nuclear graveyard? Asia Times, 5 Sept 12, By Zhulduz Baizakova Kazakhstan plans to build an international nuclear fuel bank in Ust-Kamenogorsk (Oskemen), in the country’s east, at the site of Ulba Metallurgic Plant, part of the giant national company Kazatomprom, which produces fuel tablets for nuclear power plants.

While the authorities are keen on the plan, some citizens are seriously questioning it – questions that are likely to remain largely unanswered. Continue reading →

September 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Kazakhstan, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Uranium mining from the oceans doesn’t make financial sense

“…….. Ocean-mined uranium feasible, but not economical The Street By Resource Investing News 08/29/12 – If uranium buyers can’t find enough U308 on land, perhaps they can turn to the sea; or so say scientists from the University of Alabama and the American Chemical Society. “The ocean actually contains more uranium, although very dilute, than you can find in any land source in total,” said chemist Robin Rogers in a recent news conference, “which means we have a wonderful resource; it’s just always been very expensive to get it out.”

On and off over the past half century, scientists have been researching ways to extract uranium from seawater, but the process has always proved so costly and laborious that no one in the industry took it seriously. The US Department of Energy recently funded a project to develop a more cost-efficient process, and as a result researchers were able to decrease the cost estimate for ocean-mined uranium by over 46 percent to $300 per pound. Unfortunately, that’s five times costlier than traditional mining and a far cry from economical.

September 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Reference, Uranium | Leave a comment

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