A worldwide emphasis on nuclear power, which indicates the inauguration of 250 new nuclear power plants, to add to the 440 currently operating, has caused a hike in the price of uranium by almost a quarter in the past three months, and a new analysis predicts it will rise by a further three quarters (a doubling overall) over the next two years. To provide the uranium fuel, a host of new relatively small mining and production companies has emerged on the market, and whose share values have rocketed. Britain has murmured in the positive about a new generation of nuclear power stations, in particular as the current family are due for retirement and decommissioning by around 2022, but no firm programme has been described, or even the type of reactors that will be used. It is my understanding that they will be fission reactors based on enrichment of natural uranium in uranium-235, rather than fast breeders, which convert the majority of uranium (uranium-238) to plutonium-239 as a fuel. As I have pointed out in recent postings, this is actually a very wasteful use of uranium, since it "throws away" 99% of the resource (which becomes "depleted uranium"), but there are serious safety issues attending fast-breeders reactors based on uranium/plutonium, and breeding uranium-233 from thorium might be the better way to go.
While uranium remains relatively abundant as a resource, there is less fiscal incentive to adopt an entirely new technology based on thorium, although India with its huge reserves of thorium, is taking serious steps to use this as the fuel for its own nuclear programme. Depending on precise figures, there may be around 70 years worth of uranium resource in current holdings, including the known deposits in Canada, Kazakhstan and Australia, and those in armouries of nuclear warheads, containing heavily enriched uranium (that's 90% uranium-235, not the mere 3.5% contained in nuclear fuel) and weapons grade plutonium (that's pure plutonium-239, free from other isotopes, otherwise a smaller bang is got from a nuclear detonation!). Uranium is ubiquitous at around 2 -3 parts per million of the Earth's crust and soils, particularly those associated with phosphate minerals, can contain from 50 - 1000 ppm (0.1%) of uranium, hence as the price rises, more will be found. The difference between a reserve and a resource, is that the resource is that portion of the reserve which is economically extractable at any given time of writing. As the cost of a commodity increases, then so does the amount of its resource, bearing in mind that other resources, e.g. oil and gas, are used-up in extracting uranium and other fuels, nuclear or not.
The uranium price is forecast to reach $90 per pound by the middle of 2007, and $115 per pound by the end of 2008, according to a report produced by Resource Capital Research. In 2003, the market value of uranium was just $11 per pound. The delay in production at the Cigar Lake mine in Canada means that it is not expected to come on-stream until 2010, which was supposed to account for 40% of all new output within the next three years. A group of 65 new Australian mining firms have seen their shares leap by 53% over the last three months, amounting to a total increase in value of 186% over the past 12 months. Very nice too - I wish I had bought into some of them!
Mining uranium has environmental consequences, beyond those of the nuclear power it is intended to fuel. Friends of the Earth is campaigning against new schemes such as Olympic Dam (also known as Roxby Downs), which by 2013 could become the world's largest producing uranium mine. Mining uranium in Australia is further sensitive because many of the uranium deposits are located on land inhabited by aboriginal groups, and efforts to install a new uranium mine at Jabiluka in the Northern Territories were halted in the light of opposition from environmental and aboriginal groups.
2 comments:
Why isn't anyone considering thorium nuclear? It may be the only way to safely provide all of our domestic electrical energy requirements. This is a great first step;
SENS. HATCH AND REID PUSH FOR THORIUM NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
WASHINGTON – Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and Harry Reid (D-NV.) today introduced legislation that would pave the way for thorium nuclear-fuel reactors in the United States.
The Thorium Energy Independence and Security Act of 2008 would establish offices at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy to regulate domestic thorium nuclear power generation and oversee possible demonstrations of thorium nuclear fuel assemblies.
Using thorium for nuclear power has a number of potential benefits over conventional uranium. As a resource, thorium is abundant in the U.S. and throughout the world. A thorium fuel rod would remain in the reactor about three times as long as conventional nuclear fuel, cutting the volume of spent nuclear fuel by as much as two-thirds. Also, thorium nuclear fuel would significantly reduce the possibility that weapons-grade material would result from the process. Finally, a thorium fuel cycle could be used to dispose of existing plutonium stockpiles, which is the national security goal.
“Our nation has focused mostly on mixed oxide nuclear fuel cycles, and our regulatory structure reflects that,” Hatch said. “With the growing interest in thorium nuclear power in the world and in the U.S., it’s time we made sure our government has a regulatory infrastructure in place to accommodate this new generation of nuclear power.”
Speaking about the bill, Bruce Blair, president of the World Security Institute said, “This legislation reflects an enlightened grasp of the importance of supporting nuclear power while suppressing nuclear proliferation.” Seth Grae said that the bill “represents a major milestone toward the recognition that the nuclear renaissance can best be achieved by encouraging new and innovative fuels designs. Senators Hatch and Reid have acted today to strengthen American technology and American business to compete in the global marketplace.”
“This bill is a giant step for the United States toward the development of a safe, secure and independent energy future,” said Jack Lifton, business development and corporate communications Director of Thorium Energy Inc.
Thorium Energy Inc. ( www.ThoriumEnergy.com ), a Utah resource company, owns property in Lemhi Pass, Idaho, where it is generally believed that the largest veins of thorium-rich minerals in the world are located. Analysis of the deposits shows them to be either the highest grade or in the top tier of the highest grade known anywhere on Earth.
Very good point! I have pushed thorium on here and in the international newspapers!
There is also a good blog energyfromthorium which does this too!
But NOT this accelerator-driven idea; liquid fluoride reactors would be the simplest and most likely way for thorium.
Regards,
Chris Rhodes.
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