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Steps to secure highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium from falling into the hands of terrorists are being discussed in Washington this week, as representatives from 46 nations attend the largest gathering of nations hosted by a US president since the signing of the United Nations charter in San Francisco in 1945.
By Dave Brown – Exclusive to UraniumInvestingNews.com
In Washington this week, representatives from 46 nations are attending a summit organized to agree on steps to secure highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium from falling into the hands of terrorists. It is the largest gathering of nations hosted by a US president since the signing of the United Nations charter in San Francisco in 1945. The list of leaders participating ranges from heads of state of traditional nuclear powers, like France and Russia, to nuclear-armed rivals like Pakistan and neighboring India.
President Obama is expected to exert pressure on Iran and North Korea to curtail their nuclear programs, however, diplomatic assistance from China will be required, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council with veto power over any resolution and one of the world’s declared nuclear powers. With neither Iran nor North Korea representatives on the summit guest list, Iran has already dismissed the discussions and said it would not be influenced by any decisions made there.
In a sign of progress on the issues, the Russian foreign ministry in Moscow said it would sign a deal with the United States on Tuesday to reduce stocks of weapons-grade plutonium. This week’s summit follows the signing of a nuclear arms reduction treaty signed last week by Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and the release of the administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, which shifted focus more towards the threat from extremist groups and nations such as North Korea and Iran.
Of additional interest to uranium investors is the reported increase of US nuclear output production, as reactors in New York, Michigan and California recently returned from refueling outages. According to a report from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, output from the 104 US nuclear plants rose 1,313 megawatts to 78,371 megawatts with reactors running at 78 percent of nationwide capacity. Twenty reactors are currently offline.
World Energy Demand Continues to Increase
The International Energy Agency is forecasting that energy requirements will increase globally by 40 percent over the next 20 years. World usage of uranium will be 68,646 tonnes in 2010, however, by 2030 the World Nuclear Association expects that number to swell to more than 343,000 tonnes. The catalyst for the increase in demand will come from China, followed closely by India and Japan.
According to the WNA, there are 436 nuclear power reactors operating in over 30 countries, with approximately 50 reactors under construction in 13 countries.
The WNA forecasts world uranium demand at 74,000 tonnes by 2015, and most of this will have to come directly from mines. In 2007, the world’s known recoverable (‘reasonably assured and inferred’) resources of uranium was equivalent to approximately 5,469,000 tonnes.
There was relatively little exploration for uranium, worldwide, between 1985 and 2003. In 2005 to 2006, after only two years of restarting uranium exploration the results were significant, increasing global uranium resources by 15 percent. However, large parts of the world have still not been explored for uranium. The Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy has pointed out that only 25 percent of the country has been prospected for the energy metal so far. Despite the limited exploration, Brazil still ranks in the top ten countries in the world in terms of uranium resources. New uranium exploration and mining projects are currently occurring, or planned, in at least 90 countries. The future development and expansion of civil nuclear energy worldwide confirms the long-term future of the global uranium mining sector.
Company News
Australian copper miner, Craig Williams, CEO of Equinox Minerals Ltd (TSX:EQN) plans to expand the Lumwana mine in Zambia and is in talks with possible partners that will allow it to build a $200 million uranium plant on the site. The objective is diversification in association with the current goal of increasing output at Lumwana, already one of the largest open pit copper mines in Africa. Mr. Williams does not indicate any sense of short term urgency for any repositioning, “We are now commencing our discussion with off takers to see if we can put in place the right price package for the off taking … If we can’t get the right price we are happy to leave it sit for a while.”
With help from Assistant Editor Vivien Diniz