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CHINA is hungry for more of our uranium to feed a planned doubling of its nuclear reactors -- and the Rudd Government believes we should be mining more to step up exports.
China has undertaken to rapidly expand its network of nuclear reactors to supply abundant, cleaner energy.
Australia sent its first load of uranium to China in November last year under a comprehensive bilateral agreement developed by the Howard government.
"The expansion of the nuclear industry here in China opens up new resource opportunities in Australia from the point of view of uranium mining," Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said in Beijing this week.
"We are a leading nation in terms of uranium mining. We should be actually mining more than we are at the moment."
Australia accounts for about a third of global uranium resources.
At present, China has 11 nuclear reactors at four sites and plans to build 13 more reactors at nine sites over the next 20 years. The technology supplies 2 per cent of the country's energy needs now, but there are plans to increase this to 5per cent by 2020 and 16per cent by 2030.
China would start stockpiling uranium to avert domestic shortages, Cao Shudong, the vice-director of the power department in China's National Energy Administration, was reported as saying this week.
Companies would also be encouraged to stockpile uranium and buy overseas resources, Mr Cao said.
"Our uranium is only sold on the basis that it will be used for civil nuclear energy purposes," Mr Ferguson, who is in charge of uranium export licences, said.
"It's not intended to be stockpiled."
He would not rule out allowing Chinese companies to invest in Australian uranium mines or actively mine such sites. "There are current Chinese holdings in uranium companies in Australia," Mr Ferguson said.
"(They are) actively mining at the moment. There's nothing to prevent that company moving forward to a mining operation."
Last month, junior mining group Arafura Resources said East China Exploration would invest $24million to acquire a 25per cent interest in Arafura and help it develop the Nolans mine, which contains more than 12million pounds of uranium.
ECE is an exploration, development and mining group. "The ECE capital injection will ensure Arafura has the cash to progress our feasibility work for the Nolans project this year," Arafura chairman Ian Laurance said. "ECE will then assist us in project financing for mining and processing for the Nolans project."
Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull backed further sales of uranium overseas. "Uranium is an important export ... and as long as it's sold with appropriate safeguards, which is the case, then nuclear power plays a very important part in the energy systems of the world," he said.
Additional reporting: Siobhain Ryan
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