Australianuranium exports can be expected to increase as a U.S.-Russian programto make nuclear fuel from retired warheads nears its end, AustralianResources Minister Martin Ferguson said today during a visit to China(see GSN, Nov. 25, 2008).
Ferguson forecast a major increase in uranium sales to China, inparticular, where officials are planning significant growth in nuclearpower, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
"The expansion of the nuclear industry here in China opens up newresource opportunities in Australia from the point of view of uraniummining," he said.
Complementing this growing uranium demand is the prospect of decreasing supplies from other sources, Ferguson said.
"Because the secondary sources of oldnuclear warheads are now starting to decline in number, hence marketopportunities, such as in China, will open up for Australia," he said,referring to the Megatons to Megawatts program in which 500 tons ofhighly enriched uranium from Russian nuclear warheads is beingconverted to nuclear fuel in the United States (see GSN, April 22, 2008).
That effort, due to expire in 2013, is now responsible for 10percent of U.S. electricity generation and has so far eliminated enoughuranium to produce more than 14,000 warheads, according to a release from the U.S. contractor USEC.
Ferguson said Australia should pick up the slack in uranium supply.
"We are ... a leading nation in terms of uranium mining. We should be actually mining more than we are at the moment," he said.
Australia began uranium exports to China in November over theobjection of some nonproliferation advocates who argued that the saleswould allow Beijing to redirect its domestic uranium supplies to thenation's nuclear-weapon activities. Ferguson said yesterday thatAustralia was a responsible exporter.
"I just say that in terms of our responsibilities, to mine oururanium with safe hands and guarantee that it's used only for peacefulpurposes, I actually think that is a well-founded policy that hasserved Australia well in the past," he said (Stephen McDonell, Australian Broadcasting Corp. News, April 3).