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FACTBOX-Leading uranium firms and scientists meet in London

06 Sep 2007 08:00:06 GMT
Source: Reuters

LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - This week leaders and scientists of the global nuclear power industry meet this week in London at the World Nuclear Association's (WNA) 2007 Annual Symposium.

The private-sector organisation promotes nuclear power in times of heightened concern about security of energy supply.

The industry is also back in focus as fear of climate change has helped to overcome years of opposition to nuclear power after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Russia.

NUCLEAR POWER

The first commercial nuclear power plants started operation in the 1950s and today there are 439 stations accounting for 16 percent or 2,658 billion kWh of the world's energy consumption.

In the OECD, the total fuel costs of a nuclear power plant are typically about one third of those for a coal-fired plant.

FROM ORE TO ENERGY

Uranium ore is mined and purified at the mine site. The end product of the mining and milling stages is uranium oxide concentrate (U3O8) and this is the form in which it is sold. Ore concentrate, or yellow cake, is then chemically converted into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), a gas which is transported to enrichment plants.

Once the concentration of U-235 reaches 3 to 5 percent, from 0.7 percent in natural uranium, it is possible to use the converted uranium pellets in power stations where fission releases thermal energy necessary for electricity generation.

When the fuel has been in the reactor for about three years, it is removed and stored.

URANIUM SUPPLY

Primary supply in 2006 was 46,530 tonnes or 65 percent of total supply. The rest, 25,350 tonnes, came from secondary supplies such as utility stockpiles and scrapped atomic weapons. In 2006 Canada supplied world markets with 14,000 tonnes or about one third of world production and Australia exported some 23 percent. The other top 10 producers were Kazakhstan, Niger, Russia, Namibia, Uzbekistan, the U.S., Ukraine and South Africa. It is estimated that Australia has about 24 percent of the world's recoverable uranium deposits, Kazakhstan holds 17 percent and Canada some 9 percent.

The 7 largest producers in 2006 were Cameco <CCO.TO>, Rio Tinto <RIO.L><RIO.AX>, Kazatomprom, Areva <CEPFi.PA>, TVEL, BHP Billiton <BLT.L><BHP.AX> and Navoi.

URANIUM DEMAND

Uranium demand in 2007 was at 66,526 tonnes. This leaves a shortfall of around 20,000 which is met by secondary supplies, mainly from a deal between the U.S. and Russia. The agreement, on the conversion of highly enriched uranium (HEU) extracted from dismantled Russian nuclear warheads into low-enriched uranium for use in power reactors, runs out in 2013.

There are some 439 reactors operating, 34 more are under construction, 81 are planned and 223 more proposed.

The WNA estimates demand to reach 149,000 tonnes by 2030.

URANIUM PRICE

The spot price of uranium <UX-U3O8-SPT> hit an all-time high of $136 per pound in June, up from $7 in 2000. The increased interest in uranium prompted the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) to launch a five-year futures contract together with Ux Consulting Company (UxC) in May.

Ahead of this contract there was no formal exchange for uranium and price indicators have therefore been developed by a small number of private business organisations, like the UxC.

Around 85 percent of all uranium is sold under long-term contracts, ranging from two to 10 years.

Sources: The World Nuclear Association, Rio Tinto

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Last updated:Thu Sep 6 07:59:28 2007