WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Brazil and the United States could work together to build small nuclear reactors, Brazil’s mines and energy minister told Reuters on Friday, adding that the South American nation is also ready to open uranium mining to foreigners.
Brazil is preparing legislation that would clear the way for both private and foreign investment in prospecting and mining for uranium in the country, Minister Bento Albuquerque said in an interview. There is a draft of the legislation, but a final version must be negotiated with Congress, he said.
“We have to resolve internally the issue of uranium exploration that today is a monopoly of the state and is in the hands of Nuclear Industries of Brazil,” Albuquerque said, referring to the state firm running the country’s uranium mines.
“What we have to do is to make our legislation more flexible so that there can be private uranium exploration,” he said. Albuquerque is in Washington ahead of President Jair Bolsonaro’s first official visit to the United States since he took office on Jan. 1.
The trip next week by right-wing Bolsonaro, who modeled his foreign policy and political style on U.S. President Donald Trump, is expected to bring closer economic, political and military ties between the two countries.
For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-brazil-energy/us-and-brazil-may-partner-on-small-nuclear-reactors-idUSKCN1QW2MI