https://www.northernminer.com/
A few months ago, I joined a group of farmers discussing Saskatchewan’s modular nuclear reactor proposal. I supported the idea but raised a simple question: Where will Saskatchewan source the fuel? One farmer shot back, “Are you stupid? We have some of the world’s largest uranium reserves right here in the Athabasca Basin.”
What Farmer Jed didn’t realize is that a Candu nuclear reactor isn’t a coal locomotive. Uranium must be processed before it can be used as fuel. While Saskatchewan mines the raw material, Ontario reaps the economic rewards by refining and manufacturing Candu reactor fuel.
It’s a reality we can thank former MLA Peter Prebble and the NDP (which governed the province during 1971-82 and 1991-2007) for, with their unfounded fears of radioactive gophers glowing in the Saskatchewan night. If Saskatchewan’s new modular reactors are not Candu-style, we will have to import enriched uranium fuel from the U.S., potentially paying steep federal tariffs.
For the rest of this column: https://www.northernminer.com/commentary/opinion-what-about-processing-in-this-nuclear-boom/1003878374/