Uranium and Nuclear Power Industry – Page 11

Does the Niger Coup Pose a Threat to Nuclear Power Plants in France? – by Sebastiane Ebatamehi (African Exponent – August 14, 2023)

August 14, 2023

https://www.africanexponent.com/

The recent coup in Niger has sparked concerns about potential disruptions to uranium supplies for France’s nuclear power plants.

The coup in Niger has raised concerns regarding potential disruptions to uranium exports from the West African nation, which could impact nuclear power generation not only in France but also elsewhere. Nonetheless, experts suggest that short-term challenges can likely be mitigated due to diversified sourcing and ample inventory levels.

France, uniquely reliant on nuclear energy for approximately 70 percent of its electricity, faces a situation of potential vulnerability. The country stands as the world’s largest net exporter of nuclear energy, contributing over €3 billion annually to its economy.

Joe Biden’s Uranium Problem – by Darragh Roche (Newsweek Magazine – August 12, 2023)

August 14, 2023

https://www.newsweek.com/

President Joe Biden may soon be facing a political headache involving uranium and Russian President Vladimir Putin after his decision to protect land around the Grand Canyon from mining.

Biden declared almost one million acres of land around the Grand Canyon in Arizona a national monument, called the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni- Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, on Tuesday in a move that has been criticized by mining firms and some conservatives.

How the coup in Niger could give uranium-rich Canada its moment to shine on the global stage – by David Olive – August 10, 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://www.thestar.com/

As nations move away from Russia’s civilian nuclear power supply chain Canada can easily step in as the 4th largest producer of uranium in the world, writes David Olive

The July 26 coup d’état in Niger could eventually spur dynamic growth in Canada’s uranium industry. The degree of Kremlin involvement in the military ouster late last month of Niger President Mohamed Bazoum is unclear.

But pro-coup demonstrators in the streets of Niamey, the Nigerien capital, wave Russian flags to express their anti-American and anti-French sentiment. That sentiment has been stoked for years in the former French colony by Russian propaganda.

First Nations raise alarm over impact of planned nuclear-waste dump on Ottawa drinking water – by Marie Woolf (Globe and Mail – August 10, 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ontario and Quebec First Nations are raising the alarm about a proposed nuclear waste dump on their ancestral land, saying it risks polluting the Ottawa River, which supplies drinking water to the country’s capital, with a radioactive substance.

First Nations chiefs are to travel to Ottawa Thursday to ask for an urgent rethink of the location of the storage facility – on a site the size of 52 soccer pitches – at the final project licensing hearing of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).

DEEP DIVE: Uranium Hunters in US West Face Partial Ban, Pollution Concerns – by Bobby Magill (Bloomberg – August 10, 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/

Five weeks before President Joe Biden announced a historic new ban on new uranium mining around the Grand Canyon, Sarana Riggs approached the barbed-wire fence surrounding an inactive mine in an Arizona national forest, a Geiger counter in her hand. The Geiger counter didn’t detect any dangerous radiation that day from the Pinyon Plain mine, about two miles from the spot where Biden would sign the monument proclamation. But Riggs wasn’t convinced.

The activist grew up on the Navajo Nation near Tuba City, Arizona, where a uranium mill operated until 1966. It took another 24 years to clean up the site, and yet uranium was still found later in groundwater beneath the town dump.

Cameco hikes outlook despite earnings hit as demand for nuclear energy powers up – by Naimul Karim (Financial Post – August 2, 2023)

August 10, 2023

https://financialpost.com/

British regulator probes deal to buy Westinghouse Electric

Uranium miner Cameco Corp. has raised its consolidated revenue outlook for 2023 as demand for nuclear power grows in the transition away from fossil fuels, even as the company reported a 14 per cent drop in revenue in its second quarter. The Saskatoon-based company on Aug. 2 said it expects to sell higher volumes of uranium this year, and also reported higher long-term contracting numbers.

Cameco said that as of June 30, its long-term commitments require an average annual delivery of 28 million pounds of uranium over the next five years as opposed to the 26 million pounds reported at the end of March. The company also said it hopes to deliver between 31 million and 33 million pounds of uranium this year, a boost from previous expectations of 29 to 31 million.

Biden to Designate Monument Near Grand Canyon, Preventing Uranium Mining – by Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Lisa Friedman (New York Times – August 7, 2023)

August 8, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/

Uranium extraction had already been restricted in the area, which Native tribes consider sacred, but the moratorium was set to expire in 2032. Mr. Biden’s designation will make it permanent.

President Biden will designate nearly a million acres of land near the Grand Canyon as a new national monument on Tuesday to protect the area from uranium mining, administration officials confirmed on Monday.

Mr. Biden’s visit to Arizona is part of a nationwide blitz by the White House to translate key policy victories to voters — including a law he signed last year to inject $370 billion in tax incentives into wind, solar and other renewable energy — as the 2024 campaign ramps up. Senior cabinet officials are also touring the country this week, highlighting his domestic agenda.

Why China should tread carefully around French interests in Africa and the Pacific – by Emanuele Scimia (South China Morning Post – August 8, 2023)

August 8, 2023

https://www.scmp.com/

At a China-France dialogue in Beijing last month, Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng expressed hope that France “will stabilise the tone of friendly cooperation” with the European Union. This comes as French President Emmanuel Macron tries to promote Europe’s strategic autonomy amid the great power contest between the US and China.

Beijing’s promise of increased economic cooperation suggests it wants help from Paris to repair its deteriorating ties with the EU. But the manoeuvre could fail if China crosses the line in two geopolitical chessboards that France considers strategic and are currently in the spotlight – francophone Africa and the South Pacific.

Niger’s coup uncovers strategic resource tensions in West Africa – by Robert Bociaga (Arab News – August 6, 2023)

August 8, 2023

https://www.arabnews.com/

JUBA, South Sudan: Last week’s coup in Niger ushered in a state of diplomatic and security confusion in the West African region that surpassed previous coups. The unexpected move by the Economic Community of West African States to consider the use of force to remove the junta from Niamey added a new dimension to the crisis.

Despite negotiations, the junta remains steadfast in its resolve to stay in power, further complicating the situation. Adding to the complexity, neighboring juntas in Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso have pledged to support the Nigerien junta, making the situation potentially explosive.

The Long Arm of the Kremlin and the Politics of Uranium – by Javier Blas (Washington Post/Bloomberg – August 3, 2023)

August 3, 2023

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

The town of Arlit, a desolate settlement on the southern fringes of the Sahara, is the improbable ground zero of a new geopolitical tussle: the fight for the control of uranium, the fuel that powers the nuclear industry. It was there, in the arid ranges of northern Niger, where French geologists found the radioactive mineral in the 1950s.

Since then, French state-owned companies have dug it out from their former colony, transforming Niger into the world’s seventh-largest producer. In 2022, the mines surrounding Arlit accounted for 25% of all European Union uranium imports. Now, a coup d’Etat in the impoverished west African nation has put that flow in jeopardy.

Niger coup raises questions about uranium dependence (AFP/France24 – August 1, 2023)

August 3, 2023

https://www.france24.com/en/

Paris (AFP) – The military coup in Niger last week raises the question of Europe’s dependency on uranium mined in the West African nation for its nuclear power plants. France’s nuclear fuel firm Orano, formerly part of Areva, operates a uranium mine in the north of the country, employing some 900 mostly Nigeran staff.

The company said last week that it was monitoring the situation closely but that the seizure of power by the military had not for the moment affected the delivery of uranium supplies. Niger accounts for only a small percentage of global production of natural uranium.

Focusing on abandoned uranium mines across Navajo, EPA opens Flagstaff office – by Adrian Skabelund (Arizona Daily Sun – July 29, 2023)

July 31, 2023

https://azdailysun.com/

Tuesday saw the opening of a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office in Flagstaff that will be largely focused on investigating and cleaning up hundreds of abandoned uranium mines across the Navajo Nation.

The office comes as the agency, in cooperation with local partners, works toward a goal of remediating 110 high-priority mines by 2030. As it opens, the office, which is located on the U.S. Geological Survey campus near Buffalo Park, will have a staff of at least 14 employees. That number could increase, according to office manager Jacob Phipps.

Niger coup sparks concerns about French, EU uranium dependency – by Giorgio Leali (Politico EU – July 31, 2023)

July 31, 2023

https://www.politico.eu/

The military coup in Niger is raising fears, especially in France, over its potential impact on the import of uranium to power nuclear plants.

Niger supplies 15 percent of France’s uranium needs and accounts for a fifth of the EU’s total uranium imports. Orano, France’s state-controlled nuclear fuel producer, is continuing its activities in Niger and monitoring the situation, a company spokesperson said in a statement emailed to POLITICO, stressing that “our priority is to maintain the safety of our employees in the country.”

What’s Driving Coups in Niger and Across West Africa? – by Neil Munshi (Bloomberg/Washington Post – July 27, 2023)

July 27, 2023

https://www.washingtonpost.com/

Members of Niger’s presidential guard have detained the leader of the uranium-rich country, a linchpin in the fight by US, French and African forces against the spread of Islamist militancy across the Sahel region.

The attempted coup follows five successful ones in the past three years across the impoverished region. If the latest power grab succeeds, it would create a strip of military-run countries stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea — most of which are more closely aligned to Russia than to the West.

1. What happened in Niger?

In the Lab Oppenheimer Built, the U.S. Is Building Nuclear Bomb Cores Again – by W.J. Hennigan (Time Magazine – July 24, 2023)

July 24, 2023

https://time.com/

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – Something unusual is happening inside the plutonium facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. PF-4, as it is known to top government officials, is the heart of America’s nuclear complex, a lab where scientists and engineers study and experiment on highly radioactive materials in tight secrecy. Recently, employees have discovered yellow plastic tents encasing equipment and rendering it inaccessible.

At Los Alamos, where even the cleaning crews and firefighters require high-level security clearances, you might think the tents are designed to restrict access to the latest wonder weapon or scientific breakthrough. The truth is more mundane—and more telling. “It’s part of our expansion plans,” Matthew Johnson, a senior lab manager, tells me during a rare tour of the fortified building. “All the old stuff is coming out.”