“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
MAR 4, 2024
The road to a ‘Uranium 1’ mining operation — a Russian subsidiary of the Russian government owned Rosatom (a huge nuclear operator which also produces Russia’s nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Russia has cornered the market on production of both new reactor construction and nuclear fuel products. The U.S. is a distant 4th.
LLAW’s CONCERNS and COMMENTS, Monday, (03/04/2024)
This entire rebirth of uranium mining, if it ever happens, is not now or ever going to solve the CO2 problem from fossil fuel power plants that contribute the most to global warming/climate change. The uranium and nuclear product industries, through the uranium/nuclear industry’s constant harangue full of trumped-up propaganda has excited ignorant politicians who have no knowledge nor understanding of the nuclear industry and its dangerous and deadly (including nuclear weapons) products that could easily cause human and other life extinction on what would also eventually be a dead planet Earth. This possibility is a risk beyond the capability of humankind to handle. We need to destroy all nuclear products before they destroy us. How foolish we are to be going precisely in the wrong direction . . . ~llaw
Following article courtesy of Yahoo and Bloomberg:
Uranium Firms Revive Forgotten Mines as Price of Nuclear Fuel Soars
(Bloomberg) — Across the US and allied countries, owners of left-for-dead uranium mines are restarting operations to capitalize on rising demand for the nuclear fuel.
At least five US producers are reviving mines in states including Wyoming, Texas, Arizona and Utah, where production flourished until governments soured on the radioactive element following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
Most of those American mines were idled in the aftermath of Fukushima, when uranium prices crashed and countries like Germany and Japan initiated plans to phase out nuclear reactors.
Now, with governments turning to nuclear power to meet emissions targets and top uranium producers struggling to satisfy demand, prices of the silvery-white metal are surging. And that’s giving those once-unprofitable uranium operations a chance to fill a supply gap.
Uranium has been used as an energy source for more than six decades, fueling nuclear power plants and reactors. About two-thirds of global production comes from Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia.
Uranium will be a topic of conversation as thousands of mining executives, geologists and bankers descend on Toronto for the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada gathering this week. The annual event has attracted at least 10 uranium firms, including Denison Mines Corp., Fission Uranium Corp. and IsoEnergy Ltd.
As countries increasingly consider nuclear power to address climate change, demand for uranium is expected to skyrocket. The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates the world will need more than 100,000 metric tons of uranium per year by 2040 — an amount that requires nearly doubling mining and processing from current levels.
Canada’s Cameco Corp. and Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom, which together account for half of global supply, have struggled to ramp up production. They have warned of some operational setbacks that will result in less uranium output than expected in the coming years.
Read More: World’s Biggest Uranium Miner Warns of Production Shortfall
“We’re in an old-fashioned, plain-and-simple supply squeeze,” said Scott Melbye, executive vice president of Texas-based Uranium Energy Corp. “Demand is increasing again, with new reactors coming online.”
Production hasn’t kept pace due to years of underinvestment in mining and exploration, said Melbye, whose company is reopening mines in Wyoming and Texas that were idled in 2018.
Energy Fuels Inc. initiated plans late last year to restart operations in Arizona, Utah and Colorado, while Ur-Energy Inc. said it will dust off an idled mine in Wyoming. Mid-sized companies in Australia and Canada have announced similar plans.
To be sure, production from these mines — most of which are small and nearing the end of their lives — would comprise a small fraction of the world’s uranium supply.
“The industry is clearly trying to respond with smaller mines reopening, but when you have a mine that hasn’t operated for that long, it’s obviously not very substantive,” said John Ciampagli, Chief Executive Officer of Sprott Asset Management, which operates the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust.
Top Producers
Supply constraints should ease with top producers churning out the millions of pounds of uranium they left in the ground when prices were low. Kazatomprom has been increasing output after years of operating well below its capacity.
Cameco has been ramping up production at the world’s largest high-grade uranium mine and mill — MacArthur River and Key Lake in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan — after idling operations between 2018 and 2021 due to weak market conditions.
The two firms “will be very concerned about losing their market share to a bunch of juniors, and so they’ll want to claim that back,” said Tom Price, a senior commodities analyst at London-based investment bank Libereum. “That will take a lot of heat out of the market.”
Still, US mine reopenings mark a revival for an American industry that was at risk of disappearing only five years ago. American uranium production hit an all-time low of 174,000 pounds in 2019 — a drop from its 44-million-pound peak in 1980 — as the US started increasing dependence on imports from countries like Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan and Russia.
Read More: The Long Arm of Russia and the Politics of Uranium
The US industry’s push is also political, with the government seeking to secure access to supply amid geopolitical uncertainty. Sanctions on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine have posed challenges for uranium shipments en route from Kazakhstan, since the former Soviet state’s exports typically pass through Russian ports.
To keep up with demand, the Uranium Producers of America forecasts the US will need eight to 10 new, major mines to start production over the next decade.
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:
There are 6 categories, including a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives, as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links in each category about the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
- All Things Nuclear
- Nuclear Power
- Nuclear War
- Nuclear Power Emergencies
- Nuclear War Threats
- Yellowstone Caldera (There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in tonight’s Post.)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (per above). If a category heading does not appear, it means there was no news reported from this category today. There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available tonight.
(A reminder, just in case: When linked, the access to the media story will be underlined. If there is no link to a media story of interest you can still copy and paste the headline and lead line into your browser to find the article you are seeking. Hopefully this will never happen.)
TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS (03/04/2024):
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Opinion | Nuclear War: The Rising Risk, and How We Stop It – The New York Times
The New York Times
Nearly everything flammable below ignites: wood, plastics, oil. Small animals burst into flame, then turn to ash. Ruptured gas and downed electricity …
Opinion | Select Sources From ‘The Brink,’ on the Risk of Nuclear War – The New York Times
The New York Times
One of the things that concern scientists the most about the prospect of nuclear … See all newsletters. Podcasts. Book Review Logo. Book Review. The …
Uranium Firms Revive Forgotten Mines as Price of Nuclear Fuel Soars – Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance
… nuclear fuel.Most Read from BloombergNvidia Becomes Tesla’s Successor as … JAY-Z’s 3 Siblings: All About Eric, Andrea and Michelle. 26 minutes ago.
Nuclear Power
NEWS
Is nuclear power a fix for climate change? Experts think it’s too dangerous | Salon.com
Salon.com
Nuclear energy is definitely “cleaner” than fossil fuels in terms of carbon emissions, but most experts Salon contacted were skeptical that it can …
Federal money could supercharge state efforts to preserve nuclear power – Daily Montanan
Daily Montanan
More states and the federal government are reconsidering nuclear power plants as a way to build up the nation’s need for more electricity.
EU countries split over support for nuclear energy | Reuters
Reuters
European Union member states showed their divisions on nuclear energy policy on Monday, with one camp led by France promoting the technology and …
Nuclear War
NEWS
Opinion | Nuclear War: The Rising Risk, and How We Stop It – The New York Times
The New York Times
If it seems alarmist to anticipate the horrifying aftermath of a nuclear attack, consider this: The United States and Ukraine governments have …
Opinion | At the Brink: Confronting the Risk of Nuclear War – The New York Times
The New York Times
The threat of nuclear war has dangled over humankind for much too long. We have survived so far through luck and brinkmanship.
Why is Putin again threatening a nuclear war? – Lowy Institute
Lowy Institute
Echoing his rhetoric from the start of the conflict, Putin threatened to use nuclear weapons should there be any escalation in Western support for …
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Opinion | Nuclear War: The Rising Risk, and How We Stop It – The New York Times
The New York Times
Moscow has made implicit and explicit nuclear threats throughout the war to scare off Western intervention. … modern nuclear threat. Listen to an …
Why is Putin again threatening a nuclear war? – Lowy Institute
Lowy Institute
Echoing his rhetoric from the start of the conflict, Putin threatened to use nuclear weapons should there be any escalation in Western support for …
New York Times Opinion Announces a New Series on Nuclear Threats
The New York Times Company
New York Times Opinion Announces a New Series on Nuclear Threats. At … The threat of nuclear war has dangled over humankind for nearly eight decades.