A top uranium mining company in Namibia says the country will soon supply 10 percent of the world's demand.
Rossing Uranium, a Namibia-based subsidiary of the Rio Tinto Group, which has headquarters in London and Melbourne, Australia, says Namibia will be able to supply a growing global demand for nuclear fuel as well as potential nuclear plants in Namibia.
AllAfrica.com reports Namibian Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina was told during a recent tour of the Langer Heinrich Uranium Mine that it produced 3,711 tons of uranium oxide in 2005. The company intends to boost Namibia's share of global production to 10 percent by 2012.
The company says the mine will comply with national and international anti-proliferation regulations. Namibia has signed the nuclear nonproliferation treaty and thus will not sell any uranium to countries who have not signed it.
The price for uranium has skyrocketed in the past decade from $10 a pound to more than $80 a pound, making the increase in mining particularly economical now.
There are 30 nuclear plants being built or in the planning stages around the world now, which will greatly increase the demand for the fuel. Namibia faces a power crunch. It gets more than half from South Africa, though that will decrease as the country also faces increased demand. Namibia is looking at nuclear power to provide electricity.
source news : upi.com
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