IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency Seminar on Governance of Uranium Production Activities Copenhagen, Denmark 27-28 May 2014 Background to mining and concentrating uranium ore Peter Woods Team Leader, Raw Materials and Resources Subprogramme International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section
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IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency Seminar on Governance of Uranium Production Activities Copenhagen, Denmark 27-28 May 2014 Background to mining.
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IAEAInternational Atomic Energy Agency
Seminar on Governance of Uranium Production ActivitiesCopenhagen, Denmark
27-28 May 2014
Background to mining and concentrating uranium ore
Peter Woods Team Leader, Raw Materials and Resources Subprogramme
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, AustriaNuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section
IAEA
Uranium Production Cycle
• The Uranium Production Cycle (UPC) comprises all the activities involved in the production of natural uranium for use as fuel in nuclear energy production and similar applications.
• Simply described, it includes uranium exploration, feasibility studies, development of production facilities, mining and processing, decommissioning and remediation. Management of associated environmental issues is an integral part of the whole cycle.
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The nuclear fuel cycle and the UPC
P. Woods - U general talk, Copenhagen Seminar May 20143
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Uranium Production Cycle
Re-use of land
Prospecting
Rehabilitation/ Remediation
Exploration
Decommissioning Feasibility
Transport Development
Processing & Production
Mining
Stewardship
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Types of uranium deposits
• 15 Geological Types of Uranium Deposits* have been identified – some of the main ones of interest are:• Sandstone deposits (all over the word)
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Uranium Producing Countries
During the past 50 years commercially viable deposits of uranium have been extensively exploited in the following countries :
Kazakhstan (1) Canada (2) Australia (3) Niger (4)
Namibia (5) Uzbekistan (6) Russia (7) USA Ukraine China
South Africa Brazil India Czech Republic Romania Pakistan
Germany Madagascar Argentina France Portugal Gabon
Spain DR Congo Bulgaria Hungary Former East Germany
( ) indicates position in world production 2012
Many other smaller mines operated that were strategic, not economic
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2009 - 2012 Uranium Production (t U)
2012 production as U 58 394 tonnes
All data from World Nuclear Association
World Production (tonnes U)
Country 2009 2010 2011 2012
Kazakhstan 14 020 17 803 19 451 21 317
Canada 10 173 9783 9145 8999
Australia 7982 5889 5983 6991
Namibia 4626 4496 3258 4495
Russia (est.) 3564 3562 2993 2872
Niger 3243 4198 4351 4667
Uzbekistan (est.) 2429 2400 3000 3000
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The road to uranium production
• Uranium is where you find it
• Suitable policies and legal/regulatory arrangements need to developed, if not already established
• Social, regulatory, environmental, safety and security aspects should be considered at all stages of a project, from pre-exploration to development and eventual closure
• Financial aspects must also considered; no-one wants a company to go bankrupt part-way through a project
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First steps
• Desktop studies• Examination of regional data, government
reports, old exploration reports
• Non-invasive exploration methods• e.g. remote sensing data, aerial/satellite