China: future Nuclear power?

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Developing its nuclear activity and uranium enrichment seem to be fashionable nowadays, after Iran, North Korea and other hidden countries, now comes the turn of china. Australia signed a key sales agreement with china with the federal government, and a big barrier of Australia’s uranium industry has been lifted to china. Australia is one of the greatest uranium exporters in the world and has 24 percent of the world’s uranium; it also exports about 11,000 tonnes per year.

 

It is expected the export will launch in a month, since the agreement could be officially implemented by February, mainly no one is going to take advantage of the breakthrough, because Australian mines are full, operators in Australia are tight with contracts of long-term and the three operating mines there are working at full capacity, thus quantities of exports and timing would be a serious matter for commercial negotiation.

 China has to wait; the operation will take some time to develop. However, for BHP to increase production would require the proposed $US5 billion ($A6.3 billion) expansion at its Olympic Dam to get the go-ahead.  The chineese motivation might be developing its own mine of uranium in australia, as it has applied to register a chineese company in the northern australian territory.

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