The board of directors of Orano has approved an investment of some EUR1.7 billion (USD1.8 billion) to raise the production capacity of the Georges Besse II (GB-II) uranium enrichment plant at the Tricastin site in southern France by more than 30%. The project consists of building a further four modules identical to the 14 existing …
French President Emmanuel Macron and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh in Paris, October 12, 2023. Photo credit: Reuters The ink is barely dry on a landmark French-Mongolian uranium mining deal. After over 20 years of exploratory work in the Gobi desert, France’s state-owned Orano has secured rights to begin commercial production around 2028 at the Zuuvch …
he US State Department on Tuesday officially classified the events in Niger at the end of July as a ‘coup d’etat’. This designation has placed a temporary hold on US development bank financing for the Dasa project. In a response, Toronto-listed Global Atomic has acknowledged that, although it has sufficient cash reserves to cover its operations for the …
Rolls-Royce SMR has awarded a contract to Westinghouse for the development of a fuel design for its small modular reactor (SMR). Meanwhile, it has partnered with the UK’s National Physical Laboratory to investigate safe automated reactor operation for SMRs. Westinghouse Electric Company UK Ltd is to develop a fuel design for the Rolls-Royce SMR. The …
Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh on Tuesday begins a visit to France where he will discuss uranium mining and sign deals on energy and telecommunications, the Mongolian government said in a statement. The visit, which will last until Saturday, follows a trip to Mongolia by French President Emmanuel Macron in May, during which the two countries …
The TRITON11® fuel assembly is Westinghouse’s optimized and robust BWR fuel design, offering unmatched fuel cycle economic and performance benefits. Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a contract to deliver advanced fuel to one of the largest Boiling Water Reactor utilities in the U.S. This milestone marks the re-entry of Westinghouse into America’s BWR fuel market …
Conflicts and resurgent demand combine to radioactive effect When russia invaded Ukraine, panic gripped Europe’s nuclear experts—the civilian variety, that is. Ukraine, where 15 reactors relied on Russia for their uranium, rushed to sign an unusually long 12-year deal with Canada. European utilities, also reliant on Russia, drew the maximum they could under other contracts. Most …
Many of the new nuclear reactors under development are designed to run on uranium at enrichments as high as 15%-19.75%, known as high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), rather than traditional Light Water Reactor (LWR) technology, which typically uses uranium enriched to 3%-5%. The only commercial source of HALEU, however, is Russia. The invasion of Ukraine, and Russia’s …
Uranium prices are likely to extend a blistering rally and end the year more than 50% higher as mounting worries over climate change accelerate a global shift to cleaner sources of energy including nuclear power, analysts said. Uranium spot prices are expected to climb to $75-$80 a pound by end-December, in a fitting finish to …
Atomic power plants are in vogue again, sending prices higher for the radioactive element A renaissance for the nuclear-power industry has run into a problem: Prices have soared for the radioactive uranium required to fuel reactors in the decades ahead. New reactors have connected to the grid in the U.S., Asia and Europe, while the lifetime of existing …