France’s Orano selects Tennessee site to build uranium enrichment plant

France’s state-owned nuclear fuel company Orano has selected Oak Ridge, Tennessee as a preferred site to build a multi-billion dollar U.S. uranium enrichment plant, Tennessee and Orano officials said on Wednesday. The move comes months after the administration of President Joe Biden signed legislation meant to eventually end dependence on Russia, the world’s top supplier …

Radioactive Leak Threat in Russia as Flood Heads for Uranium Mines

Russian environmentalists are sounding the alarm about a radioactive leak threat as floodwaters approach a uranium mine in the region of Kurgan in Russia’s Urals mountains. The Russian Urals region and neighboring northern Kazakhstan have suffered the worst flooding in 80 years amid heavy rainfall exacerbated by large snowfalls, which are melting rapidly as a …

At COP28, U.S., Canada, France, Japan, and UK Announce Plans to Mobilize $4.2 Billion for Reliable Global Nuclear Energy Supply Chain

Leaders from the United States, Canada, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom today announced plans to mobilize $4.2 billion in government-led investments to develop a secure, reliable global nuclear energy supply chain. These investments will enhance uranium enrichment and conversion capacity over the next three years and establish a resilient global uranium supply market free …

Russian Uranium Import Ban Teed Up for US House Floor Vote

Legislation that would bar the import of enriched Russian uranium into the US has been teed up for a vote in the US House of Representatives. The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, by Washington Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, has been scheduled for consideration next week under an expedited procedure that requires two-thirds majority to pass, …

Urenco agrees supply deal with Energoatom to 2035

The contract will see Urenco continuing to supply Ukraine’s Energoatom with enriched uranium until 2035, with an option to extend the contract to 2043.  The contract was signed by Energoatom President Petro Kotin (pictured above, centre) and Urenco CEO Boris Schucht (third from the right) during the World Nuclear Exhibition 2023 in Paris. Urenco, a UK-Dutch-German company, …

Kazakh-French Joint Venture to Commence Uranium Mining at South Tortkuduk at Year-End

KATCO, a joint venture of the French Orano Mining and Kazatomprom national atomic company, will start mining uranium at Kazakhstan’s South Tortkuduk site at the end of 2023, Trend.az reported on Nov. 12, citing a source at Orano multinational nuclear fuel cycle company. As the world’s largest uranium producer, Kazakhstan hosts Orano through KATCO, established in …

Orano to expand capacity of French enrichment plant

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 …

What Can Investors Learn From the French-Mongolian Uranium Mining Deal

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 …