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IAEA-TECDOC-1739 IAEA-TECDOC-1739 IAEA TECDOC SERIES Exploration, Mining, Production, Supply and Demand, Economics and Environmental Issues (URAM-2009) Supply and Demand, Production, Mining, Exploration, Uranium RawFuel Cycle: Material for the Nuclear IAEA-TECDOC-1739 Uranium Raw Material for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Exploration, Mining, Production, Supply and Demand, Economics and Environmental Issues (URAM-2009) Proceedings of an International Symposium Organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Cooperation with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, the Nuclear Energy Institute and the World Nuclear Association held in Vienna, Austria, 22–26 June 2009 International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna ISBN 978–92–0–105014–4 ISSN 1011–4289 @ URANIUM RAW MATERIAL FOR THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE: EXPLORATION, MINING, PRODUCTION, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (URAM-2009) The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN GHANA PAKISTAN ALBANIA GREECE PALAU ALGERIA GUATEMALA PANAMA ANGOLA HAITI PAPUA NEW GUINEA ARGENTINA HOLY SEE PARAGUAY ARMENIA HONDURAS PERU AUSTRALIA HUNGARY PHILIPPINES AUSTRIA ICELAND POLAND AZERBAIJAN INDIA PORTUGAL BAHAMAS INDONESIA QATAR BAHRAIN IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA BANGLADESH IRAQ ROMANIA BELARUS IRELAND RUSSIAN FEDERATION BELGIUM ISRAEL RWANDA BELIZE ITALY SAN MARINO BENIN JAMAICA SAUDI ARABIA BOLIVIA JAPAN SENEGAL BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA JORDAN BOTSWANA KAZAKHSTAN SERBIA BRAZIL KENYA SEYCHELLES BRUNEI DARUSSALAM KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE BULGARIA KUWAIT SINGAPORE BURKINA FASO KYRGYZSTAN SLOVAKIA BURUNDI LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC SLOVENIA CAMBODIA REPUBLIC SOUTH AFRICA CAMEROON LATVIA SPAIN CANADA LEBANON SRI LANKA CENTRAL AFRICAN LESOTHO SUDAN REPUBLIC LIBERIA SWAZILAND CHAD LIBYA SWEDEN CHILE LIECHTENSTEIN SWITZERLAND CHINA LITHUANIA SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC COLOMBIA LUXEMBOURG TAJIKISTAN CONGO MADAGASCAR THAILAND COSTA RICA MALAWI THE FORMER YUGOSLAV CÔTE D’IVOIRE MALAYSIA REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA CROATIA MALI TOGO CUBA MALTA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO CYPRUS MARSHALL ISLANDS TUNISIA CZECH REPUBLIC MAURITANIA TURKEY DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MAURITIUS UGANDA OF THE CONGO MEXICO UKRAINE DENMARK MONACO UNITED ARAB EMIRATES DOMINICA MONGOLIA UNITED KINGDOM OF DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONTENEGRO GREAT BRITAIN AND ECUADOR MOROCCO EGYPT MOZAMBIQUE NORTHERN IRELAND EL SALVADOR MYANMAR UNITED REPUBLIC ERITREA NAMIBIA OF TANZANIA ESTONIA NEPAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ETHIOPIA NETHERLANDS URUGUAY FIJI NEW ZEALAND UZBEKISTAN FINLAND NICARAGUA VENEZUELA FRANCE NIGER VIET NAM GABON NIGERIA YEMEN GEORGIA NORWAY ZAMBIA GERMANY OMAN ZIMBABWE The Agency’s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world’’. IAEA- TECDOC-1739 URANIUM RAW MATERIAL FOR THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE: EXPLORATION, MINING, PRODUCTION, SUPPLY AND DEMAND, ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (URAM-2009) PROCEEDINGS OF AN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY IN COOPERATION WITH THE OECD NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY, THE NUCLEAR ENERGY INSTITUTE AND THE WORLD NUCLEAR ASSOCIATION AND HELD IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA, 22–26 JUNE 2009 INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 2014 COPYRIGHT NOTICE All IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements. Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Enquiries should be addressed to the IAEA Publishing Section at: Marketing and Sales Unit, Publishing Section International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria fax: +43 1 2600 29302 tel.: +43 1 2600 22417 email: [email protected] http://www.iaea.org/books For further information on this publication, please contact: Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria Email: [email protected] © IAEA, 2014 Printed by the IAEA in Austria May 2014 Uranium raw material for the nuclear fuel cycle : exploration, mining, production, supply and demand, economics and environmental issues (URAM-2009) : proceedings of an international symposium. — Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, 2014. p. ; 30 cm. — (IAEA-TECDOC series, ISSN 1011–4289 ; no. 1739) ISBN 978–92–0–105014–4 Includes bibliographical references. 1. Uranium industry — Congresses. 2. Uranium mines and mining — Congresses. 3. Uranium as fuel — Congresses. I. International Atomic Energy Agency. II. Series. IAEAL 14–00903 FOREWORD This IAEA symposium is a third in a series which began in 2000 to discuss issues related to uranium raw materials. The symposia covered all areas of the uranium production cycle — including uranium geology, exploration, mining; milling and refining of uranium concentrates; and safety, environmental, social, training and regulatory issues — and reported on uranium supply and demand, and market scenarios. The first symposium was held in October 2000 — a time of extremely depressed market prices for uranium and of mines being closed — and primarily addressed environmental and safety issues in the uranium production cycle. By the time the second symposium was held in June 2005, the uranium market had started to improve after nearly two decades of depressed activity because of increased demand due to rising expectations for nuclear power expansion. Since then, there has been a dramatic rise in the uranium spot price, which in turn has promoted a significant increase in uranium exploration activities all over the world. The international symposium on Uranium Raw Material for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle (URAM-2009) was held at the IAEA, Vienna, 22–26 June 2009, at a time when nuclear energy was emerging as a viable alternative to meet the ever increasing demand of electricity in a sustainable manner, without degrading the environment. However, the global recession and credit crunch could impact the growth of the uranium industry. Since 2000, the identified uranium resource base has grown by more than 75%, exploration efforts have continued to increase in greenfield as well as brownfield sites, annual uranium production has risen, and the issue of social licensing and uranium stewardship has become increasingly important for public acceptance of the uranium industry. Some 210 delegates from 33 States and four international organizations participated in the symposium. In total, 120 technical papers were presented in the oral and poster sessions, and an exhibition on the uranium production cycle was organized. The topic for the panel discussion was the gaps in the uranium production cycle and the impact of recession. The symposium included technical sessions on: uranium market and economics; social licensing in uranium production cycles; uranium exploration and geology; uranium mining and processing; environmental and regulatory issues; and human resource development. The IAEA acknowledges the contributions of the experts who participated in the pre-symposium consultancy for evaluation and selection of papers for oral and poster sessions and outlining the programme of the symposium. The IAEA is grateful to M. McMurphy, G. Grandey and F. Dahlkhamp for their contributions to the symposium. The IAEA officers responsible for this publication were C. Ganguly, J. Slezak and A. Hanly of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology. EDITORIAL NOTE This publication has been prepared from the original material as submitted by the contributors and has not been edited by the editorial staff of the IAEA. The views expressed remain the responsibility of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the IAEA or its Member States. Neither the IAEA nor its Member States assume any responsibility for consequences which may arise from the use of this publication. This publication does not address questions of responsibility, legal or otherwise, for acts or omissions on the part of any person. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. The IAEA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third party Internet web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. 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