Primary and Secondary Sources [PDF]
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Primary and secondary sources in Global Nuclear Fuel Supply; focus on Uranium Georges CAPUS AREVA VP Front-End Marketing Seminar on Global Nuclear Fuel Supply Permanent Mission of Japan to the IAEA VIC January 26, 2009 Contents 1. Projected nuclear reactor fleet; from fuel demand to uranium demand scenarios and uncertainty 2. Supplying the uranium demand 1. Primary and secondary sources 2. Primary uranium outlook 1. Countries and security of supply 2. Types of mines and potential cost trend 3. Producers 3. Secondary sources 1. uranium stocks 2. Mox and RepU 3. re-enriched tails 4. downblended HEU 3. Balancing Supply and Demand: will future market equilibrium differ from past? 4. Focus on long term Security of Supply 5. Conclusions 3 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 1) Projected nuclear reactor fleet; from fuel demand to uranium demand scenarios and uncertainty X Warning: predicting the future is nonsense, forecasting is risky! X Pros: Global population growth Global economy growth Global warming Energy crisis X Cons: Ongoing financial crisis and impacts Public acceptance, technical and manpower bottlenecks… X We, at AREVA, are confident many new reactors will be added in the coming decade, significantly helping at limiting CO2 emissions ( we are still expecting around 635 GWe by 2030 and working at turning it into reality…) 4 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 Projected nuclear reactor fleet; from fuel demand to uranium demand scenarios and uncertainty Key parameters and sources of uncertainty in U demand forecast X Short term: the fleet is slowly evolving 1) availability of major secondary sources (mostly U market insensitive) 2) NPPs availability factor and load factor (mostly bound to technical issues or natural events, thus highly unpredictable) 3) Enrichment tails assays (Uranium feed v.s. enrichment market situation) X Long term: all is possible but forecasting the future is difficult 1) Top 1 parameter = projection of installed nuclear capacity 2) Top 2 parameter = composition of future fleet ; LWR and related generation shares, HWR, FBR… Second order parameters z Enrichment tails assays z Recycling and substitutes (Mox, RepU, Th fuels?) z Load factors 5 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 Projected nuclear reactor fleet; installed GWe scenarios and uncertainty X After 20 years; a rapidly widening range of uncertainty Under the high scenario, the nuclear share of global electricity production would rise from 16% today to 22% in 2050 1500 NEA2008 high 1250 1000 2009 to 750 2029 1973 OECD Net GWe scenarios WNA-2007 500 WW NEA2008 low 250 Existing capacity 0 2040 2050 2015 2005 2010 2020 2025 2030 2035 2045 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 From OECD-NEA Nuclear Energy Outlook 2008 6 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 Projected nuclear reactor fleet; from GWe to uranium demand scenario X A simplified calculation assuming a steady yearly consumption of 168 tU per installed GWe (current fleet consumption of 62 ktU) 250 NEA2008 high 200 150 2009 to 2029 1973 OECD NatU kt 100 scenarios WNA-2007 WW NEA2008 low 50 Existing capacity Maxi past U prod 68 ktU in 1980 0 2040 2050 2015 2005 2010 2020 2025 2030 2035 2045 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 From OECD-NEA Nuclear Energy Outlook 2008 7 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 Will it be – easy, possible, difficult – impossible to fuel the projected nuclear reactor fleet? X Say up to 150 ktU /y, the resources in the ground are there, the projects are identified… So, what is needed? X Adequate market signal (durably “sufficiently high” NatU prices)! 250 NEA2008 high 200 RB2007_Existing + committed + planned + prospective 150 Mine capacity NatU kt 100 NEA2008 low 50 Actual production RB2007_Existing + committed Maxi past U prod + planned + prospective 68 ktU in 1980 Mine capacity 0 2040 2050 2015 2005 2010 2020 2025 2030 2035 2045 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 From OECD-NEA Nuclear Energy Outlook 2008 8 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 2-1) Supplying the uranium demand; Primary and secondary sources X Definitions: (from WNA Report 2007 p. 116) Secondary supplies may be defined as all materials other than primary production (sometimes also named “already mined uranium” or AMU) Conversely primary sources correspond to “freshly mined uranium” Secondary supply sources include z Inventories - Commercial NatU and LEU inventories - Government & strategic inventories - HEU inventories - … z Use of recycled materials of various types - RepU - MOX from civilian fuel cycle - MOX from excess military stockpiles - NatU equivalent recovered through depleted U re-enrichment - Scraps and other sources 9 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 Global Uranium Secondary Supplies X A large share of total supply X Obviously, most of the secondary sources come from previously stockpiled uranium Commercial stockpiles build-up Secondary supplies Military Primary stockpiles supplies build-up (Mine production) Primary uranium remains From OECD-NEA – IAEA « Red Book » 2007 the dominant supply source 10 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 2-2) Primary uranium outlook Primary uranium outlook 1. Countries and security of supply 2. Types of mines and potential cost trend 3. Producers (possible changes in market and corporate structures …financing… Cooperation among producers, possible impact of the credit crisis.) 11 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 Conventional fissile resources represent more than 200 years* of 2007 world demand CATEGORY of Uranium resources (million tons = Mt) Conventional Identified (deposits) Undiscovered Reasonably 1 Based on direct Inferred Prognosticated Speculative Cost of recovery Assured geological Resources Resources Resources evidence $/kgU Resources 1 2 3 2 Based on indirect geological < 40 1.8 1.2 evidence 2.0 3 Extrapolated 40 to 80 0.8 0.6 4.8 values 80 to 130 0.7 0.3 0.8 > 130 ? ? ? 3.0 Unconventional Subtotal 3.34 2.13 2.8 7.8 General total 5.5 10.5 7 to 22 General total of conventional resources: 16,000 000 t World demand in 2007: less than 70,000 t * Of which Resources: > 200 times 2007 demand about 80 years with a very high + With Gen IV Fast Breeder Reactor, resources are virtually probability unlimited Source: OECD Nuclear Energy Agency & IAEA "Uranium 2007: Resources, Production and Demand" 12 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 Uranium market price & «Identified Resources» X More than all the currently «Identified Resources» (up to 50$/lb in early 2007 $ estimates!) are needed to fuel a sharply growing Nuclear Renaissance X Therefore: what should be an adequate LT price level???? 140 Spot price Identified U Resources 120 in MtU (RB2007) 40$/kgU limit 100 80$/kgU limit 130$/kgU limit ? 80 260$/kgU limit LT_Price 60 US$/lbU3O8 40 5.47 20 4.46 0 2.97 juin-07 juin-05 juin-06 juin-04 juin-03 juin-02 juin-01 déc-07 déc-06 déc-04 déc-03 déc-05 déc-01 déc-00 déc-02 13 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 World Uranium resources*; a widespread energy source potential X Identified uranium resources X Top 10 countries (88%) + 5 next (96%) 15% 10% 8% CANADA RUSSIA 6% 5 3 Ukraine 23% KAZAKHSTAN U.S.A. 10 Uzbekistan 2 Mongolia 6 5% Jordan China others NIGER India 5% 9 8% BRAZIL 5% 7 NAMIBIA AUSTRALIA 8 S.AFRICA 1 4 •Id. Resources recoverable at less than 130$/kgU or 50 $/lbU3O8 Total 5.47 MtU as of 1/01/07 • Source OECD-NEA–IAEA « Red Book 07» 14 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 Uranium: a production mainly coming from politically stable countries X A rather slow ramp-up of global production X A fast increase in Kazakhstan X Almost 60% from top 3 countries 50000 45000 40000 Others 35000 Africa 30000 other CIS tU 25000 Kazakhstan 20000 Australia 15000 Canada 10000 5000 0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008* * preliminary 15 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 World uranium production 2007; countries X Major producing countries likely to remain exporters in the LT… Producing & consuming country 10 Ukraine 9 2% autres 4% 8 USA China 4% 2% Canada 22% 7 Uzbekistan 5% 1 Namibia 6 7% Niger Producing country 5 8% Australia 21% Russia 2 4 9% Kazakhstan 16% Total 2007 = 41 700 tU (108 MlbU3O8) 3 Top 10 = 96% 16 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 World uranium production 2007 (major producers) X The production structure is basically concentrated (oligopoly), however less than other fuel cycle segments X opposite tendencies: + juniors – take over = resulting trend? Russia, Canada, Niger, Others* AREVA partners /Niger Kazakhstan AREVA 3 15% 2% Kazakhstan 5 14% AEP/TVEL CAMECO 1 9% 18% 7 Uzbekistan Canada, USA NAVOÏ MMC 5% RTZ - ERA RTZ-RÖSSING 11% 4 BHP-B ODM 6% 2 KAZATOMPROM 6 8% 12% Namibia Australia Australia Kazakhstan Total 41700 tU Top 10 = 90% * Others <= 1000 tU/an 17 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 Mining and processing methods; current repartition X Main types of X Main types of Mining Methods process for U3O8 recovery 25% Open pit 57% Conventional ore dynamic processing 45% Underground 3% In Situ Leach (ISL or ISR) Conventional ore static 30% processing (Heap leaching) 30% ISL Solution processing Tailings reprocessing -% By-product processing … 10% z Copper- U z Gold- U z Phosphoric acid – U z … • Cost structure differs from one method to another • However the overall costs are not directly linked to mining and processing methods, but instead to a combination of factors including • The average grade • The ore-body depth • The reagents (types and consumption…), extractants… 18 > G. Capus – 2009_01_26 – IAEA VIC _ v0 2-3) Secondary sources X Secondary sources; main categories Uranium stockpiles (commercial, strategic…) Mox and RepU; the recycling source Re-enriched tails; another form of recycling Downblended HEU; from weapon grade U to civil fuel X In the recent years they were contributing to up to 45% to the Market S&D balance X Some are easy to forecast (like Mox or RepU) X Other are much more unpredictable (excess material disposition by Governments) but this is improving… X Finally some are creating some « market addiction » like Russian HEU? 19 > G.