Some interesting comments on the NRC's permitting processes in this article (published a couple of days ago) - and a little lobbying from Wyoming to speed up the process!
Russia can't export Wyoming uranium Jeremy Fugleberg Star-Tribune | Posted: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 10:38 am
A Russian state-owned firm mining Wyoming uranium can't export what it mines and would need to meet stringent requirements before it could do so, the top U.S. nuclear regulator told Sen. John Barrasso in a letter released Monday.
The written response from Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko came in response to a Barrasso letter to President Barack Obama in December.
The Wyoming Republican expressed "strong concerns" regarding NRC approval in November of the purchase of a controlling stake in Uranium One Inc. by Russian state-owned firm ARMZ that month.
Russia helps with nuclear programs in countries unfriendly to the United States, Barrasso wrote.
Uranium One owns several permits to mine Wyoming uranium and operates processing facilities and mines in Johnson and Campbell counties.
In his response to Barrasso, Jaczko said ARMZ and Uranium One lack the export license needed to ship uranium out of the country.
"In order to export uranium from the United States, Uranium One, Inc. or ARMZ would need to apply for and obtain a specific NRC license authorizing the export of uranium for use in reactor fuel," Jaczko wrote.
If the firm did request permission to export uranium, U.S. law would require Russia to certify the uranium would be used only for peaceful purposes.
The law would also require Russia to suitably protect the nuclear fuel, not transfer it to a third country, and not alter the form without U.S. consent.
If the firm did apply for an export license, that request would be made public, Jackzo wrote.
Uranium One didn't respond to a request for comment Monday. A spokeswoman for Barrasso referred the Star-Tribune to the senator's letter to the president.
In his letter to Obama, Barrasso expressed concern about Russia's "disturbing record of supporting nuclear programs in countries that are openly hostile to the United States," specifically Iran and Venezuela.
"America's national and energy security must be paramount in any future decisions by your administration," Barrasso wrote.
The senator also encouraged the NRC to approve pending uranium mining permits for Wyoming, calling delays "unacceptable."
The NRC expects to receive 16 applications for new or expanding uranium facilities by 2013. Since October 2007, the NRC has received seven facility applications for Wyoming, Jaczko wrote.
Of those, the NRC approved one license, two are nearing completion of their reviews and are expected to obtain licenses this year, two are under review, one was deferred by the applicant, and another was withdrawn.
Wyoming's once-booming uranium industry crashed in the early 1980s after the partial core meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear facility near Harrisburg, Pa., in 1979.
But high prices for uranium and growing need to replace uranium fuel converted from decommissioned Russian nuclear weapons have spurred a new look at Wyoming uranium.
Cameco Resources, which provides half of U.S. uranium production from its facility at its Smith Ranch/Highland mine site in Converse County, is exploring additional mine sites in the state and has announced plans to double production by 2018.
The recent nuclear reactor crisis in Japan crashed uranium mining company stocks and put a damper on a push for additional reactors in a number of countries.
Yet the 104 existing U.S. reactors continue to consume significant quantities of uranium, fueling domestic demand.
Uranium prices sank in the wake of the Japanese incident, but they had soared in recent years, reaching $130 per pound in 2007.
Prices plummeted during the recent recession and again in recent weeks, but are still up significantly from last summer, at $60 a pound from $40. That's up from a low of around $20 per pound in 2005-06.
The increased price and the promise of continuing demand mean uranium exploration and development in Wyoming is unlikely to halt, industry officials say.
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