http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/31687/story.htm
Australia Looks to China to Double Uranium Exports
AUSTRALIA: July 18, 2005
SYDNEY - Australia wants to double its uranium exports if it can
reach a safety agreement with China, which is increasingly turning to
nuclear power generation, a senior government minister said on Friday.
Australia, which has about 40 percent of the world's uranium but only
mines a fraction of the metal, restricts exports to 36 countries that
have signed bilateral nuclear safeguards that ensure the uranium is
not used to build weapons, Ian Macfarlane, resources minister told
reporters.
"We're confident we can conclude those discussions and negotiations
with China in the next 12 months and on that basis, you could see a
huge market open up," Macfarlane said.
"China has the potential to absorb all our current exports, so you'd
see exports double in Australia if we were able to get a good share
of uranium exports into China."
Australia exported 7,765 tonnes of uranium in 2004 worth more than
A$410 million ($308 million).
"It'll be late this decade that we see this become an option," Macfarlane said.
Private companies in Australia operate three uranium mines, which are
owned by BHP Billiton Ltd./Plc, Rio Tinto Ltd./Plc and General
Atomics of the United States.
But China is not the only country looking to Australia for uranium.
Energy-hungry Chile wants to develop its own nuclear power industry
to meet future needs, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos said at the end
of a trade visit on Friday.
"I know this is a sensitive subject but in the area of energy it is
necessary," Lagos said.
The Latin American country of about 15 million people relies on
hydro-power for about 70 percent of its energy needs.
Uranium prices have more than doubled, in step with higher oil
prices, as nuclear energy emerges as an alternative energy source to
fossil fuels.
Lagos said Chile will need to double its power requirements over the
next eight years if it is to keep pace with economic growth
projections.
Australia is the world's number two exporter of uranium after Canada.
BHP Billiton's one lode alone holds about a third of the world's
known reserves.
A new generation of safer nuclear power plants and high oil prices is
improving the outlook for uranium miners after years of depressed
conditions as nuclear energy wallowed as an environmental pariah.
($US1=A$1.33)
(Additional reporting by James Regan)
Story by Tom Sturrock
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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