New ‘Red Book’ Assures Long-Term Availability Of Uranium Resources
Written by NucNet
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Uranium resources, production and demand are all on the rise and total identified resources are sufficient for more than 100 years of supply, according to the latest edition of the world reference on uranium, the so-called ‘Red Book’.
The latest edition of the Red Book, officially titled ‘Uranium 2009: Resources, Production and Demand’, was unveiled yesterday by the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The NEA said uranium resources presented in the latest book, reflecting the situation as of 1 January 2009, show that total identified resources amounted to about 6.3 million tonnes of uranium, an increase of about 15 percent compared to 2007.
“Although total identified resources have increased overall, there has been a significant reduction in lower-cost resources owing to increased mining costs. However, at 2008 rates of consumption, total identified resources are sufficient for over 100 years of supply,” the NEA said.
“While the status of supply and demand is considered from today’s technologies perspective, it should be recognised that the deployment of advanced reactor and fuel cycle technologies can positively affect the long-term availability of uranium and could conceivably extend it to thousands of years,” the agency added.
This is the 23rd edition of the Red Book, which is published by the NEA and IAEA every two years.
A summary is available in English and French on the NEA’s website. The publication (ISBN 978-92-64-04789-1) can be ordered from the OECD’s online bookshop.
