'Uranium Resources Sufficient For Long Into Future', Says New Red Book
Written by NucNet
Tuesday, 03 June 2008
3 Jun (NucNet): There is enough uranium known to exist to fuel the
world's fleet of nuclear reactors at current consumption rates for at
least a century, according to the latest edition of the world reference
on uranium published today, the so-called 'Red Book'.
The Red Book, officially titled 'Uranium 2007: Resources, Production and Demand', estimates the identified amount of conventional uranium resources which can be mined for less than 130 US dollars (USD) (85 euro) per kilogramme to be about 5.5 million tonnes, up from the 4.7 million tonnes reported in 2005.
Jointly prepared by the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Red Book says undiscovered resources (uranium deposits that can be expected to be found based on the geological characteristics of already discovered resources) have also risen to 10.5 million tonnes. This is an increase of 0.5 million tonnes compared to the previous edition of the report. The increases are due to both new discoveries and re-evaluations of known resources, encouraged by higher prices.
According to the Red Book, world nuclear energy capacity is expected to grow from 372 gigawatts electric (GWe) in 2007 to between 509 GWe and 663 GWe by 2030. "To fuel this expansion, annual uranium requirements are anticipated to rise to between 94,000 tonnes and 122,000 tonnes, based on the type of reactors in use today," the publication said.
The 2007 edition of the Red Book is based on official information from 40 countries and one country report prepared by the IAEA secretariat. The 2007 edition includes statistics on uranium resources, exploration, production and demand as well as projected requirements up to 2030.
The Red Book (ISBN number 978-92-64-04766-2) can be ordered on line from the OECD (www.oecd.org/bookshop).
Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
World's Uranium Resources 'More Than Adequate' For Growth Of Nuclear Energy (News No. 115, 1 June 2006)
