Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Uranium shortage predicted by 2016


The world produced 118 million pounds of uranium in 2010 but consumed 190 million pounds. The deficit is made up from Cold War era supplies and conversion of Soviet nuclear weapons. But according to story on Mineweb.com, Thomas Drolet, the president of Drolet & Associates Energy Services, predicted during a presentation at Cambridge House's Vancouver Resource Investment conference, that a uranium shortage will hit the world by 2016. He assumes that at least 30 of Japan's 50 idled nuclear reactors will be brought back on line to meet power demands.

Mineweb says the supply crunch is widely expected to begin by next year. [Right, uranium ore. Credit, USGS]

Arizona is increasingly recognized by the mining industry as having some of the richest deposits in the nation, hosted in hundreds or even thousands of breccia pipes across the northern part of the state. The recent 20 year ban on exploration and mining imposed by the Secretary of Interior on a million acres of federal lands took out some of the highest concentrations of breccia pipes in the region. However, Tucson-based Liberty Star Uranium noted in a letter to investors that the federal ban could increase the value of remaining uranium properties in the region by further restricting supply.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:09 PM

    who cares war is detroying the earth, killing man kind uranium creats atomic boms. It destroyes the earth it consums peaple to dying and living it makes peaple sad for lost ones it, it loses hope for peace through out the world.So I dont really care so i hope the hole entire world loses uranium so the world is safe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:08 PM

      Reduce the bombs - burn it up now!

      Delete
  2. Anonymous11:51 AM

    My reply is to "anonymous." Apparently his knowledge of uranium is only surpassed by his general skills with grammar and spelling. Uranium is used in nuclear power plants along with minor uses in medicine. Nuclear power plants have no carbon emissions. A great majority of uranium produced in the United States at this time is through a technology known at In Situ Recovery (ISR), which is a closed system that dissolves the uranium in the ground and transports it to the surface where the uranium is removed, and the water is recycled. None of that uranium is used for weapons. In fact nuclear weapons are being dismantled, the uranium is being diluted from weapons-grade to fuel-grade, and it is being used in nuclear power plants. So to say that "killing man kind uranium creats atomic boms" is merely absurd.

    ReplyDelete