U.S. URANIUM PRODUCTION: 5%

U.S. DC - U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that he has launched an investigation into whether the present quantity and circumstances of uranium ore and product imports into the United States threaten to impair national security. The investigation will canvass the entire uranium sector from the mining industry through enrichment, defense, and industrial consumption.

"Our production of uranium necessary for military and electric power has dropped from 49 percent of our consumption to five percent," said Secretary Ross. "The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security will conduct a thorough, fair, and transparent review to determine whether uranium imports threaten to impair national security."

This decision follows a petition filed by two U.S. uranium mining companies, and comes after consultation with industry stakeholders, members of Congress, the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and other administration partners. This morning, Secretary Ross sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, informing him of the initiation of the investigation.

Key considerations prompting the investigation:

• Uranium powers 99 U.S. commercial nuclear reactors that produce 20 percent of the electricity for the U.S. electric grid, a key element to U.S. critical infrastructure.
• Uranium is a required component of our nuclear arsenal and is used to power the Navy's nuclear fleet of submarines and aircraft carriers.
• U.S. uranium production had been 49 percent of U.S. requirements in 1987. Today, U.S. uranium production has dropped to only five percent of U.S. requirements.
• Three U.S. companies with mining operations have been idled in recent years.
• Two U.S. petitioners, accounting for over half of all uranium mined in the U.S., have laid off over half their workforce over the last two years and operate at roughly nine percent and 13 percent of capacity respectively.
• Shuttered mines would take years to reopen under current environmental permitting regulations.

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Earlier:

2018, July, 4, 12:05:00 THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR POWER IEA - “Nuclear power is continuing to play an important role in electricity security along with other conventional generating technologies,” said IEA Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol in his opening remarks. “Despite this, with current policies there is little prospect for significant growth for nuclear power in developed economies on the horizon – although there are new efforts to spur innovations that could change this picture.”

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2018, June, 20, 12:05:00 U.S. SAFE NUCLEAR FUEL WNN - Framatome's accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) is now being tested in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced. The fuel is being developed through a US Department of Energy programme which aims to commercialise ATF by 2025.

2018, June, 4, 13:20:00 U.S. COAL & NUCLEAR POWER API - A diverse group of energy industry associations including energy efficiency and storage, natural gas, oil, solar and wind issued the following statement condemning the Administration’s draft plan to bail out coal and nuclear plants across the country.

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2018, May, 4, 15:05:00 U.S. NUCLEAR SPACE WNN - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the successful testing of a uranium-fuelled Stirling engine for use in possible future missions to Mars. Testing of the Kilopower reactor - which could be used to provide power to missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond - began at NASA's Nevada National Security Site in November 2017 and was completed in March.