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2018-09-12 11:40:00

FRANCE'S URANIUM: 60,000 TONNES

FRANCE'S URANIUM: 60,000 TONNES

REUTERSFrench nuclear group Orano on Monday inaugurated a 1.15 billion euro (1.02 billion pounds)uranium conversion plant despite huge global overcapacity for nuclear reactor fuel. 

State-owned Orano's new plant in Tricastin, southern France, will account for a quarter of the world's 60,000-tonne annual uranium hexafluoride (UF6) production capacity when it fully ramps up in 2021 and is set to have the industry's lowest costs, the company said.

UF6, produced by combining "yellowcake" uranium ore concentrate with fluorine, is a precursor of enriched uranium, which fuels the world's nuclear plants.

Following the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, uranium prices are near decade lows as several countries reduced their reliance on nuclear energy.

In November 2017, Honeywell International Inc (HON.N) suspended UF6 production at its 15,000-tonne capacity Metropolis, Illinois plant, the only such conversion plant in the United States.

Orano, formerly called Areva, in December 2017 also halted production at its aging 15,000 ton/year capacity Comurhex conversion plant in Tricastin, and will serve utilities from its stockpiles until the new plant comes online and global overcapacity subsides.

From 2019, Orano's new conversion facility - to be called the Philippe Coste plant - will have capacity of 7,500 tonnes and output of about 5,000 tonnes. When construction is completed early 2021, it will reach full capacity of 15,000 tonnes.

Orano Chief Executive Philippe Knoche told reporters that the new plant's order book was full for the next 10 years, but added that profitability would remain challenging at current conversion rates.

Following the plant closures, those rates have doubled to about $10 per kilogram over the past year, but are still too low for the industry's long-term profitability.

Knoche said French utility EDF (EDF.PA) had committed to buy about one third of the new plant's output, while the rest would be sold mainly under long-term contracts to about 70 utilities in the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and several European countries. Ten to 20 percent of the plant's output will be sold under short-term contracts of less than three years.

The uranium will come from Areva and other companies' mines in Niger, Kazakhstan, Canada, South Africa and Namibia.

Orano board Chairman Philippe Varin said the firm's new conversion plant had been under development for 10 years and that Orano upgraded it as part of the modernization of its fuel facilities.

"This new facility is a long-term commitment," he said.

Orano and Canada's Cameco Corp (CCO.TO) each have about a quarter of global uranium conversion capacity, with Russia's Rosatom a bit more and China's CNNC a bit less than a quarter each, according to industry expert estimates.

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Earlier:

 Nuclear
2018, July, 6, 11:20:00

FRENCH NUCLEAR SAFETY

FT - A French government commission has called for improvements in the safety of the country’s nuclear power plants, including their ability to withstand terrorist attack, putting further pressure on state-backed power utility EDF.

 

 Nuclear
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.”

 Nuclear
2018, June, 29, 10:30:00

URANIUM IS IMPORTANT

WNN - For the foreseeable future, most new nuclear power technologies will still run, wholly or partially, on uranium, so it is important that this vital resource is mined, produced and managed sustainably, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano said this week. It is also essential to take full account of environmental concerns, "both to ensure public acceptance today and to avoid troubling legacy issues in the future", he added.

 

 Nuclear
2018, June, 29, 10:15:00

RUSSIA - FRANCE NUCLEAR COOPERATION

ROSATOM - ROSATOM and the French EDF Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Development of Innovative Cooperation at the World Nuclear Exhibition 2018 (WNE). The document was signed by Alexey Likhachev, General Director of ROSATOM and Jean-Bernard L?vy, Chairman and CEO of EDF Group.

 Nuclear
2018, May, 30, 13:40:00

RUSSIA - FRANCE NUCLEAR PARTNERSHIP

ROSATOM - ROSATOM and French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission signed the strategic document on French-Russian partnership in the peaceful uses of atomic energy.

 Nuclear
2018, April, 30, 10:05:00

U.S. - FRANCE NUCLEAR COOPERATION

WNN - A statement of intent to strengthen cooperation on fast neutron sodium-cooled reactors has been signed between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). The partners have also a statement of intent to begin cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence.

 Nuclear
2018, March, 28, 10:40:00

FRANCE'S NUCLEAR SECURITY

WNN - France has demonstrated a strong commitment to nuclear security, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Vienna-based agency carried out a two-week International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) follow-up mission at the French government's request.

 

Tags: FRANCE, NUCLEAR, URANIUM