The Department of Industry, Science, and Resources (DISR) has revealed that there has been a significant increase in Australia’s uranium exports due to growing global demand for nuclear energy.
Mark Weaver, general manager at the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency, a part of the DISR, said the growth began in 2020.
“In [the] 2022-23 financial year, Australia exported 4,809 tonnes of uranium valued at $812 million (US$538 million),” he said at an inquiry into nuclear power generation on Oct. 24.
“In 2023-24, exports increased to 5,883 tonnes of uranium valued at $1.2 billion. That represented a 47.8 increase in value between those two years.”
In addition, the general manager said export values were projected to reach $1.3 billion in 2024-25 and $1.5 billion in 2025-26.
Weaver also stated that the upward trend was driven by increased global demand for uranium used to produce nuclear energy.
“Some of that is due to a ramp-up of production … but also driven by higher global prices,” he said.
“It’s good news for the uranium export miners at the moment.”
While Australia exports uranium to the United States, France, and Canada to generate nuclear energy or power research reactors, he noted that those three countries were not necessarily the final destination.
According to the DISR’s representative, Australia currently has the world’s largest uranium reserve (32 percent).
DISR Says It’s Safe to Store Nuclear Waste
In response to questions about how Australia would deal with nuclear waste if the country pursued a nuclear power strategy, given that Australia did not have a waste processing facility, Weaver explained that waste could be stored on-site or near where it was produced, based on international practices.“My understanding is waste is stored and managed safely internationally,” he said.
He also noted Australia had a track record in safely managing nuclear waste.
Despite lacking a nuclear power plant, Australia still has a single reactor, OPAL, in Lucas Heights, Sydney, which is used for medicine production, scientific research, and other industrial purposes.
Regarding the prospect of building a facility that could dispose of high-level waste, including used fuel rods, Weaver said it could take Australia decades to do so.
“It is important with any policy or plans like this to be planning for disposal at the outset, even though that may take decades to realise,” he said.
Weaver’s remarks come as the Opposition reveals an ambitious plan to include nuclear power in the energy mix if it wins the next election, in contrast to the Labor government’s plan of going all out with renewable energy.
