The CEO of a uranium company has said Australia is missing out on the global trend of nuclear expansion due to its blanket ban on the technology.
Duncan Craib, managing director and CEO of Boss Energy, which owns and operates the Honeymoon uranium mine in South Australia, shared his concerns during a recent inquiry into nuclear power.
He argued that the ban is preventing the country from tapping into significant growth opportunities in energy.
“We have some of the world’s largest known uranium reserves, yet mining is prohibited in certain states. We also prohibit fuel cycle activities to add value to that uranium,” he told the Select Committee on Nuclear Energy.
“We are missing out on growing and supporting an industrial base in this country with clean and reliable energy.
“We are missing out on creating employment and new jobs, not only in nuclear, but in the uranium mining industry, and transitioning away from fossil fuels.”
The CEO expressed disappointment that the nuclear ban in Australia was not supported by scientific, technical, or economic reasoning.
At the same time, he noted that affordable power was the lifeblood of any economy, and Australia’s economy was draining away by prohibiting nuclear power.
“Without affordable power supplies, nothing works, manufacturing stops, transport stops, services stop, or all become so expensive that wages can’t afford them,” he said.
“That leads to higher inflation and economic death as Argentina, Chile, Africa, Eastern Europe, and many other countries have unravelled.
“It’s time for Australia to open its eyes and take a deep dive into nuclear power to compete with other technologies to produce cleaner, affordable, and reliable electricity.”
Rising Global Demand for Uranium
The CEO said global uranium prices were staying at high levels.He explained that the term price for uranium was currently around US$83 ($133) a pound–the highest it had ever been at the start of a new price cycle.
In comparison, the price was around US$18-19 a pound eight years ago.
“Prices are rising, which is terrific for a new mining operation such as ourselves going into production,” he said.
“Australia contributes just 7 percent of [global] uranium demand, yet we within Australia have about a third of the world’s natural resources of uranium, so there’s [an] enormous capacity to increase our production levels.
“Unfortunately, the states of Western Australia and Queensland currently prohibit uranium mining, but those states both hold significant reserves. So, the opportunity there is immense for new global growth.”
Craib said the reason for the high prices of uranium was a structural deficit between demand and supply.
According to the CEO, the uranium inventories of many nuclear power stations worldwide were running low, and they needed to acquire new stock to maintain the operation of those stations.
Global Trend of Nuclear Expansion
Craib also highlighted a trend of expanding nuclear power generation among many countries around the world.He gave the example of France, which had a power grid comprising 70 percent nuclear.
“France intends to build as many as 14 new reactors by 2050 and as a consequence, that country has amongst the lowest emissions per kilowatt hour in the industrialized world,” Craib said.
Other major economies also have a similar expansion plan.
“Russia plans for 11 more reactors by 2030 and aims to have up to 50 percent of its energy from nuclear in 2050 to lower its emissions,” Craib said.
“China is planning to significantly increase its power output to 150 gigawatts by 2030, which surpasses both the US and France combined.
“Finland has just brought on a new nuclear plant [and] in Saudi Arabia, they’re looking at nuclear power. So worldwide, there’s a significant amount of growth in nuclear power.”
