Known and easily accessible uranium deposits across the globe can provide enough fuel for the nuclear power industry for 50 to 65 years, the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
In a report released for the 50th anniversary of the world's first nuclear power plant in Obninsk, Russia, this weekend, the IAEA also said there was plentiful uranium outside of the easily accessible deposits to be exploited.
"Uranium resources - deposits with less geological assurance, beyond current extraction technology or lacking market attractiveness - are at least twice as much."
"Technology advances in exploration and extraction technologies will make them available, if demand for them develops," the IAEA said.
The agency said there are "substantial unconventional resources" in phosphate deposits and seawater, which contain vast amounts of very dilute uranium that could be extracted fuel nuclear energy for millennia once advanced extraction technologies are developed.
The IAEA also pointed out that spent reactor fuel still contains more than 98 percent of its original energy and can be recycled to get at the remaining power potential.
"Taking all factors into account, there are certainly no resource constraints on nuclear power development in the 21st century and, most likely, for a long time thereafter," said Yuri Sokolov, IAEA deputy director General for nuclear energy.
Comments
Comments are closed.