- Write by:
-
Monday, December 16, 2019 - 10:12:38 AM
-
600 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - Australia’s Parliament presented this week a report that outlines a series of measures to take into consideration if the country wants to move forward with the development of nuclear energy.
According to Mining News Pro - The report, which arose from a legislative committee’s inquiry into the matter, states that it is important for the island nation to consider the prospect of nuclear technology as part of its future energy mix and that to do so, relevant institutions would have to undertake a body of work to progress the understanding of nuclear technology in the Australian context.
Such an understanding -the report states- should lead authorities to consider lifting the current moratorium on nuclear energy partially -that is, for new and emerging nuclear technologies only, and conditionally-, subject to the results of a technology assessment and a commitment to community consent for approving nuclear facilities.
According to the document, most of this work should be undertaken by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation ANSTO, whose experts should also advise the federal government on the feasibility and suitability of installing Generation III+ and Generation IV reactors, including small modular reactors, as well as on the formulation of a framework to monitor the status of new and emerging nuclear technologies.
“The report identifies a clear pathway for Australia to properly consider nuclear energy by addressing knowledge gaps in Australia about this important energy source. Importantly, it acknowledges the critical role for community engagement on what is a contentious policy and political issue,” said Tania Constable, CEO of the Minerals Council of Australia, in a media statement.
In Constable’s view, her country should take advantage of nuclear energy by moving into small modular reactors as a potential replacement for retiring coal baseload plants.
“Not only are they capable of complementing intermittent power sources, they can safely meet large-scale industrial demand for affordable and reliable power,” the executive said. “More broadly, the current ban means Australia -with the world’s largest deposits of uranium- is missing out on a potential industry which could employ tens of thousands of Australians.”
Despite the controversy around nuclear energy, earlier this year, the federal government gave the go-ahead to Cameco’s (TSX:CCO, NYSE:CCJ) vast Yeelirrie uranium project, considered one of the country’s biggest undeveloped uranium deposits in the midwest region of Western Australia. The Canadian miner, however, has said it is in no rush to develop it.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/458786
Australian miner Lynas posted a slump in third-quarter sales revenue on Wednesday, missing analyst expectations on the ...
Australia’s Fortescue on Wednesday logged a larger-than-expected decline in third-quarter iron ore shipments, following ...
Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it is teaming up with a global venture studio and start-up investor to back the development ...
Australian space exploration company Fleet Space Technologies has successfully deployed its next-generation Centauri-6 ...
Chinese coal prices are likely to keep falling until the start of the peak summer season, suppressing imports of the ...
Vista Gold has released an updated feasibility study for its Mt Todd gold project in Northern Territory, Australia, to ...
Alcoa will buy Alumina in an all-stock deal that values the Australian firm at $2.2 billion, and makes the US company ...
Canada and Australia have agreed to promote shared priorities related to the extraction, processing, and refining of ...
Australia’s Syrah Resources said on Friday it will supply natural graphite product from its Balama graphite operations ...
No comments have been posted yet ...