(MENAFN- Jordan Times) The Kingdom's uranium deposits are larger than previously believed, energy officials say, raising expectations for the potential of a Jordanian uranium industry.
According to the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC), ongoing exploration in an 18-square-kilometre plot in the central region has revealed the presence of up to 25,000 metric tonnes of yellowcake: over 10,000 tonnes more than previously forecast.
The Jordan French Uranium Mining Company has upped its projections following a survey of surface layers.
According to the JAEC, surface layers are of higher concentrations and more homogenous than the deeper deposits the firm previously explored.
This has added renewed hope to the feasibility of a planned uranium mine in the central region, the commission said.
"We had roughly underestimated the quality and concentration of uranium on the top layers, and based on this discovery, we need to revise our total numbers," JAEC Commissioner Khaled Toukan told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.
The new estimates are higher than the results of a field survey carried out by the Natural Resources Authority in the 1980s that placed the uranium reserves at some 16,000 tonnes, which Toukan attributed to improved survey technology.
The findings, which Toukan stressed are not the "final number", will be evaluated by independent auditor Coffey Mining through chemical analysis by the end of the month, according to JAEC.
Jordan's uranium reserves have been singled out as a key to the success of the country's peaceful nuclear energy programme, which calls for the construction of up to four 1,000-megawatt reactors to transform the country from an energy importer to an exporter.
Current plans call for the construction of an open-pit mine in the central region by 2013, of which a portion of its production will be reserved for export and fuel for the country's first nuclear reactor, to be built by 2020.
Geologists and anti-nuclear activists have disputed officials' claims of the presence of up to 130,000 tonnes of uranium in the Kingdom, claiming that the country is home to some 14,500 metric tonnes of uranium at an average grade of around 50 grammes - an amount they claim is commercially unviable.
But French firm, AREVA, insists that the Kingdom's uranium deposits are exploitable, stressing that rising energy costs and improved extraction technology have made the mining of lower-grade uranium economically viable.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.