Keeping the home fires burning

It was recently reported that massive uranium deposits include been discovered in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, expected at up to 150,000 tonnes, of which 49,000 tonnes have been currently confirmed. If this estimation holds up, we might have one of the largest uranium reserves in the world.

Despite the scale of this find, we are nowhere near solve our energy needs. The earthquake in Japan earlier this year and the resultant injure to the Fukushima nuclear power plant revealed the inadequate safety measures adopt by the nuclear industry in general. Despite have tapped nuclear power for the past 48 years, insufficient savings have been made to improve the technology, its safety, waste removal and crisis management.

The current plan is to set up 30 nuclear reactors more than the next three decades to supply a quarter of our electricity demand. By 2050, it is probable that 25% of our energy needs will be met by nuclear power.What is sorely wanted for the kind of scale-up India envisions is a safe template for nuclear power plants that is accepted by a strict regulatory process before handing over to the private sector to construct, operate and maintain. The process for getting approval under strict safety and operational standards will contain to be streamlined to get the programme up and running. This will avoid the holdup in the regulatory and approval process that has dogged the US. We include now signed nuclear deals with nine countries, most recently with South Korea, to help develop social nuclear energy in India. A powerful watchdog needs to be in place to monitor security standards as nuclear technology and infrastructure are transfer from these partners to us.

Why Russia scores in India’s nuclear market

While the American companies carry on to harbour anxieties about India’s nuclear liability regime, Russia has no such issues, generous Moscow a distinctive edge over other competitors in the world’s fastest growing civil nuclear market. The information of the discovery of what is being hailed as the world’s largest uranium drop in India has prompted conflicting comments from experts. The deposits in Andhra Pradesh are expected to contain 49,000 tonnes of uranium. Indian scientists, however, believe that the measure of uranium at Tummalapalle may triple to 150,000 tonnes, which will make it world's major uranium producing mine.

The new discovery is set to decrease India’s dependence on foreign suppliers of the yellow metal. Interestingly, the disclosure of the mammoth uranium deposits coincided through US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to India in July through which issues relating to the India-US civil nuclear deal figured prominently in discussions among the two sides.

In 2008 the George Bush Administration signed a deal so as to allowed the sale of reactors and nuclear fuel to India despite New Delhi having nuclear weapons and not have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The American advocates of the agreement counter the arguments of the powerful anti-nuclear lobby through pointing out that the deal would bring billions of dollars to American business and make thousands of jobs. However, the deal has become increasingly complicated unpaid to a host of factors.

Grand Canyon area excluded from uranium claims

Arizona's Grand Canyon is a World Heritage site visit by 4.4 million public per year and, according to the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contains significant ecological and cultural resources - as well as a few of the USA's best uranium deposits.

In July 2009, the Department of the Interior announced a planned withdrawal of approximately 1 million acres (nearly 405,000 hectares) of federal lands in northern Arizona starting new mining claim place and entry under the 1872 Mining Law. A two-year momentary segregation was instigated to avoid new claims while the planned longer term withdrawal is being taken forward.

This has involved the training of an ecological statement considering various options for the 1 million acres from no withdrawal, in the track of partial withdrawal to full withdraw With the temporary segregation regarding to expire, Salazar has now announced a six-month emergency withdrawal of the land. At the same time, he formally established that the preferred alternative identified under the ecological statement is to be the choice of full withdrawal of the 1 million acres."This alternative, if ultimately selected, would make sure that all public lands adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park are sheltered from new hard rock mining claims, all of which are in the watershed of the Grand Canyon," Salazar said. Talking from the southern rim of the canyon itself on 20 June, he said that the BLM will now absolute the ecological analysis of the preferred alternative and other alternatives. A final ecological impact report will be published by the autumn of 2011.