If the conclusions of a report by the Uranium Institute of London are anything to go by, Canada’s uranium miners will see a vibrant future unfolding in the years ahead.
The report is a store of statistical data relating to uranium supply, demand and trade for the period 1991-2010.
A milepost was passed in 1991 with cumulative production in the Western World of one million tonnes uranium. In 1991, however, production at 26,900 tonnes was the lowest level since 1976.
Causes of the diminished western output are the lack of new
nuclear-generating facilities and the general slackness of the Western economies, both factors exacerbated by the drawdown of stockpiles in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
On the upside, uranium resources in Eastern Europe, the CIS and China have been updated and are substantially lower than previously believed. Resources for the various regions have often failed to take into account the ore actually mined out and the picture is still incomplete, the report says. There is some evidence to suggest that even more of the identified CIS resources have already been exploited.
By the year 2000, western utility stockpiles will be reduced to minimum levels and new sources will be needed. Furthermore, the resulting gap between existing production capacity and demand is forecast to widen in the years beyond 2000.
The shortfall could be filled by production from deposits in Western countries, by further material from CIS production and from further drawdown of the CIS stockpile, including redundant military missiles. Despite these sources, says the report, the gap between supply and demand could emerge much sooner than had previously been believed.
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