1. Home
  2. / Uncategorized
  3. / Uranium Mining May Move to Private Sector
Reading time 2 min of reading

Uranium Mining May Move to Private Sector

Written by Paulo Nogueira
Published on 07/03/2019 at 05:00
Updated on 06/03/2019 at 21:32
Be the first to react!
React to this article

Government to Open Nuclear Minerals Research Activities to Private Companies and is Considering Permitting Mining in Restricted Areas

According to Minister of Mines and Energy Bento Albuquerque, the government will open nuclear minerals research activities to private companies and is considering permitting mining in restricted areas, such as indigenous lands and border zones. “This process will be conducted in close consultation with all relevant actors, such as indigenous populations, civil society, environmental agencies, and, primarily, the National Congress,” said the minister.

Currently, the research, exploration, and production of uranium are restricted to the state-owned company Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB). According to the Federal Constitution of the country, the mining of the chemical element, used both in energy production and in the construction of atomic bombs, belongs to the Union in the form of the state-owned Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB).

“We also intend to study and evaluate changes to the legal framework of the nuclear sector, aiming to relax regulations on nuclear minerals research and extraction, as well as create conditions for private investment to develop the sector,” Albuquerque stated.

According to Albuquerque, Brazil has not mined uranium for six years “for various reasons,” even though it has the sixth-largest reserve in the world with one-third of its territory explored. “I consider this absurd,” he added, previously noting that the country is one of the few in the world that also masters nuclear technology while having large uranium reserves. The minister is an admiral in the Navy and has experience with research in the nuclear energy field.

The minister also mentioned that the government will auction various areas belonging to the Brazilian Geological Service (CPRM). According to Albuquerque, the first auction will take place in 2019. The project, already included in the Investment Partnership Program (PPI), is aimed at extracting copper, lead, and zinc in the Palmeirópolis area (Goiás). “The auctions will follow a faster, more objective, and transparent system,” he said.

FPSO MODEC VENTURE 11 SOLD AS SCRAP!! CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!

Tags
Paulo Nogueira

Graduated in Electrical Engineering from one of the country's technical education institutions, the Instituto Federal Fluminense - IFF (formerly CEFET), he worked for several years in the offshore oil and gas, energy, and construction sectors. Today, with over 8,000 publications in online magazines and blogs on the energy sector, the focus is to provide real-time information on the Brazilian job market, macro and microeconomics, and entrepreneurship. For questions, suggestions, and corrections, please contact us at informe@clickpetroleoegas.com.br. Please note that we do not accept resumes at this contact.

Share in apps