The Hindu Business Line : Centre steps up domestic uranium exploration

New Delhi, Aug. 17 The Indo-US civilian nuclear deal may have brightened the prospects of large-scale natural uranium imports, but the Centre is simultaneously intensifying domestic uranium exploration efforts to support new nuclear generation capacities of indigenous design.

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is aiming to establish around 75,000 tonnes of uranium resources during the Eleventh Plan, which is about 70 per cent of the total identified reserves of uranium in the country at present.

The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent unit under the DAE, has intensified exploration activities during the current Plan by way of airborne and ground geophysical surveys and drilling.

Also, on the anvil are new uranium processing plants in five locations across the country, the Government officials said. The Centre, as part of the Eleventh Plan proposals, has kicked off work on 5,600 MW nuclear generation capacity based on indigenous design.

Identified reserves

The total identified reserves of uranium in the country as on date are about 1,07,268 tonnes (U3O8). Jharkhand has estimated reserves of about 47,809 tonnes, Meghalaya has 17,233 tonnes and Andhra Pradesh 27,870 tonnes, according to the DAE estimates. One tonne of U3O8 is equivalent to around 0.848 tonnes of uranium metal.

While the current reserves are estimated to be adequate to meet the requirement of about 10,000 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) for a period of 40 years in the first stage of the nuclear power programme, additional reserves are seen as a contingency to the possibility of foreign supply disruptions.

New plants

As a step in this direction, the DAE is working on plans to set up new uranium processing plants in Banduhurang in Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, Seripally in Nalgonda district and Tummalapalle in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh, Mawthabah in the West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya and at Chatrapur in Ganjam district of Orissa, officials said.

The country’s relatively moderate uranium resources are grouped in two categories based on the geological and economic considerations — reasonably assured resources (RAR) and estimated additional resources (EAR-I). The RAR category is estimated at 77,185 tonnes of U3O8 and EAR-I category is estimated at 23,525 tonnes of U3O8.