Enrichment giant wants a plant here The Nation The Australian

ONE of the world's biggest uranium-enrichment companies, Urenco, is interested in building a plant in Australia - more than 20 years after it was refused approval to do so.
The British, Dutch and German consortium, which operates three enrichment plants in Europe and is building another in the US, told The Weekend Australian that Australia would be a good base for servicing the growing Asia-Pacific market for nuclear power fuel.
Urenco group communications manager Jayne Hallett said the world's four major uranium-enrichment suppliers had enough capacity to meet forecast market demand for the next decade.
"But given the anticipated world growth in nuclear power generation (as forecast by the World Nuclear Authority), there is possibly scope for further investment in enrichment capacity in Australia," Ms Hallett said.
Her comments came after French nuclear giant Areva ruled out interest in investing in uranium enrichment in Australia, saying it made little commercial sense unless the nation was prepared to go for nuclear energy.
And the move follows this week's sale of Australian-developed laser enrichment technology to US energy giant GE.
The new-generation technology was developed by Australian company Silex, but was sold offshore because the company saw little prospect of the project being developed to a commercial stage in this country.
Urenco's own developed and patented uranium-enrichment technology, known as gas centrifuge, is now the dominant method for separating U238 uranium from U235 to make uranium hexafluoride, which is in turn used in the production of nuclear fuel rods. In the late 1970s, the South Australian and federal governments courted Urenco to build a uranium enrichment plant in this country.
While the South Australian government eventually dropped the plan, the Uranium Enrichment Group of Australia -- comprising BHP, CSR, Peko-Wallsend and WMC -- released a study in 1982 recommending that the nation pursue uranium enrichment.
The election of the Hawke Labor government in 1983 brought an end to those plans - until this month, when John Howard set nuclear power and uranium enrichment firmly back on the national agenda. The Prime Minister has called for a new debate on nuclear power.
Ms Hallett said her company would be interested in assessing the economics of building an enrichment plant in Australia if it were invited to do so.
Urenco has invested $US1.4 billion ($1.8billion) in the construction of a new 3000-tonne-capacity uranium enrichment plant in New Mexico.
"Potentially such a facility employing Urenco's proven centrifuge technology could be located in Australia to serve the Asian Pacific market," Ms Hallett said.
"Urenco is well placed to meet the needs of such a requirement, and if invited would research the business plan.
"However, such a project would be subject to governmental approval and economic viability."
Australia holds 40 per cent of the world's known low-cost uranium deposits, but processes the ore only to uranium oxide concentrate, which is then exported for enrichment.