BHP says enriching uranium locally 'unviable' -

A FLIRTATION by senior Government ministers with the idea of Australia enriching uranium has been dealt a blow by BHP Billiton's declaration that the industry is unviable.
BHP Billiton owns Australia's largest uranium deposit at Olympic Dam in South Australia. It told Prime Minister John Howard's nuclear inquiry in a blunt submission that there was no case for developing conversion or enrichment facilities.
A separate new submission to the inquiry has confirmed the Government is considering with industry a significant shift in Australia's energy policy, with options ranging from nuclear power to a carbon tax.
The CSIRO confirms a report to be released next month will examine the costs and benefits of several radical energy policy changes, including one in which Australia would build its first nuclear power plant by 2020.
The work is being done by the CSIRO-led Energy Futures Forum, which has Government and industry players, including Woodside, Alcoa and Rio Tinto, as well as conservation group WWF Australia.
BHP has used the inquiry to argue against developing a uranium manufacturing industry or pursuing "nuclear fuel leasing", under which Australia would mine and convert uranium to fuel rods, sell it overseas, then bring back high-level waste.
"We do not believe that conversion and enrichment would be commercially viable in Australia for the foreseeable future," the company says. "BHP Billiton believes that there is neither a commercial nor a non-proliferation case for it to become involved in front-end processing or the development of fuel leasing services in Australia."
BHP's position contrasts with the consistently upbeat assessment of Australia's prospects of building a uranium manufacturing industry made by senior Government players, including Mr Howard, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane.
All have called for a robust debate about enrichment.
But Mr Howard's nuclear inquiry has so far failed to find a major mining company interested in expanding into manufacturing.
The CSIRO submission points to a looming shift in energy policy driven by the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Options being considered range from boosting the use of renewable energy, to orchestrating a deep unilateral cut in Australia's greenhouse emissions.
The CSIRO says preliminary work indicates that nuclear power is not a viable option for Australia before 2050 unless Australia imposes a new carbon tax.
Under two scenarios contemplating the use of nuclear energy and renewables, energy prices are forecast to double in Australia by 2050.
If Australia moves to embrace nuclear power, then we could have our first power plant in operation by 2020 and up to three providing power by 2050.
■ Mr Howard has thrown his full support behind a controversial expansion of one of the NT's largest mines, McArthur River zinc mine. Its owners wants to convert from underground to an open-cut mine.
With AAP