New Mexico Joins the Nuclear Renaissance

New Mexico hasn't had a uranium boom since 1950.the 'world's most advanced, energy-efficient and
After Navajo shepherd Paddy Martinez woke upcost-effective uranium enrichment technology.' It has
from his nap, beneath a limestone ledge with areportedly been used for more than thirty years.
handful of funny looking yellow rocks, only to be laterWhat is Gas Centrifuge Technology?
told he had discovered New Mexico's first uranium,Only 0.7 percent of the weight of natural uranium,
the state was swarmed with thousands ofthe U-235 isotope found in nature's uranium, is the
prospectors hoping to cash in on the nuclear metal.isotope needed to power a nuclear reactor. The
Another uranium boom may now be in progress. ThisU-235 isotope is the one that splits inside the core. It
time, the charge is led by the European consortiumis this isotope which releases energy in the fission
Urenco Ltd, general partner of Louisiana Energyprocess. Because natural uranium can not power a
Services (LES), which was issued a draft license, thisnuclear reactor, the concentration of U-235 must be
past Friday, by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatoryslightly increased, also known as 'low enrichment,'
Commission to build and operate a $1.5 billion uraniumfrom 0.7 percent to between 3 and 5 percent. The
enrichment plant in Lea County, New Mexico.enrichment occurs during the centrifuge process.
Louisiana Energy Services is a Urenco-managedIt is called the 'gas centrifuge process" because
partnership, whose members include Exelon Corp,gaseous uranium hexafluoride (UF6) is fed into a
Entergy Corp and Duke Energy Corp. This is the firstcylindrical, high-speed rotor. The gas is whirled around
permit issued for a uranium enrichment facility ininside thousands of centrifuges in a nearly
thirty years; the first ever to a private company.friction-free environment, separating the fissionable
Announcement of the uranium enrichment facilityU-235 isotope from the heavier U-238 isotope. The
came nine days after International Uraniumcentrifugal motion pushes the heavier U-238 gas
Corporation (IUC) announced it was reopening itsaway from the useful U-235 gas, which remains
uranium mines in the Four Corners region of thecloser to the rotor axis. The process is repeated until
western United States. In a company news release,the desired enrichment percentage is achieved.
Ron Hochstein, president of IUC, announced, "WeLet's back up the process a few steps. First, the
intend on utilizing our large capacity mill to its fulluranium is mined and milled. The finished product,
advantage through toll milling contracts with otherwhich is shipped off to the conversion facility, is
future miners in the area…" The company'scalled yellowcake.
White Mesa Mill, only one of two operational uraniumThe next step in creating nuclear fuel for a reactor is
mills in the United States, is across from the Newthe conversion process. The yellowcake, or U3O8, is
Mexico border.converted into uranium hexafluoride, or UF6.
Uranium development companies have acquiredYellowcake is dissolved in nitric acid to create a new
uranium properties, abandoned by major oilsolution, uranyl nitrate. Hydrogen is then used to
companies during the uranium drought of the 1980sreduce this to UO2. This is then converted to UF4
and 1990s, and could be well positioned to advancewith hydrofluoric acid. The UF6 is obtained with the
those properties through the permitting process.uranium is oxidized with fluorine. At ambient
Over the past year, newer uranium companies havetemperatures, UF6 forms solid grey crystals.
entered the state, optimistic the record-high spotDepending upon its temperature, uranium hexafluoride
uranium price may help finance their exploration andcan be a solid, liquid or gas.
development costs in New Mexico.After the U3O8 has been converted to UF6, it is
With a uranium mill, just past the western border oftransported to the enrichment site in an internationally
New Mexico in neighboring Utah, and thestandard transport container. The solid UF6 is heated
soon-to-be-built uranium enrichment facility inup in an air-tight pressure vessel until it returns to its
southeastern New Mexico, when might the stategaseous state. It is then fed into the centrifuge. The
again become a world-class production center? OnlyUrenco 'gas centrifuge' has two pipes, one which
over the past few years has Canada's Athabascaremoves the enriched uranium and another which
Basin, with its ultra-high grades of uranium ore,removes the heavier uranium, depleted of U-235.
surpassed the cumulative production of New Mexico.Because a single centrifuge won't enrich the uranium
The Grants Mineral Belt in northern New Mexicoto the desired level, a number of centrifuges are
produced more than 340 million pounds of uraniumconnected together. The connected, parallel
oxide (U3O8, yellowcake) before the uraniumcentrifuges are called a cascade. By passing through
depression of the 1980s and 1990s brought Neweach of the centrifuges in the cascade, the U-235 is
Mexico mining to a standstill. The Grants Mineral Beltgradually enriched to the level required by the
produced about 40 percent of all the mined uraniumcustomer, a nuclear power plant.
in the United States. Who is Urenco?After the desired enrichment level is achieved, the
Urenco is short for Uranium Enrichment Company.enriched UF6 gas is passed through a series of
Three countries - Germany, the Netherlands and thecompressors and packaged into product containers.
United Kingdom - signed the Treaty of AlemloThe UF6 gas is cooled until the vapors solidify onto
(Netherlands) on March 4, 1970 as a way tothe walls of the container. The finished product is
collaborate in developing centrifuge technology forshipped to the fuel fabrication plant where the solid,
uranium enrichment. In 1971, three industrial partners -enriched uranium is manufactured into fuel pellets.
British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL), Ultra-CentrifugeUranium Enrichment Means Big Money
Nederland N.V. (UCN) and Uranit GmbH - foundedThe key to expansion, after sufficient U3O8 has
Urenco Ltd. The company has since spun off itsbeen mined, is ensuring the uranium is converted and
Enrichment Technology Company. There are nowenriched so that it can fuel nuclear power plants. Until
three wholly owned subsidiaries, based in each of thenow, U.S. utilities have relied upon Russian HEU to LEU
respective countries.supplies to fuel their nuclear reactors. Urenco's NEF in
The Louisiana Energy Services partnership plans onNew Mexico gives a boost to the nuclear energy
building the National Enrichment Facility (NEF) aboutsector, and provides U.S. utilities with an alternative to
five miles east of Eunice, New Mexico. The NEF planshaving uranium enriched at USEC's Kentucky plant, or
on providing a sustainable domestic supply of slightlyworse yet, shipping domestically produced uranium
enriched uranium, also called 'low enriched uranium' oroverseas for enrichment. For instance, Brazil was
LEU, using Urenco's gas centrifuge technology.forced to have its uranium enriched in Europe, until
Currently, USEC is the other uranium enrichmentrecently.
facility, using the more expensive gaseous diffusionValue-adding to the fuel supplying reactors can mean
technology. USEC is a publicly traded company,big money for LES, and especially for Urenco Ltd.
created under the Clinton-Gore Administration for theBut, the investment of $1.5 billion will also produce
purposes of the Russia-US 'swords for plowshares'hundreds of new jobs for the border towns of both
HEU deal. Under the HEU agreement, Russia'sNew Mexico and Texas. Estimates show about 800
counterpart supplied USEC with uranium fromconstruction jobs will be created as the facility is
decommissioned Russian nuclear weapons. Thisbeing built, and as many as 1200 during the peak of
uranium now supplies U.S. utilities with about 50the construction. About 300 employees will be
percent of the uranium used to power domesticrequired to operate the facility. Nearby Andrews,
nuclear power plants.Texas has been celebrating the National Enrichment
In 2001, the domestic uranium industry only producedFacility. The city manager expects the number of
12 percent of its required supply of enriched uranium,new homes under construction to jump by 10-fold
while Russia exported 55 percent to the Unitedthis year. School enrollment has grown over the past
States. Urenco supplied 16 percent of the U.S.year while newcomers have moved into the area,
demand. Urenco plans to increase its percentage ofhoping for construction jobs.
enriched uranium to about one-quarter of U.S.Urenco's National Enrichment Facility should begin
enrichment demand, once the plant is running at fullconstruction later this summer, probably in August.
capacity. This amounts to annual production of 3Louisiana Energy Services (LES) hopes to start selling
million Separative Work Units (SWUs). A Separativeenriched uranium in 2009, probably to its U.S. utility
Work Unit is the unit used to express the effortpartners, who hope to build new reactors. A
necessary to separate U-235 and U-238. Thestatement issued by the Nuclear Energy Institute
capacity of enrichment plants is measured in tons SW(NEI) on Friday, congratulating LES for the approval
per year. For example, a large nuclear power stationof its NRC license pointed ahead to the U.S.
with a net electrical capacity of 1300 MW requires anexpansion of the nuclear energy sector. The NEI's
annual amount of 25 tons SW (enriched uranium) tochief nuclear officer, Marvin Fertel, said, "This
operate (with a concentration of 3.5 percent U-235).experience bodes well for the construction and
The National Enrichment Facility will become Urenco'soperating license applications for new nuclear power
North American debut of the company's gasplants that are expected to be submitted to the
centrifuge technology, which the company boasts isagency beginning in 2007.