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