Why Australia should enrich uranium at home: mining lobby
Uranium should be added to Australia’s critical minerals list and the government should consider domestic enrichment of the nuclear fuel, according to the Minerals Council of Australia.
The plug for uranium comes as the Albanese government seeks submissions on a looming expansion of its critical minerals list and as it strives to foster more onshore processing of the minerals that are mostly shipped overseas for processing.
While best known for its role in nuclear power, the MCA said demand from the medical industry should be sufficient for uranium to win “critical” status.
“In the Australian context, uranium should be considered a critical mineral for its role in medical and industrial isotope production,” said the MCA in its submission.
Australia mines 12 per cent of the world’s uranium supply from mines like BHP’s Olympic Dam and the MCA said Australian uranium was critical for the energy needs of trusted defence partners like Japan and Korea.
“As the only OECD country with a ban on nuclear energy, Australia is missing an opportunity to value-add through conversion, enrichment and potentially fuel fabrication,” said the MCA.
“Doing so would reduce reliance on Russia and build linkages with strategic partners.”
The MCA said adoption of nuclear-powered submarines further bolstered the case for nuclear.
“Questions also remain on Australia’s future capacity to develop the workforce required for a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Failure to create career pathways within a civilian broader nuclear fuel cycle may strand our strategic defence assets,” said the MCA.
The definition of a critical mineral is set by politicians, not by scientists, and most nations’ critical minerals lists include the commodities that are
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