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Jordan-French uranium exploration "promising", says official
Jul 4, 2009, 15:12 GMT
Amman - Jordanian officials on Saturday said initial results from uranium exploration being carried out in a joint venture with the French nuclear company Areva in central Jordan were 'promising'.
'The results so far are promising and positive and indicate the existence of uranium ores in commercial quantities,' Khalid Touqan, the head of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) said.
The exploration of the 1,400-square-kilometre site by the Jordan Energy Company and Areva that is set to be expanded at a later stage, he said.
Last year, the Jordanian government signed an agreement with Areva for the extraction of uranium and a nuclear cooperation accord with France. It has similar deals with Britain, the United States, Canada, China, Russia and South Korea.
Jordan's uranium reserves are estimated at around 140,000 tons, plus a further 59,000 tons in phosphate deposits.
Arab countries have shown increasing interest in nuclear technology in recent years.
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