Jordan looking to export uranium by 2011

Oct 20, 2009, 21:38 GMT

Amman - Jordan is coming up with 'strong results' indicating the country would emerge as a key exporter of uranium by the end of 2011, Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) President Khalid Touqan said Tuesday.

He said that a number of countries that use nuclear energy have 'approached Jordan for importing the yellow cake, which represents the raw material for nuclear fuel.'

'At the end of the first phase of the economic feasibility study, we are getting strong and encouraging results that pave the ground for moving to the second stage and obtaining the necessary financing from banks,' Touqan was quoted by the official Petra new agency as saying.

He made the remarks during a tour of the uranium exploration operations, which are being carried out in central Jordan by the French atomic energy conglomerate, Areva, which is overwhelmingly owned by the French government.

'Areva represents an element of strength for the Jordanian uranium project, given its political weight, guarantees and its long international experience in the field of nuclear security and safety,' Touqan said.

Preliminary studies put reserves of uranium ore in central Jordan at about 65,000 tonnes.

In the first stage, the French firm plans to annually produce about 2,000 tons of uranium, the majority of which will be used to feed a nuclear energy plant that Jordan plans to build about 25 kilometres south of the Red Sea port of Aqaba, officials said.

Jordan so far has reached nuclear cooperation agreements with France, China, Russia, Canada, Britain, South Korea and Argentina, with the aim of obtaining the know-how to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Amman is involved in negotiations with the United States and Japan for similar deals, Touqan said.