4 ms·

Sweden has plenty uranium, all we need to do is mine it and enrich it! (Apparently a trivial task, according to politicians in charge).

defrost 3y ago
9,600 tonnes as "best guess" estimated recoverable according to the 2022 Uranium Red Book .. which is typical for most countries (low (ish)) and it falls on the expensive side per kilo to extract. Australia has about 2 million tonnes, measured, concentrated in three fairly dense sites with a good chance of more elsewhere. Kazakhstan has twice the ore (at much better grades) than Russia .. one of the reasons Russia is keen to hang onto the 'stan satellite states. [Red Book] https://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_28569/uranium-resources-production-and-demand-red-book https://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_28569/uranium-resources-pro... ADDENDUM: The May 2022 report indirectly (via a CNN link) mentioned above is Reducing Russian Involvement in Western Nuclear Power Markets https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/publications/reducing-russian-involvement-western-nuclear-power-markets/ https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/publications/reducing-... and mentions Russian "dominance" falling from 2018 to 2020 while outling approaches to continue this fall. It seems hardly surprising that one of the two major Cold War super powers has almost but not quite half of the global processing capacity. It seems a trivial exercise to guess who might also have nearly half the global uranium processing capacity.
- fifilura 3y ago
  I think the willingness to open up your land for an extremely contaminating business is a factor. I am not saying it is good or bad, neither trying to start a NIMBY discussion. But I think Sweden has too strong laws and environmentalist movement (and too little corruption) for a permission to start a uranium mine to happen within a foreseeable future.
  - defrost 3y ago
    > an extremely contaminating business Like Copper mining in Kamloops and Sudbury? Or sloppy WWII era uranium processing in the vicinity of Hanford USA? I suspect (I don't know for sure) that Sweden is unlikely to have the grades for a viable uranium mine. Were that so it's certainly possible to mine uranium in a manner that doesn't contaminate the mine surrounds .. and possible to process raw yellow cake to usable fuel rods at a site built to modern containment standards. There's no need for Sweden (were it possible) to have dirty mines such as the Congo Cold War mines. [1] https://federalmetals.ca/how-does-copper-mining-affect-the-environment/ https://federalmetals.ca/how-does-copper-mining-affect-the-e... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkolobwe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkolobwe
    - fifilura 3y ago
      You gave just started your uphill battle to convince law enforcers and environmentalists about that. Good luck!
      - defrost 3y ago
        Not my battle and not the route I'd take :-) My aim is to be resource and energy aware, abreast of options and best practices. I'm absolutely not personally for a nuclear power plant here ( W.Australia ) nor anywhere else .. but were it done, best it done well. Eg: Sweden has the option (should the people all agree) to quickly move to a new nuclear plant by, say, engaging South Korean designs and engineers (they throw them up fast) and contracting yellow cake supply from Canada | Australia. But these are matters of cost, politics, trust in external suppliers, etc.
    - nyargh 3y ago
      It's all fantasy anyhow. The startup times for new mines, new enrichment/processesing facilities and the new reactors to burn the fuel are measured in decades. This is all populist reactionary messaging by the current government, tapping in to American right wing talking points against windpower - all of which are irrelevant in Sweden as there is no domestic fossil fuel industry to protect. It's just cargo-cult right wing nonsense to whip up their base, they're even railing against drag shows now in Sweden for some reason...
  - pastage 3y ago
    Sweden has always been a place with large mining businesses, the rights to mine are extensive in Sweden. Historically speaking at least our mines have a large political capital. You are right that indigenous rights and environmentalists have been able to get some laws recognizing their rights, and a much larger popular asupport than before. As is said above mining Uranium will be pretty expensive in Sweden that is a bigger factor than anything else.
legulere 3y ago
Mining isn't the difficulty, but processing and enrichment. Countries like France and the US are continuing to send billions to Russia for that.

defrost 3y ago

9,600 tonnes as "best guess" estimated recoverable according to the 2022 Uranium Red Book .. which is typical for most countries (low (ish)) and it falls on the expensive side per kilo to extract. Australia has about 2 million tonnes, measured, concentrated in three fairly dense sites with a good chance of more elsewhere. Kazakhstan has twice the ore (at much better grades) than Russia .. one of the reasons Russia is keen to hang onto the 'stan satellite states. [Red Book] https://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_28569/uranium-resources-production-and-demand-red-book https://www.oecd-nea.org/jcms/pl_28569/uranium-resources-pro... ADDENDUM: The May 2022 report indirectly (via a CNN link) mentioned above is Reducing Russian Involvement in Western Nuclear Power Markets https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/publications/reducing-russian-involvement-western-nuclear-power-markets/ https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/publications/reducing-... and mentions Russian "dominance" falling from 2018 to 2020 while outling approaches to continue this fall. It seems hardly surprising that one of the two major Cold War super powers has almost but not quite half of the global processing capacity. It seems a trivial exercise to guess who might also have nearly half the global uranium processing capacity.

fifilura 3y ago
I think the willingness to open up your land for an extremely contaminating business is a factor. I am not saying it is good or bad, neither trying to start a NIMBY discussion. But I think Sweden has too strong laws and environmentalist movement (and too little corruption) for a permission to start a uranium mine to happen within a foreseeable future.
- defrost 3y ago
  > an extremely contaminating business Like Copper mining in Kamloops and Sudbury? Or sloppy WWII era uranium processing in the vicinity of Hanford USA? I suspect (I don't know for sure) that Sweden is unlikely to have the grades for a viable uranium mine. Were that so it's certainly possible to mine uranium in a manner that doesn't contaminate the mine surrounds .. and possible to process raw yellow cake to usable fuel rods at a site built to modern containment standards. There's no need for Sweden (were it possible) to have dirty mines such as the Congo Cold War mines. [1] https://federalmetals.ca/how-does-copper-mining-affect-the-environment/ https://federalmetals.ca/how-does-copper-mining-affect-the-e... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkolobwe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkolobwe
  - fifilura 3y ago
    You gave just started your uphill battle to convince law enforcers and environmentalists about that. Good luck!
    - defrost 3y ago
      Not my battle and not the route I'd take :-) My aim is to be resource and energy aware, abreast of options and best practices. I'm absolutely not personally for a nuclear power plant here ( W.Australia ) nor anywhere else .. but were it done, best it done well. Eg: Sweden has the option (should the people all agree) to quickly move to a new nuclear plant by, say, engaging South Korean designs and engineers (they throw them up fast) and contracting yellow cake supply from Canada | Australia. But these are matters of cost, politics, trust in external suppliers, etc.
  - nyargh 3y ago
    It's all fantasy anyhow. The startup times for new mines, new enrichment/processesing facilities and the new reactors to burn the fuel are measured in decades. This is all populist reactionary messaging by the current government, tapping in to American right wing talking points against windpower - all of which are irrelevant in Sweden as there is no domestic fossil fuel industry to protect. It's just cargo-cult right wing nonsense to whip up their base, they're even railing against drag shows now in Sweden for some reason...
- pastage 3y ago
  Sweden has always been a place with large mining businesses, the rights to mine are extensive in Sweden. Historically speaking at least our mines have a large political capital. You are right that indigenous rights and environmentalists have been able to get some laws recognizing their rights, and a much larger popular asupport than before. As is said above mining Uranium will be pretty expensive in Sweden that is a bigger factor than anything else.

legulere 3y ago

Mining isn't the difficulty, but processing and enrichment. Countries like France and the US are continuing to send billions to Russia for that.