3 ms·
> until much larger deposits were found When it comes to uranium this is a mere wish (low and decaying probability), as exploration is very efficient because m
by natmaka 2y ago
> until much larger deposits were found
When it comes to uranium this is a mere wish (low and decaying probability), as exploration is very efficient because major investments were made during the 1950's, in order to obtain stuff needed for atomic weapons: we are pretty good at finding uranium (much more than for petroleum), and forecasting proved efficient at predicting such events.
The uranium bubble (around 2007), for example, triggered a massive investments raise, but subsequent campaigns had very insufficient results (identified reserves grow by ~15%) and campaigns winded down.
The most promising game-changing new uranium extraction method (from seawater) lags since the 1980's. Nothing industrial here.
Same for thorium (and all Gen4 reactors): there is not a single ready-to-deploy industrial reactor. It is about a "Long-Term Potential in Nuclear Energy" (title of the document you refer to), nobody takes it as a significant part of our incoming electrical system.