Iran has found a big uranium reserve and will soon mine it,
Reuters reported, citing the head of the nation’s Atomic
Energy Organization.
Image source: TheBlaze
Previous estimates from Western analysts indicated that
Iran’s uranium reserves were low and that the raw material
required for its nuclear program would soon have to be imported.
More from Reuters:
Any indication Iran could become more self-sufficient
will be closely watched by world powers, which reached a
landmark deal with Tehran in July over its program. They had
feared the nuclear activities were aimed at acquiring the
capability to produce atomic weapons — something denied by
Tehran.
“I cannot announce [the level of] Iran’s uranium mine
reserves,” Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as
saying by state news agency IRNA, Reuters reported. “The
important thing is that before aerial prospecting for uranium
ores we were not too optimistic, but the new discoveries have
made us confident about our reserves.”
Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear program is a peaceful
venture, and while uranium can be harnessed for power production
and science, it’s also a key building block for nuclear weapons.
More from Reuters:
After decades of efforts, Iran – which has consistently
said its program is for peaceful purposes – has achieved a
full nuclear fuel cycle, ranging from the extraction of
uranium ore to enrichment and production of fuel rods for
nuclear reactors.
Sanctions on companies taking part in Iran’s uranium
mining industry will be lifted when the agreement is
implemented. [...]
Some Western analysts have previously said that Iran was
close to exhausting its supply of yellowcake — or raw
uranium — and that mining it domestically was not
cost-efficient.
A report published in 2013 by U.S. think-tanks Carnegie
Endowment and the Federation of American Scientists said the
scarcity and low quality of Iran’s uranium resources
compelled it “to rely on external sources of natural and
processed uranium.”
It added: “Despite the Iranian leadership’s assertions to
the contrary, Iran’s estimated uranium endowments are
nowhere near sufficient to supply its planned nuclear
program.”