Brazil may become self-sufficient in uranium driven by private sector
With the approval by the Senate of the provisional measure 1,133/2022, which allows private-sector investment in nuclear ore extraction in Brazil, the sector sees the possibility of new companies joining an activity previously exclusive to Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB).Companies in the industry believe that the measure will make the activity more dynamic and provide greater legal security not only for the electric sector but also for other fields, such as health and environment.Brazil has the sixth-largest uranium reserve on the planet and is one of the few countries in the world to master enrichment technology for peaceful purposes, but it manages to mine only 40% of what is needed for Angra 1 (640 MW). The remainder comes mainly from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan through the Russian state-owned company Rosatom, which operates in these countries.The Brazilian Association for the Development of Nuclear Activities (Abdan) understands that this is an opportunity for more intense uranium exploration and to make the country self-sufficient and the chance for new companies to land in Brazil since, without a guaranteed regulation, it would be difficult for the private sector to invest in the industry.Abdan’s head Celso Cunha told Valor that the arrival of private-sector companies in the extraction of nuclear ores does not mean a breach of the federal government’s monopoly, but changes in the law that give more clarity to possible companies and investors.He recalls that a public-private partnership (PPP) already exists. The Santa Quitéria consortium is a partnership between INB and Galvani - a company that produces phosphate fertilizers - for the implementation of a joint mining project. The objective is to exploit uranium and phosphate found in an associated form in the Itataia ore deposits in Santa Quitéria, Ceará. The current law determines that less than 50% must be uranium, but now the provisional measure does not establish quotas and uranium exploration can increase."But only INB can sell and use uranium. It is not the state’s job to dig a hole. Extracting uranium from great depth requires technical knowledge we don’t have in Brazil. The solution is to make public-private partnerships, bring Brazilian and foreign companies together and take it to INB," he said.Today the pillar of expansion of the Brazilian electricity sector is wind and solar sources. These sources are intermittent because they depend on the wind and the sunlight. This...
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