Nuclear energy produces no greenhouse gases, but it has many drawbacks. Now a radical new technology based on thorium promises what uranium never delivered: abundant, safe and clean energy - and a way to burn up old radioactive waste.
What if we could build a nuclear reactor that offered no possibility of a meltdown, generated its power inexpensively, created no weapons-grade by-products, and burnt up existing high-level waste as well as old nuclear weapon stockpiles? And what if the waste produced by such a reactor was radioactive for a mere few hundred years rather than tens of thousands? It may sound too good to be true, but such a reactor is indeed possible, and a number of teams around the world are now working to make it a reality. What makes this incredible reactor so different is its fuel source: thorium.
Named after Thor, the warlike Norse god of thunder, thorium could ironically prove a potent instrument of peace as well as a tool to soothe the world's changing climate. With the demand for energy on the increase around the world, and the implications of climate change beginning to strike home, governments are increasingly considering nuclear power as a possible alternative to burning fossil fuels.
But nuclear power comes with its own challenges. Public concerns over the risk of meltdown, disposal of long-lived and highly toxic radioactive waste, the generation of weapons grade by-products, and their corresponding proliferation risks, all can make nuclear power a big vote-loser.
A thorium reactor is different. And, on paper at least, this radical new technology could be the key to unlocking a new generation of clean and safe nuclear power. It could prove the circuit-breaker to the two most intractable problems of the 21st century: our insatiable thirst for energy, and the warming of the world's climate.
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Nuclear physics is a complex and messy business, especially when dealing with large unstable elements such as uranium. When the U-235 in nuclear fuel burns down to around 0.3 per cent concentration, it's no longer of use in a reactor. At this point, the proportion of U-238, along with other fission by-products, including some very radioactive isotopes of americium, technetium and iodine, is too high. Many of these elements are called 'neutron poisons' because they absorb neutrons that would otherwise be happily colliding with other U-235 nuclei to spark off more fission.
This spent fuel can be reprocessed - but this is a much more difficult job than basic enrichment because of the high number of fission by-products in the spent fuel. This means that a great deal of spent fuel - highly radioactive as it is - becomes waste that needs to be stored. For a very long time.
THIS IS WHERE THORIUM steps in. Thorium itself is a metal in the actinide series, which is a run of 15 heavy radioactive elements that occupy their own period in the periodic table between actinium and lawrencium. Thorium sits on the periodic table two spots to the left (making it lighter) of the only other naturally occurring actinide, uranium (which is two spots to the left of synthetic plutonium). This means thorium and uranium share several characteristics.
According to Reza Hashemi-Nezhad, a nuclear physicist at the University of Sydney who has been studying the thorium fuel cycle, the most important point is that they both can absorb neutrons and transmute into fissile elements. "From the neutron-absorption point of view, U-238 is very similar to Th-232", he said.
It's these similarities that make thorium a potential alternative fuel for nuclear reactors. But it's the unique differences between thorium and uranium that make it a potentially superior fuel. First of all, unlike U-235 and Pu-239, thorium is not fissile, so no matter how much thorium you pack together, it will not start splitting atoms and blow up. This is because it cannot undergo nuclear fission by itself and it cannot sustain a nuclear chain reaction once one starts. It's a wannabe atom splitter incapable of taking the grand title.
What makes thorium suitable as a nuclear fuel is that it is fertile, much like U-238.
Natural thorium (Th-232) absorbs a neutron and quickly transmutes into unstable Th-233 and then into protactinium Pa-233, before quickly decaying into U-233, says Hashemi- Nezhad. The beauty of this complicated process is that the U-233 that's produced at the end of this breeding process is similar to U-235 and is fissile, making it suitable as a nuclear fuel. In this way, it talks like uranium and walks like uranium, but it ain't your common-or-garden variety uranium.
And this is where it gets interesting: thorium has a very different fuel cycle to uranium. The most significant benefit of thorium's journey comes from the fact that it is a lighter element than uranium. While it's fertile, it doesn't produce as many heavy and as many highly radioactive by-products. The absence of U-238 in the process also means that no plutonium is bred in the reactor.
And this is where it gets interesting: thorium has a very different fuel cycle to uranium. The most significant benefit of thorium's journey comes from the fact that it is a lighter element than uranium. While it's fertile, it doesn't produce as many heavy and as many highly radioactive by-products. The absence of U-238 in the process also means that no plutonium is bred in the reactor.
As a result, the waste produced from burning thorium in a reactor is dramatically less radioactive than conventional nuclear waste. Where a uranium-fuelled reactor like many of those operating today might generate a tonne of high-level waste that stays toxic for tens of thousands of years, a reactor fuelled only by thorium will generate a fraction of this amount. And it would stay radioactive for only 500 years - after which it would be as manageable as coal ash.
So not only would there be less waste, the waste generated would need to be locked up for only five per cent of the time compared to most nuclear waste. Not surprisingly, the technical challenges in storing a smaller amount for 500 years are much lower than engineering something to be solid, secure and discreet for 10,000 years.
So not only would there be less waste, the waste generated would need to be locked up for only five per cent of the time compared to most nuclear waste. Not surprisingly, the technical challenges in storing a smaller amount for 500 years are much lower than engineering something to be solid, secure and discreet for 10,000 years.
But wait, there's more: thorium has another remarkable property. Add plutonium to the mix - or any other radioactive actinide - and the thorium fuel process will actually
incinerate these elements. That's right: it will chew up old nuclear waste as part of the power-generation process. It could not only generate power, but also act as a waste disposal plant for some of humanity's most heinous toxic waste.
This is especially significant when it comes to plutonium, which has proven very hard to dispose of using conventional means.
Thorium Power Enters Into a Follow-On Agreement for Consulting and Strategic Advisory Services With Foreign Government-Owned Entity
Thorium Power, Ltd., the leading developer of non-proliferative nuclear fuel technology and provider of comprehensive advisory services fore merging nuclear programs, today announced that it has entered into a follow-on agreement for consulting and strategic advisory services with a foreign government-owned entity. Thorium Power will manage high-priority planning activities in the country's feasibility evaluation of a future nuclear energy program.The new agreement follows a $5 million USD agreement with the same entity announced by Thorium Power on December 3, 2007 for a 15 week effort to develop a roadmap with recommendations related to timelines, organizational structure and priorities for subsequent phases of the country's future nuclear energy program. The terms of the follow-on agreement call for an upfront payment by March 31, 2008of professional fees to Thorium Power of $4.285 million USD for the 3month effort. Expenses, capped at 20% of professional fees, will be billed separately.The scope of services under the agreement has been defined in consultation with appropriate authorities in the U.S. government in compliance with all applicable U.S. export controls. As previously stated, Thorium Power intends to communicate additional details about the client relationship once certain governmental tasks are completed in both countries relating to potential additional work.
Thorium Power Enters Into a Follow-On Agreement for Consulting and Strategic Advisory Services With Foreign Government-Owned Entity
Thorium Power, Ltd., the leading developer of non-proliferative nuclear fuel technology and provider of comprehensive advisory services fore merging nuclear programs, today announced that it has entered into a follow-on agreement for consulting and strategic advisory services with a foreign government-owned entity. Thorium Power will manage high-priority planning activities in the country's feasibility evaluation of a future nuclear energy program.The new agreement follows a $5 million USD agreement with the same entity announced by Thorium Power on December 3, 2007 for a 15 week effort to develop a roadmap with recommendations related to timelines, organizational structure and priorities for subsequent phases of the country's future nuclear energy program. The terms of the follow-on agreement call for an upfront payment by March 31, 2008of professional fees to Thorium Power of $4.285 million USD for the 3month effort. Expenses, capped at 20% of professional fees, will be billed separately.The scope of services under the agreement has been defined in consultation with appropriate authorities in the U.S. government in compliance with all applicable U.S. export controls. As previously stated, Thorium Power intends to communicate additional details about the client relationship once certain governmental tasks are completed in both countries relating to potential additional work.
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Thorium Power Ltd., the leading developer of non-proliferative nuclear fuel technology and provider of comprehensive advisory services for emerging nuclear programs, today provided a business update for the twelve months ended December 31, 2007.
Seth Grae, CEO of Thorium Power, stated, "We are quite pleased with the tremendous strides we have made in building awareness for our patented non-proliferative, low waste nuclear fuel designs. In December 2007, Thorium Power reached a major milestone as we entered into our first strategic advisory contract with a foreign government-owned entity generating professional fees totaling $3.7 million USD with a pre-payment of $5 million USD. We subsequently entered into a follow-on agreement, totaling a pre-payment of $4.3 million USD for a project covering an estimated three month period. In our capacity as advisor, we have developed a comprehensive roadmap as the first phase of a feasibility study for the deployment of civilian nuclear power plants. This landmark agreement provides validation for our business model, where strategic advisory services are early revenue drivers as well as important elements that create awareness for our broader offering. We are confident that this is the beginning of a trend toward cleaner and safer nuclear fuels, and safer, transparent and compliant nuclear program development. Thorium Power is ideally suited for the ensuing nuclear renaissance."
Mr. Grae continued, "We continue to attract accomplished leaders from across the industry to join our experienced team. James D. Guerra, formerly of Exelon Corporation, the largest generator of nuclear energy in the United States, was appointed Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and Treasurer of Thorium Power. Dr. Hans Blix, a leading international authority on nuclear safety, joined us as a senior advisor, bringing his valuable global experience to support our mission. And most recently, we appointed Robert Ihde, a veteran nuclear industry executive and fuel expert who headed U.S. subsidiaries of Areva, to our Technical Advisory Board. We are pleased to have such high-caliber individuals join Thorium Power and we will benefit from their valuable expertise, collective experience and business acumen in the nuclear field."
Mr. Grae concluded, "During the fourth quarter, we completed a new formal agreement with Russia's Kurchatov Institute relating to the irradiation testing program for the company's fuel designs, a process that provides an important step towards the demonstration of our fuel designs in a full scale commercial reactor. The agreement assigned to Thorium Power Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Thorium Power, Ltd., the worldwide rights, title and interest in and to the technical data generated from the ampoule irradiation testing of seed and blanket fuel samples in the Kurchatov research reactor from the past two years. Equally vital to the development of our technology, the agreement allowed us to enter an international patent application relating to our seed and blanket fuel, further bolstering our strong patent portfolio. Our proprietary fuel designs bring a unique and innovative approach to the generation of nuclear power, one that clearly differentiates Thorium Power from all other fuel technologies. We firmly believe the future of the nuclear renaissance will depend on viable solutions to significant concerns such as proliferation, waste, and operating economics."
NEW DELHI: At a time when the UPA government is projecting nuclear power as the answer to India's future energy needs, allocations for the DAE in the 2008-09 Budget are Rs 1,333 crore less than last year's.
A D Damodaran, former head of the Nuclear Fuels Complex, pointed out that a comparison of the outlay and estimated actual expenditure for last year shows that in many cases money has also remained unspent. "Why this slow down? Is it due to avoidable project slippage or was it thrust on DAE under the embargo regime?" he said.
The most important segment of India's long-term strategy for nuclear power – the thorium cycle – could be adversely affected by these cuts.
Outlay for operation and maintenance of the thorium plant at Mumbai has been reduced from Rs 15 crore to Rs 13 crore. The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, which is developing the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, has been given a puny increase of Rs 1 lakh. Once completed, this facility will for the first time attempt commercial production of energy using thorium, a nuclear fuel found abundantly in India.
Bhavini, which is building the PFBR has also suffered a major cut of Rs 306 crore in budgetary support from Rs 926 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 620 crore in 2008-09.
Bannerman Resources Reports RC Drilling at Goanikontes Nears Completion
A D Damodaran, former head of the Nuclear Fuels Complex, pointed out that a comparison of the outlay and estimated actual expenditure for last year shows that in many cases money has also remained unspent. "Why this slow down? Is it due to avoidable project slippage or was it thrust on DAE under the embargo regime?" he said.
The most important segment of India's long-term strategy for nuclear power – the thorium cycle – could be adversely affected by these cuts.
Outlay for operation and maintenance of the thorium plant at Mumbai has been reduced from Rs 15 crore to Rs 13 crore. The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, which is developing the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, has been given a puny increase of Rs 1 lakh. Once completed, this facility will for the first time attempt commercial production of energy using thorium, a nuclear fuel found abundantly in India.
Bhavini, which is building the PFBR has also suffered a major cut of Rs 306 crore in budgetary support from Rs 926 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 620 crore in 2008-09.
Bannerman Resources Reports RC Drilling at Goanikontes Nears Completion
Bannerman Resources Ltd (TSX: BAN)(ASX: BMN) an Australian based uranium exploration and development company, is finalising the drilling of its first resource, the Goanikontes Anomaly A deposit uranium project in Namibia.
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Bannerman is progressing towards entering the ranks of developers and is on course to becoming a significant uranium producer by 2011, making it one of the leaders of the new generation of uranium miners.
For further information please visit Bannerman Resources' website at: www.bannermanresources.com
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Gamma logging is a common method used to estimate uranium grade from drilling where the radiation contribution from thorium and potassium is very small. Alaskite hosted primary deposits in Namibia are usually of this type. There are two main gamma logging methods used, spectral gamma logging and total count gamma logging. Bannerman utilise both methods.
The gamma radiation from potassium, uranium and thorium is dominated by gamma rays at specific energy levels. These energy levels are sufficiently well separated such that they can be measured independently of each other. They are typically measured as narrow energy bands that contain the specific energy levels. Bands are used because the measuring systems do not have the resolution to target a specific energy wavelength. There is some scattering of higher energy gamma radiation, e.g. thorium, into lower energy radiation, e.g. uranium and potassium. This scattered radiation can be calculated from suitable calibration procedures and removed from the lower energy level measurements. This method is termed spectral gamma logging and the results are expressed as eppm U3O8. Bannerman uses the consulting services of Terratec Geoservices that use a Natural Gamma Spectroscopy Sonde that is calibrated at the Pallindaba Radiation centre in Johannesburg and validated on site using test holes and assay results. Total count gamma logging does not account for energy derived from thorium and potassium (as does spectral gamma logging) but is calibrated on the uranium band and factor applied to account for the average effect of thorium and potassium and thus the result is expressed as an equivalent value or ppm eU308. Bannerman Resources uses an Auslog Natural Gamma Probe which is calibrated at the PIRSA (Primary Industry & Resources South Australia) test pits and then subjected to annual recalibration to ensure the integrity of the probe instrument. Bannerman runs regular checks to validate the accuracy of probe data using test holes located on site and regular comparisons against the Terratec probe.
Ur-Energy Inc. (TSX:URE) ("Ur-Energy" or "Corporation") is pleased to announce the completion of a non-brokered private placement flow-through financing for 1,000,000 common shares of the Corporation at a price of C$2.75 for aggregate gross proceeds of C$2,750,000. An aggregate finder's fee of C$110,000 was paid in connection with the private placement.
The Corporation expects that the financing will enable a 2008 summer exploration program for Ur-Energy's Bugs Project ("Project" or "Bugs") in Nunavut, Canada. The program involves further prospecting, radon surveys and culminates in an anticipated 2,500 metre drilling program. Approximately seven targets will be drill tested in 2008.
The Project, consisting of 11 mineral claims (approximately 11,000 hectares) owned by Ur-Energy, was previously explored for uranium by Cominco Ltd. in the 1970s. Bugs is situated in the southwestern part of the Kivalliq District in southern Nunavut at the southern end of one of the northeast-trending Baker Lake Basin rifts. The Project's half-graben is filled by continental ultrapotassic volcanic rocks and derived sediments of the Christopher Island Formation, and related intrusions. Uranium and thorium mineralization consist of stratiform, intrusion-hosted, and hydrothermal styles.
Ur-Energy completed prospecting and radon surveys over parts of the property in 2007. The initial drilling in 2008 will concentrate on the Lowkey Lake Zone ("LLZ") of the Project, an area of high radon flux discovered in 2007. Radon flux averages 8.0 pCi/m2/sec over an area measuring 150m X 100m. High-grade uranium mineralization (individual boulders containing over 6% U3O8) is associated with the basal tuff horizons along strike to the east of the LLZ. A pronounced linear zone of low magnetic intensity and alteration, evidence of intense hydrothermal activity, coincide with the LLZ.
The 2008 exploration program will include more detailed radon surveying and subsequent drill-testing to outline the mineralization of the bedrock source of one of the high-grade historic Cominco boulder occurrences associated with hydrothermal breccias - BA Showing (individual boulders assaying up to 0.55% U3O8). Drill testing of the Gamma bostonite dyke will also be initiated. Reconnaissance prospecting indicates dimensions of the Gamma Dyke to be up to 1 kilometer in length by up to 100 meters in width. The extensive Bugs bostonite intrusions, including Gamma, contain consistent contents of between 200 and 400 ppm uranium and 700 to 1,200 ppm thorium. Additional drilling will test targets selected from the interpretation of the previously flown airborne radiometric and magnetic survey. Ground prospecting and radon surveys will aid in target delineation and drill hole localization.
Looking elsewhere for rare earths
The Corporation expects that the financing will enable a 2008 summer exploration program for Ur-Energy's Bugs Project ("Project" or "Bugs") in Nunavut, Canada. The program involves further prospecting, radon surveys and culminates in an anticipated 2,500 metre drilling program. Approximately seven targets will be drill tested in 2008.
The Project, consisting of 11 mineral claims (approximately 11,000 hectares) owned by Ur-Energy, was previously explored for uranium by Cominco Ltd. in the 1970s. Bugs is situated in the southwestern part of the Kivalliq District in southern Nunavut at the southern end of one of the northeast-trending Baker Lake Basin rifts. The Project's half-graben is filled by continental ultrapotassic volcanic rocks and derived sediments of the Christopher Island Formation, and related intrusions. Uranium and thorium mineralization consist of stratiform, intrusion-hosted, and hydrothermal styles.
Ur-Energy completed prospecting and radon surveys over parts of the property in 2007. The initial drilling in 2008 will concentrate on the Lowkey Lake Zone ("LLZ") of the Project, an area of high radon flux discovered in 2007. Radon flux averages 8.0 pCi/m2/sec over an area measuring 150m X 100m. High-grade uranium mineralization (individual boulders containing over 6% U3O8) is associated with the basal tuff horizons along strike to the east of the LLZ. A pronounced linear zone of low magnetic intensity and alteration, evidence of intense hydrothermal activity, coincide with the LLZ.
The 2008 exploration program will include more detailed radon surveying and subsequent drill-testing to outline the mineralization of the bedrock source of one of the high-grade historic Cominco boulder occurrences associated with hydrothermal breccias - BA Showing (individual boulders assaying up to 0.55% U3O8). Drill testing of the Gamma bostonite dyke will also be initiated. Reconnaissance prospecting indicates dimensions of the Gamma Dyke to be up to 1 kilometer in length by up to 100 meters in width. The extensive Bugs bostonite intrusions, including Gamma, contain consistent contents of between 200 and 400 ppm uranium and 700 to 1,200 ppm thorium. Additional drilling will test targets selected from the interpretation of the previously flown airborne radiometric and magnetic survey. Ground prospecting and radon surveys will aid in target delineation and drill hole localization.
Looking elsewhere for rare earths
The blanket term rare earths refers to elements with hard-to-pronounce names like lanthanum, praseodymium and neodymium among others which all tend to occur together in the same deposits, despite difference uses - and prices - for different metals.
The elements are used in products like compact fluorescent lights, catalytic converters in cars, flat panel displays, disk drives and MP3 players. And in a world increasingly focused on emissions reduction, hybrid car motors and batteries cannot be built without rare earths.
China's stranglehold over 95 per cent of the world's rare earth supplies - with the remainder from small mines in India and Russia - has started to worry some companies in the West and in other East Asian nations like Japan and Korea. China has put in place hefty tariffs on rare earth exports to help encourage foreign companies to build their factories within the nation.
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Perth's Navigator Resources attracted a mention from The Drum a while back on the strength of its gold project in Leonora. At the time chief executive Tom Sanders was quick to mention Navigator also owns the Cummins Range rare earths project in WA.
Earlier this month Navigator released a preliminary resource of 69,000 tonnes of rare earths at an average grade of 2 per cent, including a higher-grade section of 38,400 tonnes at 3.5 per cent. Like Nolans, Cummins Range also contains uranium and phosphate, which are likely to add value as byproducts.
Like Mount Weld, Cummins Range contains very low levels of thorium and therefore low background radiation levels. High thorium levels make it difficult to gain permission to transport concentrate and to process the ore.
Kalam endorses N-deal, says it is must for country's energy needs
Kalam endorses N-deal, says it is must for country's energy needs
Endorsing the controversy-ridden civilian nuclear deal with the US, former President A P J Abdul Kalam on Monday said India needs uranium to run its existing nuclear reactors till the time they are not converted into thorium-based ones.
"The deal is important to meet the nation's energy needs," Kalam said in is reply to a question raised by former city mayor Bharti Vyas during a function here. Vyas asked whether India should also list its requirements like China had done before inking the deal.
Kalam said, "Uranium, a naturally scarce material, is available in very less amount while thorium is not scarce. We need to continue with uranium-based reactors for at least the next five years that is till we are ready with our own thorium-based reactors.
I define "power metals" as those from which subnuclear binding energy can be extracted directly by relatively simple, though by no means inexpensive, chemically based processes in a so-called nuclear reactor. There are only two abundant power metals found in nature, uranium and thorium. There is a third power metal, man-made plutonium, but I am going to ignore and not discuss plutonium here today as I believe that no more of this metal should be produced as an end in itself due to its ease of use in making explosive fission weapons.
The nations with the highest demand growth for energy, China, India, and Brazil already have on order the majority, perhaps more than 50, of the world's new nuclear power plants for the production of electricity for civilian use. Recently Great Britain, Canada, and even the US have announced significant programs, which will result in as many as 25 reactors to be built over the next 20 years both as replacements for existing reactors and as additional nuclear based electrical generating capacity. It is likely that we are approaching a nuclear reactor building renaissance, which will see as many as 200 new and replacement reactors built over the next generation if the movement to slow the production of carbon dioxide from the burning of the power minerals, i.e. those minerals which can be burned in air to produce more energy output than was required to set off their self sustained oxidation (i.e., to set them 'alight') gains a serious foothold in the nations of the world the economies of which are demanding more electric power than can now be produced. The power minerals are coal, oil, and natural gas.
It should be noted by investors that nuclear reactors for civilian use were originally designed to utilize thorium, but that military requirements and planning caused a shift
to all uranium 'burning' plants to insure a supply of weapons grade materials.
to all uranium 'burning' plants to insure a supply of weapons grade materials.
The tide is now turning back to thorium, which is more plentiful than uranium, and the use of which for civilian reactors is now being actively pursued by Norway, India, Russia, Canada, and the USA. It is believed that the ordering of one or more thorium reactors is imminent in Norway and India. The US probably has the largest reserves of thorium, and may well become the center of the thorium nuclear fuel design, manufacturing, and reprocessing industry.
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