India widens N-fuel base, signs up agreement with Uzbek mining firm for Uranium supplies

Uzbekistan state-owned mining company NMMC (Navoi Mining & Metallurgy Combine) has signed up contractual agreement to supply 2,000 metric tonnes of Uranium ore concentrate to India over the next four years (2014-2018).

NMMC is considered as one of the world’s top ten uranium and gold producers.

NMMC, $3.5 billion firm from Uzbekistan is a first-time entrant in the Indian atomic fuel market and joins a list of suppliers from France, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Importing uranium from Uzbekistan is India’s strategy to diversify its uranium suppliers’ list is part 

to counterbalance the fuel risk for the country’s nuclear reactors that are eligible to use imported uranium.

Why India needs to diversify its Nuclear Sources?

Since April 2011, India has bought over Rs 2,600 crore worth of uranium ore concentrate from NAC 

Kazatomprom of Kazakhstan and natural uranium di-oxide pellets from Russia’s state-owned firm JSC TVEL Corporation.

These uranium imports have enabled the capacity factor or operational efficiency of the 20 nuclear reactors currently running in India to raise a record 83 per cent in 2013-14.

In quantitative terms, in the last four years, India received a total of 2,215 tonnes of uranium from 

Kazakhstan and Russia, including a shipment of 118 tonnes from Russia early this fiscal.

Till March 2011, India had received 868 tonnes of uranium from France, Russia and Kazakhstan comprising 300 tonnes of natural uranium concentrate in following way:

·         Areva- 58 tonnes as enriched uranium dioxide pellets from Areva(France),

·         210 tonnes as natural uranium oxide pellets from Russia’s TVEL.

·         300 tonnes as natural uranium from Kazatomprom.

The Department of Atomic Energy estimates the annual fuel requirement for operating the indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) at 85 per cent capacity is about 45 tonnes of uranium dioxide.

It is especially needed for the older 220 MWe units, 100 tonnes for the 540 MWe units and 125 tonnes for the new 700 MWe units.

There is also requirement of 6 tonnes, low enriched uranium for operating the imported light water reactors (LWRs) at 85 per cent capacity factor for the 160 MWe Tarapur units and 27 tonnes for 

1,000 MWe for Russian-built units at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.

Under the “separation plan” announced by the government in March 2006, negotiated after the July 2005 nuclear deal with the US, India was required to 14 reactors under IAEA safeguards in a phased manner.

Ten of these reactors RAPS 2 to 6 at Rawatbhata, Rajasthan, KAPS 1 and 2 at Kakrapar, Gujarat, and TAPS 1 and 2 at Tarapur, Maharashtra are already under IAEA safeguards, and eligible to run on imported fuel.

Thus the new operational plants will help in nuclear energy generation and add cumulative capacity of up to 4,780 megawatt electric (MWe), leading to meet energy demand.