IAEA Media Advisories

Media Advisory 2009/12

IAEA Symposium to Focus on Uranium Raw Material for Nuclear Fuel Cycle

17 June 2009 | An international symposium covering various aspects related to uranium mining, economics, and supply and demand will be held in Vienna next week from 22 to 26 June 2009.

The Symposium is the third in a series of meetings that began in 2000, and it seeks to bring together experts from industrial and governmental circles to discuss issues related to the uranium production cycle. The growing emphasis that countries are placing on energy security and cleaner forms of energy has brought a renewed interest in nuclear power, which has served to increase pressure to explore and mine uranium - the raw material that powers the nuclear fuel cycle. The symposium will look at the exploration, mining, production, supply and demand, economics, and environmental issues related to uranium raw material.

Media representatives are welcome to attend all sessions of the five-day International Symposium on Uranium Raw Material for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, organized by the IAEA in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD NEA), the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), and the World Nuclear Association (WNA).

A press briefing will be held on the opening day of the Symposium on Monday, 22 June at 3:30 p.m. in room C07IV of the Vienna International Centre.

The following representatives will be present during the briefing:

Chaitanyamoy Ganguly, Section Head of the IAEA´s Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section

Robert Vance, Energy Analyst, OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, Paris

Michael McMurphy, Senior Executive Vice President of the Mine, Chemistry and Enrichment Sector, Areva NC, Paris

Michael Roche, Global Practice Leader - Sustainability, BHP-Billiton Limited, Australia

Please email the IAEA Press Office if you wish to attend the symposium and/or press briefing.

Background

The purpose of the Symposium is to analyse uranium supply-demand scenarios and to present and discuss new developments in uranium exploration, mining and processing, and environmental requirements for uranium operations and site decommissioning. The growing issue of the availability of future human resources to participate in all phases of uranium production will also be discussed. Finally a panel of international experts covering all aspects of the uranium production cycle will sum up the main topics discussed during the Symposium and lead the closing discussions.

It is intended that the presentations and discussions at URAM 2009 will:

Lead to a better understanding of the adequacy of uranium sources (both primary and secondary) to meet future demand;

Provide information on new exploration concepts, knowledge and technologies that will potentially lead to the discovery and development of new uranium resources;

Describe new production technology that has the potential to more efficiently and economically exploit new uranium resources;

Document the environmental compatibility of uranium production and the overall effectiveness of the final remediation and decommissioning of production facilities.

Press Contacts

Press Office
Division of Public Information
[43-1] 2600-21273

About the IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) serves as the world's foremost intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology. Established as an autonomous organization under the United Nations (UN) in 1957, the IAEA carries out programmes to maximize the useful contribution of nuclear technology to society while verifying its peaceful use.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit the Press Section of the IAEA's website (http://www.iaea.org/Resources/Journalists/), or call the IAEA's Division of Public Information at (431) 2600-21270.