Nuclear in Australia

Dr Therese Donlevy

Strategy Coordination

Australian Nuclear on a Page

• 2 nuclear regulators (ARPANSA and ASNO)

• Uranium Mines

• 1 national Nuclear Science and Technology

Organisation (ANSTO)

• 1 operating research reactor

• Cyclotrons (<18 MeV)

• Accelerators

• Medical radioisotopes

• No nuclear power

Uranium Deposits

Uranium Mining

• Uranium exploration and mining is permitted in

South Australia, the Northern Territory and

Western Australia.

• Uranium exploration alone is permitted in

Queensland but mining is banned, as it is in

Victoria and New South Wales.

• Uranium mining in Australia is heavily

regulated, in some areas more so than any

other resource sector.

Uranium Mining cont.

• Three operating mines are Ranger, in the

Northern Territory; Olympic Dam and Beverley,

in South Australia.

• Two further projects, Honeymoon and Four Mile

in South Australia, have the potential to begin

production within a year to 18 months.

• Several other significant deposits in Western

Australia, such as Yeelirrie and Kintyre, are

currently under development. Production not

likely before 2014.

Olympic Dam

Beverley Mine

Uranium Mining cont.

• Current exports – ~ 10,000 tonnes a year

• Significant expansion opportunity; nearly 40%

of the world’s uranium recoverable at

reasonable cost, yet supply only 19% of the

world market.

• In the short to medium term, exports are

forecast to increase to 14,000 tonnes in 2014,

earning $A1.7billion (ABARE Uranium Outlook

to 2014).

Uranium Ore Concentrates

OPAL - Operating

The Bragg Institute

HIFAR – safe storage (fuel removed)

Moata - dismantled

Cyclotrons

• National Medical

Cyclotron 30 MeV – now

decommissioned

• Ten other <18 MeV

(4 NSW, 3 QLD, 2 VIC,

1 WA)

• Mainly F-18, some Cu-

64 & others for research

PET Net Solutions Pty Ltd

Accelerators

2 MV STAR @ ANSTO

10 MV ANTARES

@ ANSTO

Centre for Accelerator Sciences

Australian Synchrotron

ANSTO Health - Medical Radioisotopes

• Produced at ANSTO

– Mo-99 / Tc-99m

– I-131

– Sm-153

– F-18

– Cr-51

– In-111

• Imported

– I-123

– Ga-67

Silicon Irradiation

ANSTO Minerals

No Nuclear Power

ARPANS Act prohibits certain nuclear installations

(1) Nothing in this Act is to be taken to

authorise the construction or operation of any of

the following nuclear installations:

(a) a nuclear fuel fabrication plant;

(b) a nuclear power plant;

(c) an enrichment plant;

(d) a reprocessing facility.

No Nuclear Power

(2) The CEO must not issue a licence under

section 32 in respect of any of the facilities

mentioned in subsection (1).

Storing Nuclear Waste

• National Radioactive Waste Management Act

2012

– Volunteer site

– Low level Waste Repository and Intermediate

Level Waste Store

ANSTO Waste Management

ANSTO’s Spent Fuel Reprocessing Waste

• Spent fuel sent to the United Kingdom, France

for reprocessing and the United States for

storage

• Reprocessing wastes to be returned from

France by end 2015

• Reprocessing wastes to be stored on a

temporary basis at ANSTO until National Waste

Management Facility is built and licensed

ANSTO’s Spent Fuel Reprocessing Waste

Technological ILW cemented in 200L Steel

drum