Slide 1February 2007
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
The Eternal Nuclear Debate …
Hiroshima, 6 Aug. 1945
Bowker, 1948
Bowker, 1948
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Uranium Mining
Re-invigoration of the nuclear debate has seen spirited exchanges over the life cycle assessments of nuclear energy versus other energy systems
A central aim of these studies is to quantify the unit CO2 emissions for nuclear vs others
Although it is generally accepted that as ore grade declines, emissions will increase – there are numerous aspects to this, eg. :
resources, ore grade & type, energy/water costs etc.
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Outline From Here :
Summary
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Data Sources & Methodology
Surprisingly, data is readily available for production for many countries, eg. :
mining periodicals (CNRC, USBM, OECD-IAEA, …)
papers, company annual and technical reports, etc
Resources data compiled (mostly) from company annual and technical reports
Energy-Water-CO2 data is sourced from company social/environmental/ sustainability reports
Sust. data is converted to unit efficiency
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Analysis of Sustainability Metrics
Some key issues for sustainability include energy and water consumption and greenhouse emissions
The ‘eco-efficiency’ of various uranium mines is compared using the unit consumption (/emission) per uranium oxide produced relative to ore grade :
kL water / t U3O8 ; t CO2 / t U3O8
GJ energy / t U3O8
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Uranium Ore Grade by Country
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Global Uranium Production Trends
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Uranium Resources v Time
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Uranium Deposits : Size, Grade
<0.5% U3O8
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Energy & Water v Ore Grade
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Greenhouse Emissions
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Discussion & Future Work
Uranium Resources – Finite or Not ?
clear evidence that exploration over time has continued to sustain economic resources
ore grades by country are mostly declining
despite rich Canadian ores, global average ore grade has not increased
future production will come from lower grade ores
Sustainability Metrics
unit energy/water/CO2 have been quantified, showing clear sensitivity to ore grade
however, still need to do complete I/O LCA …
2nd Int Conf on Sustainability Eng/Sci : Sustainability Metrics of Uranium Mining / *
Summary & Conclusions
Key issues underpinning the contested sustainability of nuclear power, centred on various aspects of uranium mining
Over time, resources have been maintained but grades are mostly decling
Sustainability metrics such as energy, water & CO2 are sensitive to ore grade, and resource intensity increases as grade declines
More work needed to do complete LCA …
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