The Government of Niger has confirmed its “full support” for Global Atomic Corporation’s (GAC) Dasa uranium project, according to GAC. The project intends to make its first yellowcake deliveries to utilities in 2025. The project will not be influenced by a recent U.S. decision to put a hold on U.S. Development Bank financing following the coup that took place in Niger earlier this year.
     On the 10th of October, the U.S. State Department officially designated the events in the African republic at the end of July 2023 as a “coup d’état”. Most U.S. assistance to the government of Niger has been suspended pending action by Niger to return to “democratic governance”. This includes the U.S. Development Bank financing. The suspension does not apply to humanitarian, food and health assistance.
     GAC has its headquarters in Toronto, Canada. It is developing a high-grade uranium deposit sixty-five miles south of the established uranium mining town of Arlit. GAC said that it has been “engaged in contingency planning with parties interested in non-dilutive financing options at the operating level” from groups interested in purchasing uranium from the mine.
     Existing uranium offtake agreements with utilities are unaffected by the State Department decision, according to GAC. The company has no “no immediate need to finance” because it has sufficient cash on hand for the next year. GAC recently announced its third offtake agreement for the sale of as much as three and a half million pounds of U2O8 from the project to a North American utility beginning in 2026. It has received additional Requests for Proposal for uranium offtake agreements from utilities. Almost one and a half million pounds of U2O8 over the first five years of the mine’s operation, representing almost thirty percent of the scheduled production, are now contracted under such offtake agreements.
     Stephen Roman is the Global Atomic President and CEO. He said, “The Government of Niger has confirmed its full support for the Dasa Project and recognizes it’s a new mine that will benefit the Republic of Niger by creating new jobs and opportunities for local business and revitalize the northern region of the country. The Government has offered its encouragement in the development of Dasa and all support required to accelerate construction and the start of mining operations.”
     Logistics issues regarding importing goods into Niger are being addressed by the government. Niger has recently given full approval for the transport of goods via ports in Ghana and Togo and overland via Burkina Faso, according to GAC. Internal cargo flights are expected to be restored shortly.
     Mine excavation began at Dasa in 2022. The project’s 2021 Phase1 Feasibility Study estimates that yellowcake delivered to utilities can begin in 2025. A revised mine plan for Dasa that will integrate recently updated mineral resource figures is nearing completion. It will form the basis of a revised feasibility study to be completed in the first half of 2024, according to GAC.
     Hopefully, Niger will return to “democratic governance” soon so regular commercial operations can be restored.

Ambient office = 104 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 113 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 118 nanosieverts per hour

Tomato from Central Market = 143 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 102 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 81 nanosieverts per hour

     Sheffield Forgemasters, X-energy and Cavendish Nuclear have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperating to explore opportunities around the deployment of fleet of Xe-100 high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) in the U.K.
     X-energy of the U.S. and Cavendish Nuclear, a U.K. subsidiary of the Babcock International group, will have access to Sheffield Forgemasters’ decades of experience in the development of nuclear forging and castings. They have plans to build up to forty Xe-100s across the U.K.
     Dominic Ashmore is the Head of Strategy and Business Development – Clean Energy at Sheffield Forgemasters. He said, “Following the key step forward recently made by Great British Nuclear (GBN) to boost UK nuclear power generation through small modular reactor (SMR) development, GBN is also developing a route to market for other technologies, including advanced nuclear and a consultation will be published this autumn. The UK’s civil nuclear development is part of our business strategy and this MoU is the latest in a line of agreements that we have signed with a number of SMR companies looking to deploy in the UK market.”
     Ashmore added. “Our work with X-Energy and Cavendish Nuclear will provide specialist engineering services, support and components including forgings, to the UK Xe-100 deployment program. Sheffield Forgemasters will undertake a detailed review of the Xe-100 forgings and look to facilitate more definitive cost estimates and production plans.”
     Carol Tansley is a vice president of U.K. Nuclear New Build at X-Energy. She said, “We’re delighted to be collaborating with Sheffield Forgemasters, which is a world-renowned industry leader in its field. Our technology will be the first small modular reactor operational in the US and we want to build on that progress by moving forward quickly with our U.K. program. In delivering that fleet we want to maximize the involvement of the UK supply chain as part of our target to achieve 80% by value UK content, and the MoU with a company with the experience and capabilities of Sheffield Forgemasters is a crucial step in that journey.”
     The Xe-100 is a Generation IV advanced reactor design. X-energy says it is based on decades of HTGR operation, research and development. Designed to operate as a standard three hundred and twenty megawatt four-unit power plant with each unit contributing eighty megawatts. It is engineered to deliver reliable and load-following grid-scale power to electricity systems and to pair seamlessly with renewables. At two hundred thermal megawatts of five hundred sixty-five degrees steam, the Xe-100 is also suitable for other power applications including mining and heavy industry.
     In December of 2021, U.K. energy minister Greg Hands announced that HTGRs have been selected as the preferred advanced reactor technology for the U.K. Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development & Demonstration Program. The program counts on two hundred and ten million dollars of government funding from a four hundred and seventy million dollar package which is intended to accelerate of highly flexible nuclear technologies.
     In May of 2022, Cavendish Nuclear signed a MoU with X-energy to act as its deployment collaborator for HTGRs in the U.K. The two companies have applied to the U.K.’s Future Nuclear Enabling Fund to support a Generic Design Assessment of the Xe-100 SMR. It also calls for supply chain development for the first proposed project.

     An agreement between Orano and Erdenes Mongol LLC sets out the framework for an investment agreement that will lay the foundation for a long-term relationship for the development and industrial operations of the Zuuvch-Ovoo uranium project in south-western Mongolia. The investment agreement is expected to be signed by the end of the year. Erdenes Mongol LLC is a Mongolian state-owned investment company.
     The protocol was signed on the 12th of October at the Elysée Palace in Paris by Orano Chairman Claude Imauven and Erdenes Mongol CEO Sanjaagiin Narantsogt. President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh of Mongolia were present.
    Pilot operations over 2021-2022 have already confirmed the economic, environmental, and societal feasibility of operating the Zuuvch-Ovoo site, according to Orano. The project has been developed by Badrakh Energy which is a joint venture between Orano Mining and the Mongolian state-owned company MonAtom.
     The joint Franco-Mongolian project will be based on international standards and best practices in terms of safety, security, and the environment according to Orano. Orano said that it is “committed over the long term, alongside communities for responsible mining with a development and cooperation program in favor of local populations”.
     Imauven said that the signature of the protocol “marks a decisive step” in a relationship with Mongolia that has been in existence for over twenty-five years. He added that “This cooperation will enable us to develop the uranium sector in Mongolia while furthering the Group’s strategy of diversifying its mining activities.”
     Agnès Pannier-Runacher is France’s Minister for Energy Transition. She said on X that the agreement contributes to the diversification of French sources of Supply. She added that “This is good news for our nuclear industry and our energy sovereignty.”
     Badrakh Energy’s on-site pilot at Zuuvch-Ovoo in the Gobi Desert took place from July 2021 to December 2022. The pilot tested uranium extraction by in-situ leach methods. The pilot produced ten tons of natural uranium concentrate. Orano has previously stated that over a forecast thirty year mine life, the Zuuvch-Ovoo project has the potential to earn Mongolia around one billion six hundred million dollars of direct investment over the life of the project as well as one billion dollars in tax income nationally and locally. The report Uranium 2022: Resources, Production and Demand is a joint publication of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and International Atomic Energy Agency, also known as the Red Book, said that the deposit has ninety-three thousand two hundred and ninety on tons of uranium resources at a grade of 0.022% uranium.
     Mongolia has substantial known uranium resources. However, no uranium has been mined there since the closure in 1995 of an open-pit mine at the Dornod deposit in the north-east of the country. The Dornod mine was operated by Russian interest. It produced five hundred thirty-five tons of uranium over six years of production. Uranium ore from the mine was transported by rail to the Riargunsky facility in Frasnokamensk, Russia, for processing.
     The price of uranium ore on the international market has been soft but is currently rising to the point where more dormant mines are being brought online.

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     The commission’s new report goes on to say that “As a result, the Navy must consider schedule tradeoffs between the two classes of submarines. The [Office of Management and Budget] as well as the Commission are skeptical that the current infrastructure can simultaneously support conventional and nuclear sustainment, modernization, and construction as scheduled. The AUKUS agreement may place further stress on this capacity.”
     The Congressional commission report’s release comes as the Senate Armed Services Committee pushes for supplemental funding in the Fiscal Year 2024 defense policy bill.
     While marking up the National Defense Authorization Act, the committee called on President Joe Biden “to send emergency supplemental funding requests to address those concerns, to include continued support for Ukraine, additional munitions production, and additional naval vessels and combat vehicles.”
     Under an agreement between Biden and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over the debt ceiling limit, lawmakers had to adhere to the administration’s FY 2024 $886 billion request for national defense. Wicker has argued that any supplemental funding request must also include additional support for AUKUS to strengthen the U.S. defense nuclear industry.
     Wicker said in an August statement, “If we hope to realize the full potential of the AUKUS deal, it is imperative that the president articulate an achievable plan of action to increase American submarine production that meets both American and Australian needs. The enhanced security of the United States and our partners depends on our mutual collaboration and cooperation.”
     The Pentagon’s Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation has laid out a roadmap for long-term investment to pursue AUKUS. However, lawmakers have yet to see the report.
     In his statement accompanying the release of the commission’s new report, Wicker repeated the lawmakers’ push for the defense supplemental request. He said, “It is essential that Congress move forward quickly with a plan to provide our military with the resources necessary to restore our nuclear deterrent and rebuild the capacity to find and win two wars if necessary. Passing a defense supplemental in the near-term and guaranteeing real growth in the annual defense budget will help us meet this moment. Failing to make these investments now will leave the United States weaker and invite costly new threats from our adversaries.”
     The report argues that the U.S.’s current posture is not ready to deter nor compete with Russia and China. “Decisions need to be made now in order for the nation to be prepared to address the threats from these two nuclear-armed adversaries arising during the 2027-2035 timeframe. Moreover, these threats are such that the United States and its Allies and partners must be ready to deter and defeat both adversaries simultaneously.”
     There is new activity at U.S., Russian, Chinese, and North Korean nuclear sites. It appears that the U.S. is confronted with a new nuclear arms race as Russia announces intention to pull out of the nuclear arms treaty limiting nuclear weapon construction and deployment. The problem with nuclear weapons is that a global nuclear war would destroy human civilization.