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Use of Uranium for Zambia's energy not viable, says Mumba

Use of Uranium for Zambia's energy not viable, says Mumba
By Joan Chirwa
Tuesday May 20, 2008 [04:00]

THE use of uranium to generate power is currently not a viable option for Zambia despite the country’s electricity deficit, energy permanent secretary Peter Mumba has said. In an interview, Mumba said the discovery of uranium deposits in Zambia was not a guarantee for the product’s use to generate power.

“As much as we have the uranium in the country, government does not have immediate plans to use this resource for the generation of electricity,” Mumba said. “There are regulations that need to be put in place first before we can fully exploit uranium for a number of uses. For the time being, it is not a viable option.”

Mumba said Zambia needed to be extremely cautious in the use of uranium resulting from the product’s nature.

“Zambia needs to exercise extra caution in the use of uranium. We are not likely to use uranium in Zambia to power electricity plants in the near future because of security reasons. It is a good resource, but we cannot rush into exploiting it for power generation,” said Mumba.

According to energy experts, it is estimated that about 200 tonnes of Uranium Oxide are required to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity for one year.

The government recently announced that it would soon start issuing mining licences for uranium this June once the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approves Zambia's new regulations on the mineral.

Mines minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa said the law to cover for the mining, storage and transportation of uranium would be ready by June this year, before any of the companies exploring for the energy mineral could reach production stage.

Labels: ENERGY, PETER MUMBA, URANIUM

posted by MrK @ 4:12 AM