Brazil is moving to open its uranium sector to private investment, allowing companies to explore and develop deposits in partnership with state-owned Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB).
A draft regulation seen by Bloomberg would allow private miners to develop uranium projects alongside INB, ending the state’s exclusive role in uranium mining.
Under the proposal, private partners would fund project development and could hold majority ownership if INB’s contribution of mining assets is worth less than the required investment.
Mining rights holders would also have 12 months after the rules take effect to declare any uranium discovered within their concessions. They would then be required to either partner with INB or sell the uranium to the state-owned company.
Failure to comply could result in the government revoking the mining rights, according to the draft.
The proposed reforms are intended to attract private capital and technical expertise as Brazil looks to expand uranium exploration and production.
“Global uranium output fell short of demand last year,” INB President Tomás Albuquerque Figueiredo told Bloomberg earlier this year.
Figueiredo also said companies from China, France, Russia, and Canada had expressed interest in investing in Brazil’s uranium sector.
According to the World Nuclear Association, Brazil holds about 3% of the world’s uranium resources but remains a relatively small producer.
The country currently produces uranium concentrate at the Caetité mine in Bahia, with annual output of about 400 tonnes. INB plans to double production through further investment.
Caetité is South America’s only operating uranium mine.
Write to Jackson Chen at Mining.com.au
Image: Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil
