The 2009 Paydirt Uranium Conference will open in Adelaide on Monday (March 16) just days after the latest commodity forecasts project a 5% increase in Australian uranium production this year – and even greater leaps in the years ahead. Some of Australia’s leading nuclear scientists and lobbyists will join miners and explorers at the Hilton Adelaide next Monday and Tuesday for an intensive two-day review of the prospects for uranium mining and nuclear energy in Australia.“The gloves are coming off in the nuclear debate as political and business stakeholders assess the role of nuclear power in Australia’s future carbon footprint,” Conference Convenor, Bill Repard, said. “With surging global interest in nuclear energy as a clean base-load power, demand for Australian uranium continues to grow – creating a basket of issues related to trade, export revenues, international controls and whether our domestic energy market needs to expand its nuclear-based contribution.

“The national uranium industry has seen some major developments in recent months, with the removal of the ban on uranium mining in Western Australia, and increased production forecasts from the country’s largest uranium mines – the Ranger mine in the Northern Territory and BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam in South Australia. The outcome of next week’s election in Queensland may also see wider impacts.

“Forecasts last month from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics estimated a 5% increase in national uranium production and a 6% rise in uranium export earnings to about A$940 million in 2008-09 – rising a further 31% to A$1.2 billion in 2009-10.

“Supporting this is the fact the end of the WA ban is expected to result in the as soon as possible development now of several major uranium deposits, including Mega Uranium’s Lake Maitland project – currently the subject of a potential Japanese buy-in – and Toro Energy’s Centipede-Lake Way project.” (Both Mega Uranium and Toro Energy will be making presentations at the conference.)

Repard said that in South Australia, Korean, Japanese and Chinese mining companies had all bought in to exploration ventures across the State, which reportedly contains up to 50% of the world’s known uranium.

Among the keynote presenters at the Paydirt Conference will be:-

• Michael Angwin, Executive Director of the Australian Uranium Association
• Respected Adelaide-based geologist, Professor Ian Plimer
• Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.

The opening address, at 9.00am on Monday morning, will be delivered by South Australia’s Minister for Mineral Resources Development, the Hon.Paul Holloway.