Australia’s surging uranium industry – propelled by rapidly advancing new exploration projects in its three westernmost states – will return to the national stage in Adelaide next Monday (March 1), with the opening of the fourth annual Paydirt 2010 Uranium Conference. “With hundreds of nuclear reactors currently planned or proposed around the world, and billions of dollars of new uranium demands from India, China and South Korea, the demand for Australian uranium is destined to keep rising,” Conference Convenor, Bill Repard said.
The two-day Conference at the Hilton Adelaide will bring together some of Australia’s leading advocates of uranium mining – both as a growing component of the country’s economic prosperity, and as a key ally in the battle to secure a clean-energy future. The conference will be officially opened by South Australia’s Minister for Mineral Resources Development, the Hon. Paul Holloway.
Delegates will be briefed on some of Australia’s most promising new uranium destinations including Toro Energy’s 25 Mlb Wiluna project in central Western Australia, Alliance Resources’ 32 Mlb Four Mile deposit in northeast South Australia and UraniumSA’s promising Mullaquana discovery on the Eyre Peninsula.
Presenters will also include some of Australia’s most prominent uranium and energy experts, including Professor Tony Owen of the UCL School of Energy and Resources, and the University of Adelaide’s Professor of Mining Geology, Dr Ian Plimer, whose controversial book, Heaven and Earth, ignited spirited debate on the presence of human-induced climate change last year.
A highlight of Monday’s schedule will be a presentation by world-renowned radiation biologist, Professor Doug Boreham, whose work on the health benefits of low-dose ionising radiation has won him plaudits and awards around the world.
Other presenters will include the uranium industry’s two most influential advocacy groups – the Australian Uranium Association and the Uranium Council – lawyers and industry analysts who will discuss the impact of State regulations on uranium mining, and geologists committed to further discoveries in the country that currently accounts for a quarter of all known uranium reserves.
Reepard: “Whatever happens in our national politics, demand for this key Australian minerals commodity is emerging as a potential critical component of our long-term national resources portfolio and how we play a part in servicing world energy demand. The latest forecasts from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) estimate that Australian uranium exports will rise to 14,000 t by 2014 – earning export credits in the region of A$1.7 billion.
“This is reinforced by Australian Uranium Association findings that uranium exports have the capacity to add between A$14.2 billion and A$17.4 billion in net present value terms to Australia’s GDP between now and 2030. Add to that the pollution savings – as increased Australian uranium exports could slash greenhouse gas emissions by between 11 and 15 billion t by 2030 – and the industry is seeing a compelling case for enhanced domestic uranium exploration and the transition to commercial mining operations beyond our current three mines.”