A parliamentary panel has recommended that necessary steps be taken to ensure new uranium mines are opened as soon as possible in order to reduce India’s dependence on imported uranium.
Highlights of Uranium Mining
A stockpile of 15,000 tonnes of uranium is required to achieve supply security of fuel for nuclear plants in the country.
India currently imports uranium from Kazakhstan, Canada and Russia.
Presently, a major portion of uranium for domestic production comes from the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand. These are old, and the ore is found at great depths. Further, the high extraction cost makes it unviable as compared to imported uranium, the panel noted.
Uranium is also extracted from the Tummalapalle mines in Andhra Pradesh, and uranium reserves are also available in Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the panel noted.
