To read this issue of the Nuclear Monitor, use the article links below (in orange), or to download the full issue as a PDF use the link above.
Please subscribe to Nuclear Monitor.
Paladin Energy puts second African uranium mine into care-and-maintenance: Australian company Paladin Energy has put the Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia into care-and-maintenance. Paladin's only other mine ‒ the Kayelekera uranium mine in Malawi ‒ is also in care-and-maintenance. It's doubtful whether Paladin will survive and doubtful that its mines will be adequately rehabilitated.
Berkeley Energia uranium mining project in Spain ‒ the EU's only new uranium mine? Richard Harkinson from the London Mining Network discusses the campaign to stop Berkeley Energia going ahead with the proposed Retortillo uranium mine in Spain.
Closure plan for Ranger U mine in Australia's tropical Top End: Dave Sweeney from the Australian Conservation Foundation discusses the release of a Mine Closure Plan for the controversial Ranger uranium mine in the tropical Top End of the Northern Territory. Scrutiny will be necessary to pressure mining company ERA to meet the plan's objectives and to allow the site to be accepted into the surrounding Kakadu World Heritage region.
REN21 Renewables 2018 Global Status Report: Yet another record year for renewables with 178 gigawatts of renewable power capacity added in 2017.
Reactor-grade plutonium and nuclear weapons: exploding the myths: Reactor-grade plutonium can be used in weapons, and has been used in weapons ‒ yet many nuclear industry insiders and lobbyists claim otherwise. Gregory Jones has written a 170-page book debunking their falsehoods.
Wylfa nuclear power project in Wales a definite maybe: Formal negotiations are set to begin to progress two Advanced Boiling Water Reactors in Wales. It seems likely that the Japanese and UK government's will both provide direct financing for the reactors, and all sorts of other sweeteners are being offered to Hitachi.
Why nuclear power for African countries doesn't make sense: Hartmut Winkler ‒ Professor of Physics at the University of Johannesburg ‒ notes that the governments of a number of African nations have expressed interest in nuclear power. Drawing on the examples of nuclear projects in Sri Lanka and Egypt, he warns that governments and electricity consumers face a massive financial burden that most African economies could never meet.