Kansai’s Takahama Nuclear Reactor – Photo courtesy www.japantimes.co.jp
With the restarting of the Takahama 4 reactor early yesterday morning, Japan now has four reactors back on-line. The reactor is scheduled to start supplying electricity to the grid on May 22 and will gradually increase output until it reaches full-scale operation in mid-June. The other three reactors that are on-line in Japan are the Sendai 1 and 2 and Ikata 3 power plants.
The fifth reactor scheduled to come on stream in Japan is Takahama 3 in which fuel loading was completed on Tuesday. The reactor is scheduled to restart in June and to reach full capacity electricity generation in early July.
Meanwhile, the assembly of Saga Prefecture in which the Genkai 3 and 4 nuclear plants are located, approved the restart of the plants on April 13. The final step in the application process was achieved on April 25 when the governor of Saga Prefecture gave his approval to restart the reactors. Both reactors are expected to come back on stream in the fall, so we can expect Japan to have at least seven reactors on-line by year-end. To date, seventeen other nuclear power plants have applied for restart in Japan.
The significance of the startup of these power stations in terms of the uranium market is that they increase demand for nuclear fuel in a market this is currently in oversupply – which should ultimately be positive for the uranium market.
Sources:
Japanese reactor restarts after lifting on injunction – World Nuclear News, May 17, 2017.
Governor Approves Restart of Japan’s Genkai 3 and 4, April 25, 2017.
http://www.nucnet.org/all-the-news/2017/04/25/governor-approves-restart-of-japan-s-genkai-3-and-4
About U3O8 Corp.
U3O8 Corp. is focused on exploration and development of deposits of uranium and associated commodities in South America. Potential by-products from uranium production include commodities used in the energy storage industry – in the manufacture of batteries – such as nickel, vanadium and phosphate. The Company’s mineral resources estimates were made in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, and are contained in three deposits:
- Laguna Salada Deposit, Argentina – a PEA shows this near surface, free-digging uranium – vanadium deposit has low production-cost potential;
- Berlin Deposit, Colombia – a PEA shows that Berlin also has low-cost uranium production potential due to revenue that would be generated from by-products of phosphate, vanadium, nickel, rare earths (yttrium and neodymium) and other metals that occur within the deposit; and
- Kurupung Deposit, Guyana – a uranium resource has been estimated in four veins within a uranium-zirconium vein system. Resources have been estimated on four veins, while consistent mineralization of the same type has been intersected in scout drilling of an additional six veins, while yet other veins require first-time exploration drilling.
Information on U3O8 Corp., its resources and technical reports are available at www.u3o8corp.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
For further information, please contact:
Richard Spencer
President and CEO
U3O8 Corp.
T: (416) 868-1491
richard@u3o8corp.com
TSX: UWE
OTCQX: UWEFF
About U3O8 Corp.
U3O8 Corp. (www.u3o8corp.com) is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (UWE.TO), on the OTCXQ market in the USA (OTC:UWEFF) and on the Santiago Stock Exchange in Chile (SSE:UWECL). The Company is Toronto-based with a portfolio of quality deposits in South America that contain uranium and other commodities used in low-emissions energy generation and agriculture. The company is focused on creating long-term shareholder value through the discovery and development of deposits that have the potential to be among the lowest-cost producers in the industry. U3O8 Corp. is committed to working with local communities for sustainable development and to minimize our carbon footprint.
References