“There have been attempts to import uranium from Jordan and Kazakhstan, but unfortunately the impediments were insurmountable. Most of the deposits are already leased and the remaining ones are either poor in uranium or they have a high content of phosphates and are difficult to process,” GVC’s owner Viorel Achim told an energy seminar Tuesday.
Romania’s sole nuclear power plant in Cernavoda covers around 18% of the country’s electricity production. The Cernavoda plant uses uranium metal from local mines, but it may require additional quantities once the construction of two new reactors is completed.
The Crucea-Botusana mine, the only uranium mine currently in operation, has enough reserves for another five to six years. Another deposit uncovered in Tulghes-Grinties is estimated to contain about 6,000 tons of uranium, but only half of the amount might be actually usable. The Tulghes-Grinties mine is not operational.