Saudi Arabia plans to enrich and sell uranium: Energy minister
3 Min Read
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman announces that Saudi Arabia plans to commercialize all its resources, including uranium, by enriching it and producing "yellowcake," a key concentrate for nuclear fuel.
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Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman speaks during the World Government Summit at the Dubai Expo 2020, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on March 29, 2022. (AP)
According to Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Monday, the kingdom intends to commercialize all resources, including uranium.
"We will enrich it and we will sell it and we will do a 'yellowcake,'" the prince announced during a seminar in Dhahran, referring to a powdered concentrate of the mineral needed to make uranium fuel for nuclear reactors.
Even though there are limited radiation concerns, it must be handled carefully.
Saudi Arabia has a fledgling nuclear project that it hopes to extend to include uranium enrichment, a delicate subject. The country has divulged it intends to employ nuclear power to diversify its energy mix.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) possesses the Arab world's first multi-unit functioning nuclear energy facility. The UAE has agreed not to enrich uranium and not to reprocess spent fuel.
Last year, the monarchy announced plans to phase down the United Nations' light-touch inspection of its nuclear sites in favor of regular safeguards by the end of 2024.
Riyadh has yet to start its first nuclear reactor, therefore its project may still be supervised under the Small Quantities Protocol (SQP), an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency that exempts less advanced governments from numerous reporting and inspection requirements.
Saudi Arabia says to commit to highest nuclear safety standards
In 2023, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said Saudi Arabia is committed to the highest nuclear safety standards during the gathering of IAEA member states on Monday amid bids to erect a nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia.
Russia, China, and France are all vying to lay the cornerstone for the Saudi power plant as the nation itself seeks to sign several deals ahead of going into a contract with the states in question.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear agency of the United Nations, kicked off a five-day conference that brought together its 176 member states and "Israel" at the headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
Saudi Arabia, according to its energy minister, wants to possess and develop nuclear technology to deliver on the sustainable development goals it had pledged to implement as part of Saudi Vision 2030.
Bin Salman underlined that Saudi Arabia was committed to the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) while reaffirming the importance of fully implementing the 1955 resolution establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region.
