Looking to expand its nuclear energy program using domestic fuel sources, Argentina is claiming progress in its efforts to restart its idled uranium-mining industry. However, government mining plans have been slowed by concerns about the environmental impacts of uranium operations. The federal government in August signed an agreement with Salta province to restart the Don Otto mine, the first uranium operation to be reactivated here since such mining was halted in the mid-1990s amid international price trends favoring imported uranium. Though federal authorities have attached great symbolic importance to the reopening of Don Otto, the mine over the next decade is expected to supply little more than 20% of the uranium Argentina needs to run its two existing nuclear-power stations. Furthermore, a... [Log in to read more]
