Platts - Monday, August 14, 2006 http://www.platts.com ------------ September decision on application for uranium prospecting in Finland London (Platts)--14Aug2006 Decisions on applications for uranium prospecting in Finland will be made by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in September, a ministry official said in a statement August 11. Areva is one of the companies applying for prospecting licenses. Residents in the areas where prospecting would be done have strongly protested granting licenses but Finnish officials have said that under current laws it would be difficult to deny licenses. The officials have also said that getting actual mining permits would be very difficult. ------------ DOE issues rule on risk insurance for advanced nuclear plants Washington (Platts)--11Aug2006 The US Department of Energy on Friday issued a final rule providing developers of new advanced nuclear plants with insurance for regulatory and legal risks. In a Federal Register notice, DOE said it had "largely adopted" provisions included in an interim version of the rule released in May. The notice followed by one week an announcement by Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman that the final rule--one of several incentives for new nuclear construction included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005--had been completed. The rule establishes a process under which utilities building the first six advanced power plants can quality for a portion of $2 billion in federal risk insurance. Utilities seeking the risk insurance are not precluded from applying for other nuclear incentives in the law, DOE said. "The department has determined that the act does not prohibit a sponsor from acquiring for a specific facility more than one, or even, all of the various forms of incentives provided under the act," the DOE notice said. In seeking public comment on the interim rule, the department asked whether it should clarify utilities' eligibility for various inducements, which also include loan guarantees. Industry had maintained that the law's incentives were "complementary, not exclusive," DOE said in Friday's notice. "For example, commentators stated that cost of any loan guarantee should be adjusted downward to reflect the reduced risk of default on the underlying debt obligation as a result of the [risk insurance program]," DOE said. The department also acknowledged a statement by a public advocacy group that "nuclear industry includes some of the country's wealthiest companies and should not be eligible for numerous subsidies of the same plant." ------------ Decisions on uranium prospecting in Finland to come next month Stockholm (Platts)--11Aug2006 Decisions on applications for uranium prospecting in Finland will be made by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in September, a ministry official said in a statement August 11. Areva is one of the companies applying for prospecting licenses. Residents in the areas where prospecting would be done have strongly protested granting licenses but Finnish officials have said that under current laws it would be difficult to deny licenses. The officials have also said that getting actual mining permits would be very difficult. ------------ About 40kg of unused HEU returned to Russia from Poland London (Platts)--11Aug2006 About 40 kilograms of unused HEU was returned to Russia from the Maria research reactor in Poland, according to statements from Russia, the IAEA, and the US DOE. The joint operation among the three countries and the IAEA took two days and was completed August 9, the statements said. DOE said it funded the operation, but did not disclose the cost. Russian web site nuclear.ru, citing information from Russian's Federal Atomic Energy Agency, said the high-enriched uranium fuel was enriched "up to 80%" U-235. The material was taken to Russia's Dimitrovgrad site, where it will be blended down to low-enriched uranium. The Maria reactor in Otwock-Swierk, near Warsaw, is scheduled to be converted from HEU to low-enriched uranium fuel. This week's operation was part of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, which aims to secure weapons-usable nuclear material around the world. ------------ License renewal process for Honeywell plant advances Washington (Platts)--10Aug2006 NRC is moving closer to renewing for 10 years Honeywell's license to operate a uranium conversion facility at Metropolis, Illinois. In a Federal Register notice published August 10, NRC said that it has determined there would be no significant environmental impacts from renewing the Honeywell license for another 10 years. The plant has operated at Metropolis since 1958; its license was last renewed in 1995. The Metropolis plant is the only US plant that converts U3O8 to UF6, a key step in the process of making nuclear fuel for power reactors. ------------ German RWE to apply for life extension of Biblis-A nuke Freiburg (Platts)--10Aug2006 Germany's RWE is to apply for an extension to the running time of its 1,223-MW Biblis-A nuclear power plant this summer, Harry Roels, chairman of the company, said Thursday. Environment minister Sigmar Gabriel has reportedly said he would reject any application for nuclear lifetime extensions, but RWE said it believed the minister would "check the application properly." "Firstly, the unit is safe, and secondly, we have an obligation towards our shareholders to do this," Roels said. "Share law knows no political compromises." RWE could use power generation from its decommissioned nuclear unit Mulheim- Karlich, and the company said it could transfer those to Biblis-A. "As yet, we are investigating our options," said RWE. Roels outlined that safety was priority for RWE, be that at nuclear, coal or gas plants. "I understand safety concerns, and I agree with Gabriel on proper investigations of nuclear power plants." Meanwhile, Roels refused to comment on RWE's engagement in nuclear power plants in European countries other than Germany. "I refuse to speculate where we could participate, it is all in the early stages, but I will say that we, as RWE, would like to keep this form of (nuclear) technology," he said. RWE is in talks with Nuon over expansion into the Netherlands, but also with other utilities, said Roels, refusing to give details. ------------ Uranerz stock to begin trading on Amex Washington (Platts)--9Aug2006 Uranerz Energy Corp.'s stock will begin trading August 10 on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol URZ, the company said August 9. The Canadian-based company, which hopes to develop in situ leach uranium mines in Wyoming, is the first American company to list on Amex, according to John McGonegal, senior vice president of Amex Equities Group. Uranerz stock has been trading on the OTC Bulletin Board. Its stock closed today at (US)$2.41 a share, down 5 cents. ------------