China / Construction Begins On Country’s ‘Largest Uranium Production Project’ ( www.nucnet.org )

Construction has begun on China’s largest natural uranium production project in the Ordos Basin in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of northern China, according to China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), as reported in state media.

The project is being developed by state-run China National Nuclear Corporation and is part of CAEA’s nuclear industry development plan.

CAEA said the project’s key technical indicators are “among the best in the world”. It will have China’s largest production capacity and further improve the country’s security of supply of natural uranium, CAEA said.

China accounts for almost half the reactors under construction globally and is the fastest expanding nuclear power generator in the world..

According to International Atomic Energy Agency data, China has 25 nuclear plants under construction. It has 56 plants in operation that in 2023 generated a 4.9% share of electricity production.

To achieve carbon neutrality in 2060, China has planned to significantly increase the share of nuclear power in the electricity mix.

International Energy Agency analysis earlier this year showed that China has added more than 34 GW of nuclear power capacity in the past 10 years, nearly tripling its nuclear capacity and significantly increasing demand for uranium which it is sourcing both at home and abroad.

According to GlobalData, China was the world’s eighth-largest producer of uranium in 2023, with output up by 0.5% on 2022. But Chinese domestic and overseas uranium production remains limited and cannot satisfy the needs of the Chinese growing nuclear fleet

Statista said that in 2024, demand for uranium in China was estimated at about 13,000 tonnes, up from 11,300 tonnes a year earlier.