Push to lift restrictions on uranium mining amid nuclear debate

A new front in the nuclear debate is being opened with fresh calls for Australia to unlock more uranium and boost exports to assist the transition to net zero by 2050.

Coalition energy spokesman Ted O'Brien. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

A new front in the nuclear debate is being opened with fresh calls from the Coalition for Australia to unlock more uranium and boost exports to help the global decarbonisation effort and assist the transition to net zero by 2050.

Coalition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien told The Australian there was “no credible pathway to net zero by 2050 without zero-emissions nuclear energy, which is why it so important that we unlock our uranium reserves”.

Resources spokesman Susan McDonald said there was a fresh opportunity for the nation to help shore-up global supply chains after the US agreed to ban Russian uranium imports from August, with the push enthusiastically backed by mining bodies.

“Australia should use our relationships to build secure supply chains with our strategic partners, including the US, Japan and Korea to power their clean, zero-emissions nuclear energy,” Senator McDonald said.

The call to boost uranium mining comes amid a political fight over Peter Dutton’s plan to build seven nuclear reactors by 2050, with the Opposition Leader saying Labor was backing green hydrogen to reach the net-zero target when it was not a “proven technology.”

Speaking at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Mr Dutton conceded nuclear power had a large upfront capital cost but argued there were no viable alternatives that could be stood up without government assistance.

He said renewables needed to “be in the system” but the nation needed to stop “pretending” they could provide reliable power around the clock.

With the US banning any uranium products with Russian connections, Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable said uranium mining represented a “new opportunity for Australia, creating new jobs for highly skilled, well-paid workers.”

Under existing rules, uranium mining is allowed in South Australia and Northern Territory while exploration is approved in NSW. Mining is banned in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. In WA, the Labor government introduced a blanket ban on uranium mining in 2017 but allowed an exemption for four projects approved by the former government – only one of which progressed.

Ms Constable said it was “time to lift these outdated restrictions and unlock Australia’s world-class uranium reserves to bolster our economy and support global net-zero ambitions”.

“Uranium explorers have so far invested over $1bn in Western Australia without realising a return on their investment due to these restrictive policies,” she said.

“Despite having the world’s largest share of uranium totalling over 1,227 thousand tonnes, we trail behind Kazakhstan, Canada and Namibia in production. An expanded uranium sector would not only fund infrastructure, schools, roads, and hospitals but also provide high-paying jobs in regional communities across Australia.”

The US is expected to look for new supplies of uranium following the ban on products with Russian connections, with most of the uranium from Kazakhstan likely to be directed to China because of those connections.

Global supply is increasingly bifurcating with two blocks emerging: Kazakhstan, Russia and China versus the West.

Chamber of Minerals and ­Energy of WA chief executive ­Rebecca Tomkinson told The Australian it was “time to consider how we prioritise and boost production of a wide range of minerals and it would be shortsighted to exclude uranium”.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA chief economist Aaron Morey said he expected a tripling of demand for uranium given the commitment at COP28 in Dubai to boost nuclear energy capacity.

“If we can’t meet the needs of those countries in the northern hemisphere, then who will?” he said. “That’s why we are focused on the current political restrictions in WA and make the point that if WA can’t do it then no one can.”

The WA Chamber produced a report earlier this year saying the state had the capacity to produce an estimated 8000 tonnes annually, with the World Nuclear Association forecasting demand to climb 28 per cent by 2030 and nearly double by 2040.

Mr O’Brien told The Australian that “unlike Labor’s fake Made in Australia slogan”, lifting the uranium restrictions “would leverage a genuine competitive advantage”.

“For all Labor’s talk, Australia already is a clean energy super power, shipping uranium to power zero-emissions nuclear power plants the world over despite having no plants of our own,” he said.

“Australia should also lift the moratorium on nuclear energy so that we can use our own resources to decarbonise our economy.”