Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist July 2018 | страница 57

AFRICA DIARY
India is seeking participation in uranium
exploration in Namibia in its global
search for fuel to enhance nuclear power
generation.
Global Forces and Uranium Mining Development
Global trade in uranium is due to rapidly changing
perceptions of predicted demand and supply, which uranium
prices refl ect. A random event like the Fukushima disaster
can highly infl uence political decisions concerning nuclear
power worldwide and pose a serious impediment to the
progress of new uranium mining projects. In May 2013,
the spot market uranium price was at the lowest level since
2006, amounting to $105/kgU (Cameco, 2013a, b). Massive
investments in nuclear power by China, India, Russia
and other smaller countries might eventually elevate the
uranium price, but currently, the nuclear stand-by of Japan
along with the political trends of moving away from nuclear
power in Germany and France still seems to have a strong
effect on uranium trade. In such a situation, the cost of
resource production might be decisive in the developments
of new uranium mines. Therefore, systems and stakeholder
analyses demonstrate high dependency on external factors
for Namibia’s uranium mining developments.
Uranium Mining Regulatory System in Namibia
Mining operations usually take place on a territory
belonging to a certain country. Therefore, they function
within a framework of laws and regulations of that country.
The regulatory system defi nes the procedures, which are
mandatory for a mining company. The goal is to protect the
country's environment and society from the negative impacts
of mining. In the case of uranium production, two additional
factors result in a need for further regulations. Radioactive
properties of uranium need to be addressed, because of related
Figure 1: Outline of Regulatory Bodies and Acts Related to Namibia’s Uranium Mining
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 7 • July 2018, Noida • 57