Interested presenters have until 30 November to submit their abstracts for the IAEA International Symposium on Uranium Raw Material for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Exploration, Mining, Production, Supply and Demand, Economics and Environmental Issues (URAM-2018), to be held in Vienna, Austria, from 25 to 29 June 2018.

Participants of the URAM-2018 Symposium will analyse scenarios for uranium supply and demand, and present and discuss new developments in uranium geology, exploration, mining and processing, economics, and environmental and legal issues. They will also examine environmental requirements for uranium operations and site decommissioning.

As the potential of nuclear power remains high in the decades to come, ensuring an adequate supply of uranium resources will greatly influence its long term sustainability. This will require new and innovative ways to improve efficiencies in finding and producing uranium.

The Symposium will gather stakeholders from very different spheres to discuss uranium related issues, including scientists, managers, geologists, economists, engineers, operators, regulators, community representatives, social scientists, nuclear fuel cycle and environmental specialists and young professionals.

“We hope we will all benefit from a better understanding of where we stand and how technology development in exploration and production of uranium can influence the long term sustainability of nuclear power,” said Peter Woods from the IAEA's Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section and Co-Scientific Secretary of the Symposium.

In recent years uranium supply has exceeded consumption, leading to historically low spot prices for uranium oxide. This has resulted in both decreased exploration activity and some mines being placed in care and maintenance. Looking forward, secondary uranium supplies are expected to decrease. This, combined with the exhaustion of some active uranium mines, requires that the uranium resource base and global production capacity be further advanced in order to meet current and future demands. The current oversupply could potentially lead to undersupply in the medium to long term. Due to long lead times from discovery to production, the re-evaluation of uranium resources is required now.

Learn more about URAM-2018 and topics and format of papers here.