Australian uranium producers have praised US President, Donald Trump, on his nuclear fuel supply chain strategy.

A Section 232 petition launched by US producers Energy Fuels and Ur-Energy in January 2018 requested that the US Government set a quota to reserve a quarter of the country’s nuclear market for domestic uranium producers.

This move had potential to cut imports from Australia – the second largest global exporter of uranium.

Trump has decided not to impose this quota.

Australian uranium producer, Vimy Resources, stated that this a very positive outcome for the Australian uranium industry as any sort of tariff or quota would have been prejudiced to uranium sales within the US market which accounts for 30 per cent of uranium consumption.

“This is fantastic news,” said Vimy Resources CEO, Mike Young. “It is the starting gun to the uranium revival that had been picking up steam before this Section 232 investigation stopped everything in its tracks. I’m pleased that the President, a businessman himself, saw fit to address the bigger issue of the US nuclear fuel supply chain rather than providing a short-term sugar hit.”

Boss Resources Managing Director, Duncan Craib, has also welcomed Trump’s resolve as Boss is reported to be in a very good position as US utilities come back to the market.

“Australia has been a long-term reliable and important supplier of uranium to the US and this decision will see this continue, underpinning project development in Australia as well as providing foreign investment.” he said.

The US Secretary of Commerce investigated the effect of uranium imports on the national security. It found that uranium is being imported into the US in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national of the US as defined under section 232 of the Act.

The US currently imports approximately 93 per cent of its commercial uranium, compared to 85.8 per cent in 2009.

The Secretary of Commerce found that this figure is because of increased production by foreign state-owned enterprises, which have distorted global prices and made it more difficult for domestic mines to compete.

The Secretary of Commerce’s recent findings raise significant concerns about the impact of uranium imports on the national security with respect to domestic mining.

“I find that a fuller analysis of national security considerations with respect to the entire nuclear fuel supply chain is necessary at this time,” US President, Donald Trump, said in a statement on 12 July.

The US is reported to require domestically produced uranium to satisfy Department of Defense (DOD) requirements for maintaining effective military capabilities, including nuclear fuel for the US Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines, source material for nuclear weapons and other functions.

Domestic mining, milling and conversion of uranium, however, while significant according to the Secretary of Commerce, are only a part of the nuclear supply chain necessary for national security, including DOD needs.

To address these concerns, the Secretary of Commerce aims to create a US Nuclear Fuel Working Group to ensure a comprehensive review of the country’s entire domestic nuclear supply chain.

The working group is due to submit a report to Trump within 90 days to confirm findings and make recommendations to further enable nuclear fuel production in the US if needed.

Australian uranium is transported around the world by road, rail and sea, according to the Minerals Council of Australia. Uranium Oxide Concentrate (UOC) is typically packaged into 200-litre steel drums that weight between 300-400kg. These drums are inspected to ensure they are sealed when they are moved. The drums are then tied down with kevlar straps and packed into shipping containers that are locked, sealed and secured at the mine site.

“Every year around 50 shipments of 500 containers of Australian uranium are safely transported by road and rail to ports in Adelaide and Darwin where they are shipped,” the Council said in a statement. “The containers are locked and are only opened for official inspections until they reach their overseas destination for processing before delivery to companies around the world.”