Finland becomes the first country in the EU to mine uranium
19 June 2024 12:58
Natural uranium mining has started in Sotkamo, making Finland the first EU member state to develop uranium mines. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the mining company Terrafame.
“Terrafame has started mining natural uranium at its industrial site in Sotkamo (a mine in the north-east of the country)… With the start of operation, Finland will become the only EU member state to produce uranium,” the report said,
– the statement said.
The company’s production process allows it to use the low concentration of natural uranium in ore as a by-product. The uranium produced by Terrafame will be transported abroad for further processing and then used in nuclear power generation.
The company is expected to reach full capacity by 2026, with uranium production of around 200 tonnes per year. The production capacity corresponds to approximately nine months of consumption at the new Olkiluoto3 nuclear power plant in Finland.
It is planned to continue uranium production alongside other metals throughout the entire operational period, which will cover at least the next 30 years.
After the ramp-up phase, uranium production will increase Terrafame’s net sales by approximately €30-40 million per year based on the current market price of uranium, which will represent several percent of Terrafame’s expected net sales in the coming years.
The volume of investments in preparations for production was about €20 million, the company said.
In 2020, the Finnish government granted Terrafame a uranium mining permit under the Nuclear Energy Act, allowing the company to extract uranium from ore at the Sotkamo mine. The decision is enforceable following a ruling by the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court in June 2021. Terrafame also has an environmental permit as well as a permit for uranium recovery chemicals.
