First Aussie uranium shipment to India flagged for next year
India is in negotiations with Australian suppliers to provide 1500 tonnes of uranium over five years and it is expected the first shipment of about 250 tonnes will arrive in eight months, the secretary of India’s Department of Atomic energy, Sekhar Basu, told Bloomberg.He said India was in negotiations with at least three Australian companies and “how much we import will ultimately depend on price”.
India is looking to expand its nuclear power production, but it has been hampered by a limited domestic supply of uranium and has been blocked by China from joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group. This makes sourcing uranium more difficult for India.
Aditi Phadnis, the political editor of India’s Business Standard, told The Australian that a number of new nuclear plants were under construction in India but faced the possibility of not having enough fuel to power them.
“From our point of view it is great news because, as you know, India is badly strapped for uranium, particularly because it has not signed the Non Proliferation Treaty,” she said.
“It has very limited sources for uranium and its own uranium program is very, very slow. It has a civil nuclear program for civilian power, but no uranium to fuel it.”
A parliamentary committee in Australia last year heard that the deal with India could double the size of Australia’s uranium mining industry and increase export revenue by $1.75 billion. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the administrative arrangements had been signed and uranium exports could begin immediately.
Ms Phadnis said the uranium deal could be favourable to Australia in its negotiations with India for a preferential trade agreement. “I absolutely think (it will help) because we need this uranium very badly,” she said. “So it is a possible quid pro quo — not in real terms but in philosophical terms that you have helped us out in tough time so we are willing to re-look at some of the things that are difficult in the free-trade agreement.”
She said the relationship between India and Australia was very friendly and Australia was now looking to India to be a counterweight to China.
Darvesh Gopal, of Indira Gandhi National Open University, expressed the same sentiments.
“The very aggressive attitude of China has an impact on other countries in the region and I’m afraid to say in future China may also threaten India,” Professor Gopal said. “We are very conscious about having a strategic relationship with Australia (so that it will have a lasting affect) on peace and security in the region.”
Australia had resisted selling uranium to India because it had not signed the NPT. This changed during the prime ministership of Julia Gillard who, in 2012, said opposing uranium sales to India was an obstacle to bilateral relations.
