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. Australia says China wants to explore for uranium
SYDNEY (AFP) Oct 17, 2005
China has asked for permission to conduct uranium exploration and mining in Australia to fuel its growing nuclear power industry, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Monday.

Downer said the government had no objection to the principle of opening up Australia's significant uranium deposits to the Chinese, but would insist Beijing first sign a nuclear safeguard agreement.

"We wouldn't be exporting any uranium to China for military purposes of any kind," Downer said on national radio.

"By that I don't only mean for use in nuclear weapons, but also we wouldn't be exporting any uranium to China for use in military vessels or vehicles of one kind or another," he said.

Chinese officials first asked for access to Australian uranium deposits during meetings in February with the Australian Nuclear Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office, officials said.

The Chinese initiative was revealed Monday by The Age newspaper in Melbourne and then confirmed by Downer, who earlier this year raised the prospect of increasing Australian exports of uranium to help fuel expanding nuclear power industries across Asia, notably in China, South Korea and India.

Australia has about 40 percent of the world's known uranium reserves but has only three operating uranium mines, two in South Australia and one in the Northern Territory. The country has no nuclear power industry.

The center-left Labor Party, which controls the state and territory governments, has opposed opening more uranium mines.

Prime Minister John Howard's conservative federal government in August seized control of uranium mining rights in the Northern Territory, giving it the power to grant approvals for exploration and mining activity.

Howard on Monday said he was unaware of a direct approach by the Chinese government concerning uranium exploration, but said China would have the same rights as any other party if it wanted to enter the sector.

"If China or indeed anybody else wants to mine uranium in Australia, it will be subject to the same laws as anybody else," he said.

"They will have to get permits and so forth from the various state authorities and of course they will have to comply with our uranium safeguards policy."

A nuclear proliferation expert expressed strong concern that allowing China to conduct its own uranium operations in Australia would make it difficult to ensure the nuclear material was used only for civilian purposes.

"I'm very worried about this," Richard Broinowski told The Age.

"I think the Australians are seeing dollar signs all over the place," he said, raising the prospect of China using Australian uranium for power generation so that it would be free to use its own uranium deposits for the military.

In 2004, Australia exported 9,648 tonnes of uranium, 39 percent of which went to the United States, 25 percent to Japan, 25 percent to the European Union, 10 percent to South Korea and one percent to Canada.

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