Opinion
As Africa eyes nuclear energy to meet growing energy demands – is continent ready to handle related risks?
In Nigeria, Africa’s second-biggest energy consumer, the initial plan was to introduce nuclear technology from 2000.
Now plans to generate 1,000 MW from two proposed nuclear plants before 2019 are being delayed by a simmering conflict between the country’s two nuclear regulatory authorities.
Uranium deposits
The continent’s quest for nuclear power is boosted by an abundance of uranium.
Namibia, Niger and South Africa are major producers, accounting for about 15 percent of the world’s known recoverable uranium resources.
According to a 2005 IAEA report, Africa has 18 percent of the world’s known recoverable uranium resources.
Alio Toune of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in Niger said the country has 280,00 tonnes of proven uranium reserves and expects to be the second producer in the world at 10,000 tonnes annually by the end of 2015.
Currently, investigations are underway to unearth deposits of uranium and other minerals such as beryllium and thorium that have the potential to produce atomic energy in Botswana, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, Guinea, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
