Year
2013
Abstract
A country report aims to provide detailed information on nuclear related activities for an examined country such as nuclear development, scientific and technical capabilities, resources, etc. It is mainly based on open sources. Ascertaining the origin, the nature and the credibility of them are essential. The information has to be merged and expertise to be made. Some performing tools are classically used to understand the situation and evaluate the ability of nuclear material production as cartography, imagery, analysis of scientific publications (bibliometry), etc. However an interesting aspect of the nuclear capabilities of the country, the potential self sufficiency of raw material (uranium), cannot be pointed out only with those classical tools. Then we have considered a new tool based only on geology through these types of data: - Geological and metallogenic data (maps), - IAEA geological types of uranium deposits and the NEA/IAEA classification scheme for uranium resources, - Bibliographic studies about uranium resources (prospecting, extraction, etc. when they exist), - Open sources from geological institutions (websites, etc. when it is available), - Geologists’ analysis, - Other fields factors like prospecting, access to the site, uranium quantity and content, ore extraction, etc. When all those data are collected and assessed, criteria could be combined in order to obtain, with our quantitative method, the most important target and so deduce knowledge about a potential discreet area or a potential industrial area for uranium in a country. Some countries are difficult to analyse because of the lack of bibliographic studies. But, it is possible to evaluate sites where uranium resources could be even if the quantities can’t be expected. It is a first indication for a country report. In conclusion, geology is useful and appears to be a perfect tool to have potential uranium resources with precise areas and then an idea of potential self sufficient of raw material of a country. It is possible to compare and complete with other information for a country report. An