Calls for Australia to lift ban

BHP Group is calling for Australia to lift a long-standing ban on nuclear power as the country moves to decarbonise its electricity system.
Nuclear “must be part of the conversation” in Australia, Laura Tyler, chief technical officer at the world’s biggest miner, said in a recent interview.
“To make sure we have that safe, reliable energy mix, we need to be able to mix it up” with nuclear complementing wind, solar, batteries and other sources of electricity, she said. “Everything needs to be on the table”.
The bulk of BHP’s earnings come from its Australian iron ore and coal mines, but the company also produces uranium, the fuel for nuclear reactors, at its Olympic Dam site in South Australia.
Further developments have come following Uranium mining company Boss Energy announcing the restart of the Honeymoon uranium project, with the first wellfield complete, and related gypsum pond and water treatment plants nearing completion.
The Honeymoon uranium project is located in South Australia, 80 kilometres northwest of Broken Hill. It was given the green light to proceed with development in June 2022.
Now, the project has completed the construction of three start-up wellfields. This comprises of 86 drilled and cased new production wells and 31 recompletions of existing wells.