What is the cost of uranium and thorium?
The international quoted price of natural uranium was of the order of $ 30 per lb U308 but now is less than $ 15 per lb. Thorium costs are quoted as similar to natural uranium. There is no free market in India for bulk supply of uranium or thorium, which are strategic minerals controlled by the Atomic Energy Act. The cost of production includes costs for exploration, mining, processing and fabrication into the finished fuel for nuclear reactors. The cost of natural uranium oxide fuel (which is produced at the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), Hyderabad), contributes only of the order of 10% to 15% of the cost of а unit of electricity from а heavy water reactor, such as that at the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS). This contribution is so low on account of the large amount of energy released per unit mass of fuel in the fission reactor. One tone of natural uranium oxide fuel produces about 50 million units of electricity at MAPS. When the two reactors of MAPS are operating at full power (34
