Finland To Become Last Uranium Producer In EU

Finland is set to become the last uranium producer in the European Union after the Helsinki government granted a permit to Terrafame Ltd., a multi-metal company that is 70% state-owned, to extract and refine uranium.

Given that the Czech Republic and Romania have ceased their uranium operations, Finland will be the EU’s only uranium producer.

The government permit will allow Terrafame to produce up to 250 tons of uranium each year.

Terrafame will produce uranium at a mine in the Kainuu region in the eastern part of the country which has been producing nickel and other metals for batteries.

“The process of getting the uranium recovery plant ready for use will take approximately one year, during which time the plant’s organization will also be built,” Terraframe stated.

Terrafame took control of the mine in 2015 after environmental issues forced the prior owner, Talvivaara Mining Co., to file for bankruptcy. Talvivaara had planned to produce uranium at the site.

“When it comes to primary production, there isn’t any [uranium[ production elsewhere in the EU area according to our information, although there used to be,” said Terrafame chief executive Joni Lukkaroinen.

Talvivaara already constructed a 75 million euro [$82 million] uranium recovery plant at the mine prior to its bankruptcy. Lukkaroinen said Terrafame will invest another 10 million euros [$10.9 million] to complete the job.

Terrafame has been primarily focused on nickel and zinc mining. The company said it plans to refine the uranium into “yellowcake,” a kind of uranium concentrate powder that is used as fuel for nuclear power plants.

The yellowcake will be exported to North America or other countries in Europe. Such exports would remain subject to approvals from the Finnish foreign ministry as well as the European Atomic Energy Community.

"It is still too early to say in which direction the uranium would go," said Lukkaroinen.

Finland has no production facilities that can process yellowcake into nuclear fuel. Finland itself purchases nuclear fuel from Russia, France and Canada.

However, the government’s decision could potentially be appealed at the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland. Environmental groups like the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, or FANC, will appeal the decision. FANC has already argued the permit violates the Nuclear Energy Act and demands that impact studies be done on the entire production chain, including the quarrying, not just the refinery.

In fact, Talvivaara contaminated local lakes with heavy metals when its wastewaters leaked in 2012 and 2013.

“There are no grounds to grant a permit since the mine’s waste solution is not durably safe for the environment nor have its long-term effects been assessed,” FANC wrote in a statement.

As such, it could take up to two years for the new permit to have legal authority.

But last summer, Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, also known as STUK, stated that “the nuclear and radiation safety risks caused by the production of uranium to the environment and the residents in the area are minor.”

STUK further said there were "no radiation safety-related obstacles" to granting Terrafame a permit for uranium recovery.