AusIMM International Uranium Conference.
Some of the world’s top uranium experts will converge on Adelaide in June to present their latest insights on uranium and the future at Uranium 2019. Turnaround in the uranium and nuclear market is driving growing global demand for more new uranium production and providing opportunities to re-commence standby projects and explore new projects.
The line-up of excellent keynote speakers includes:
- Dr Kathy Ehrig, FAusIMM, Principal Geometallurgist, BHP
- Julian Tapp, Chief Nuclear Officer, Vimy Resources
- Prof. Gerry Thomas, Professor of Molecular Pathology, Imperial College London
- Scott Melbye, Executive Vice President, Uranium Energy Corporation
- Tony Grey AM.
There’s never been a better time to attend this world-renowned conference, now in its 14th year, where over two days we will showcase the latest innovations in the uranium industry and discuss how to prepare and position ourselves for a market upturn.
In the spotlight
Prof. Gerry Thomas and Scott Melbye talked about their thoughts on one challenge that needs to be solved today to guarantee nuclear’s crucial part in the world’s future energy mix.
Prof. Gerry Thomas
‘Public acceptance of nuclear power is holding back its implementation. The constant need for novel reactor design because ‘they are safer’ suggests that the older design of reactors is inherently unsafe, whereas the statistics show that nuclear is the safest technology for generating energy. Radiophobia contributes to overly strict radiation protection, which is then translated into health and safety regulations, which in turn leads to greater costs for the nuclear industry. The challenge is to persuade the general public and, more importantly, the politicians, that nuclear is not only the safest technology, but also, in the longer term, the cheapest technology for energy production. It is associated with none of the air pollution issues of coal, nor climate change issues of other carbon fuels, and we do actually know how to deal with the relatively small amount of waste it produces, whereas issues of how to deal with the chemical toxicity of some of the waste materials produced by wind and solar are less clear. Nuclear, along with GM crops, are two very good examples of how our unconscious biases prevent adoption of technology with considerable detriment to society.’
Scott Melbye
‘Our nuclear industry must continue to educate the public regarding the enormous benefits provided by nuclear energy to modern societies, and dispel irrational fears and misconceptions regarding nuclear power safety and radiation. We are seeing the beginnings of wider acceptance and need to build on that growing support.’
Keynote speaker interviews and registration
– Mark Chalmers (Uranium 2019 Conference Chair), April 2019
