Closure of operations at two uranium mines in Jharkhand since September this year has so far led to a loss of over 19 tonnes of nuclear fuel, having a potential to produce about 860 million units of electricity, a senior DAE official said today.
The uranium ore extraction from Jaduguda and Bhatin mines, operated by the Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL), a PSU under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), has been suspended since September this year.
"The temporary shut down of the two mines led to a loss of production of additional mined uranium equivalent to about 19.1 tonnes, having the potential to produce about 860 million (86 crore) units of electricity," the official said.
At a time when India is trying to ramp up its uranium import, its own domestic production of the yellow cake has declined by 10-15 per cent after operations in the country's oldest and richest uranium mines in Jaduguda and Bhatin were shut down.
Jaduguda mine, one of the deepest underground mines in the country, had run uninterrupted since 1968. It has a depth of nearly 3000 feet and had been daily producing 700 tonnes of ore. UCIL was mining 150 tonnes of ore from Bhatin daily.
DAE sources said it has taken steps to increase the production from other mines to maintain the supply and demand, but the low quality of ore from other mines has led to increase in the production cost.
