Areva holds back on $1-bn Namibian Trekkopje uranium mine production

French energy giant Areva yesterday said that it has delayed the start of its $1 billion Trekkopje uranium mine in Namibia due to a slump in global uranium prices.

"Considering both the continued decrease of uranium prices coupled with the investments yet to be made on site, Areva has no other option than to postpone the launch of the Trekkopje mine," the Paris-based company said in a statement.

All actual construction work will be completed until the end of December, after which all existing installations will be put on a ''structured care and maintenance programme,'' costing the company $10 million per year, Areva added.

Uranium prices have tumbled since the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in Japan in March 2011, as some European countries and Japan have decided to phase out reliance on nuclear power and shut down all their nuclear reactors by 2030s.

Last week, uranium spot price hit a new low to $45.75 per pound, compared to the average spot price of $69.63 per pound in February 2011 and $135 per pound in 1997. Areva said the Trekkopje uranium project is viable at $75 per pound or more.

Last May, Germany, which relied on nuclear power for 17 per cent of its electrical energy requirement, said that it would phase out nuclear power by 2022 and focus more on renewable energy. The plan included immediate closure of 8 nuclear plants and shutting down of the remaining 9 plans by 2022.