A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.
And there’s more than enough for a bomb or two. According to Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, that nation’s uranium reserves may exceed 9,000 tonnes, perhaps more, depending on the price of yellowcake (U3O8)
Turkey's report is corroborated by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (2014 report, PDF).There’s even a tentative plan to mine the uranium. Tetra Tech, an engineering firm in Denver, CO, produced a pre-feasibility study (PDF) on the Temrezli project, which is approximately 125 miles east of Ankara, for Anatolia Energy Limited.
Anatolia recently merged with Uranium Resources. As a result:
A US uranium processing plant could be shipped to Turkey to fast-track uranium production under a newly announced merger of Uranium Resources Inc with Australian uranium and exploration company Anatolia Energy, owner of the Temrezli uranium project.
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Uranium Resources controls extensive uranium mineral holdings in Texas and New Mexico, as well as licensed in situ leach (ISL) processing facilities at Rosita and Kingsville Dome, both of which are currently on standby. The combination of Uranium Resources’ in-house technical abilities and ISL operations, coupled with Anatolia’s advanced project, provides a potential fast-track to uranium production, the companies said.
On completion of the merger, the companies say they will investigate the possibility of relocating the Rosita processing plant to Temrezli. This, they said, would greatly reduce the up-front capital costs of the Turkish project, where Anatolia had planned to construct a 1.2 million pounds U3O8 (462 tU) per year central processing plant. The companies said that up to $8 million could be saved by reusing the Rosita plant at Temrezli, while a further $3 million could be saved by making use of Uranium Resources’ in-house design expertise.
So why would Turkey need to flim-flam the CSKT, the Hopi and the Navaho, et al, into digging up uranium in the United States?
Moreover, Turkey’s not interested in enriching uranium (increasing the concentration of the fissile isotope, U235):
Energy Minister Taner Yıldız denied Turkey had any interest in enriching uranium through the nuclear deal with Japan, claiming a demand for uranium enrichment allowance was only aimed at learning about the nuclear fuel production process.
So, let’s recapitulate. Turkey has plenty of uranium, and plans to mine it but not enrich it. Turkey signed the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Turkey belongs to NATO, and thus is an ally of the United States. If Turkey mines its uranium, it probably will do so with equipment shipped from from a mothballed uranium mine in New Mexico.
As an argument, the atomic scare in the Keenan v. Bay complaint is a fizzle.