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Rajasthan enters uranium mining

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Geography
  • Published
    29th Jun, 2022

Context

The Rajasthan government has forayed into the field of uranium mining by issuing a letter of intent (LoI) to Uranium Corporation of India.

  • The LoI is for excavation of ore of this rare mineral in the state. Mining of the rare mineral will start after fulfilling necessary formalities.
  • India’s department of atomic energy first found uranium deposits in the Khandela area of Sikar.
  • Around 12 million tonnes of uranium and other elements are expected to be lying deep down under this area.

Uranium mines in India

  • Currently, the states of Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh have India’s largest uranium mines.
    • After Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan is the third state where uranium — which is considered one of the rare minerals in the world — has been found.
  • India also imports its rare mineral needs from the world’s largest uranium-producing nations like Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Canada.
  • Currently, excavation of uranium is going on at Jadugoda in Jharkhand as well as Andhra Pradesh.

Largest mines in the world

  • The largest producers of uranium in the world are Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia, while this mineral has also been found in Niger, Russia, Namibia, Uzbekistan, the US and Ukraine.

Uranium

  • Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the periodic table, with atomic number 92.
  • Uranium is mainly used for generating electricity and also for nuclear energy, medicines, defence equipment and photography, among others.
  • It is considered one of the rarest minerals in the world.
  • It is a very valuable mineral for nuclear power.
  • Apart from nuclear energy, Uranium finds use in defence, medicine, photography and other segments.

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