Iran ‘finds’ mass uranium deposits, picks 16 new nuclear sites

A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, some 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran October 26, 2010. (Reuters/IRNA/Mohammad Babaie)

Iran has decided on 16 locations to build new nuclear power plants in a drive to boost the country’s electricity output over the next 15 years. Tehran also announced the discovery of substantial uranium deposits to fuel the country’s nuclear program.

Experts from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) chose the 16 sites across the country for their resistance to military airstrikes and earthquakes, among other factors, Tehran’s State TV said Saturday.

Iran currently has one operational nuclear power plant, located outside the southern coastal city of Bushehr. The head of the AEOI said in December another plant is slated for construction next to the Bushehr plant.

The expansion plan comes on the back of the discovery of new uranium resources “in southern coastal areas” that will place the country’s reserves at 4,400 tons – nearly a threefold increase over previous estimates.

There has been no independent confirmation of the finds, and Western experts had previously thought Iran was potentially close to exhausting its supply of raw uranium based on the number of existing mines.Continue reading at:  http://endthelie.com/2013/02/23/iran-finds-mass-uranium-deposits-pi...