BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 3
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
Seventy-eight percent of uranium exploration works in Iran is carried out through imagery captured by using helicopter, Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi said, Trend reports.
“The main purpose of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization is the discovery of uranium,” Salehi added. “However, along with uranium, the organization also discovers iron, copper and other rare mining materials.”
The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization added that huge mining materials were discovered by using helicopters, and negotiations on this issue were held with the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO).
"There is no problem with uranium exploration and production in Iran,” Salehi added. “Only helicopters are imported for these operations.”
As for the construction of nuclear power plants, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said that the construction of such plants costs a lot of money. Thus, the construction of a 1,000 megawatt nuclear power plant requires approximately $5 billion. However, these plants run about 70-80 years.
“A 1,000-megawatt power plant needs 11 million barrels of fossil fuel worth $770 million a year whereas $30 million per year is spent on fuel,” Salehi added.
The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant operates in Iran's southern Bushehr province. The foundation of two more nuclear power plants was laid last Iranian year.