Being highly concentrated, this fuel can be easily and cheaply transported any distance. Its price factored in as part of generated power is comparatively small. So even a massive rise in uranium fuel prices has little effect on nuclear power costs. Since 1997 they have gone up by just 7 percent.

With current uranium production at 3,400 metric tons a year, its reserves will last for half a century. How will Russia's nuclear industry fare once the explored reserves run out? There are two options. The first is to look for an alternative way of supplying fuel for the nuclear industry. One is to use so-called "fast reactors" -- fast-breeder nuclear reactors.

Their advantages are moderate power intensity and low fuel consumption. Fast reactors can use uranium from poor fields, with a low degree of enrichment.

Another way is to recycle spent fuel, namely to obtain plutonium fuel separated from the uranium extracted from nuclear reactors.

Russia has cornered a sizeable part of the world's future uranium market, and its share could grow as new fields are tapped in Eastern Siberia.

It can also receive supplies from other countries -- ones that have no nuclear industry of their own or lack enriching technologies.

Russia already owns 49 percent of the Russian-Kazakh Zarechnoye company, which is developing a field of 19,000 metric tons of uranium.

In 2007, Australia became one of Russia's uranium partners. It boasts the world's largest uranium deposits. The leaders of the two countries, Vladimir Putin and John Howard, signed an agreement in Sydney, under which Russia will receive $1 billion worth of raw Australian uranium per year for its nuclear needs. The document will come into effect once the two parliaments ratify it.

Mongolia is also going to play an important role. Theoretically, its natural uranium resources put the country at the cutting edge of the world market, and just need to be explored.

Russia's potential uranium reserves (natural and weapons-grade) will enable it to claim 45 percent of the world's uranium enrichment services market by 2030 and 20 percent to 25 percent of the nuclear plant construction market.

Given closed nuclear cycle technologies -- fast-breeder reactors -- these resources will be able to meet global power needs for 1,000 years.

(Sergei Golubchikov is an associate professor at Russian State Social University. This article is reprinted by permission of the RIA Novosti news agency. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the RIA Novosti news agency.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

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