uranium

The United States had not manufactured its most critical uranium for 20 years. He has just resurrected his production with an old metallurgy trick

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In the hills of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, lies a place that carries the weight of contemporary history in its foundation: the Y-12 National Security Complex. According to the files of the US Department of Energy (DOE)these facilities were born in 1943 as a vital cog in the Manhattan Project. However, for more than two decades, the halls of its most advanced nuclear processing sector had remained in a prolonged dormancy. Today, that industrial silence has been broken. The United States has just ended a long gap in its domestic processing capabilities. The milestone that marks this rebirth is as visual as it is forceful: the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has successfully manufactured its first “button” of purified enriched uranium, an achievement that opens a new era in the American nuclear deterrent. In short. From the NNSA have confirmed the restart of uranium purification at the Y-12 complex. It is not a sudden step; This achievement comes months after, in September 2025, the start of the project will be authorized electrorefining. This is the first authorization of its kind since the opening of the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility 15 years ago. More in depth. The new process allows installation slam the door definitively on the old Y-12 plants. For years, uranium processing depended on complex chemical treatments that were inefficient and, above all, posed greater risks for workers. The new era abandons these legacy systems in favor of much cleaner and safer technology. A strategic milestone. According to the statement from the NNSAthis purified uranium is a critical material that will support unavoidable national security missions, from the production of nuclear weapons to providing the fuel needed for the reactors of the United States Navy’s aircraft carriers and submarines. This effort is not a coincidence, but respond directly to the security and defense guidelines promoted under the mandate of President Donald Trump. Added to this military strategy is a pressing need for independence of resources. In November of last year, the US Geological Survey (USGS) added uranium to its final list of 60 critical minerals. This government directive has a clear objective: to shield the country against the risks of interruption in global supply chains. The “magic” of electrorefining. The secret behind this renaissance is called electrorefining. Although it may sound like science fiction, it is based on well-established commercial processes commonly used to purify everyday metals such as aluminum, titanium or copper. The method was originally developed by the prestigious Argonne National Laboratory and later perfected by the Y-12 development team itself. A simple process (at first glance). To understand how it works, the magazine Science Direct explains it in a simple way: The process uses an electrolytic cell where two electrodes are immersed in a chemical solution. One of them acts as an anode (where the impure recycled material is placed) and the other as a cathode. Through a controlled electrical reaction, metal ions travel to the cathode, where the pure metal is deposited, while the impurities fall to the bottom as an “anode sludge.” The result: An astonishing 99.9% purity. The format: An NNSA spokesperson He explained that the process It first generates “purified uranium crystals,” which are then melted in a furnace to create the compact, secure, high-purity uranium “buttons.” Additionally, Nikolai Sokov, senior researcher at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, explained that this innovative technology allows recovering and recycling uranium from various byproducts. Along the same lines, this method drastically reduces the waste generated compared to old chemical treatments. The weight of history: environmental debt. No story about the Y-12 complex would be complete without looking at its darker side. The background documents of the US Department of Energy rreveal the heavy inheritance of the Cold War. During the 1950s and 1960s, facilities used massive amounts of mercury for lithium separation. The ecological toll was devastating: an estimated 700,000 pounds (more than 317,000 kilos) of mercury were lost in the buildings and the surrounding environment. Today, to contrast technological advancement with the mistakes of the past, the top priority of the Environmental Management (EM) program at Y-12 is the cleanup of this mercury. He DOE informs that it is being built the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility. Scheduled for 2027, this plant will be capable of treating up to 3,000 gallons of water per minute. This vital infrastructure will allow older, more contaminated facilities (such as Alpha-2 by 2029 and Beta-1 by 2030) to be safely demolished without mercury ending up in the nearby Upper East Fork Poplar Creek. A process of metamorphosis. Audrey Beldio, NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator for Production Modernization, summed it up forcefully in the statements. project startup: “Electrorefining revolutionizes the processing of enriched uranium.” With uranium flowing again into Y-12, the United States is not just abandoning aging infrastructure. It is sending a clear message to the world: after twenty years of lethargy, the US nuclear sector has taken a leap towards a future where technological efficiency, the safety of its workers and the reliability of its arsenal are once again the spearhead of its defense policy. Image | HeUraniumC Xataka | While the West does not decide on nuclear, China already has a reactor 100 times more efficient than traditional ones

is to survive long enough to get the uranium out of there

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Extracting radioactive material in conflict zones is one of the more complex missions that exist and usually requires highly specialized equipment, millimeter protocols and logistics comparable to that of a large-scale military operation. Plus: unlike other interventions, it is not enough to reach the objective. Because exposure time, safety of the environment and subsequent transportation are critical factors that they condition everything. Nuclear objective without clear plan. Officially, the United States has presented the war against Iran as an operation aimed at preventing Tehran get nuclear weaponsbut reality is stubborn and somewhat more ambiguous. Because while the official discourse insists on eliminating this threat, operational decisions show that the focus is right now in degrading missiles and dronesnot so much in securing enriched uranium. This contradiction has generated criticism even within the own political systemby showing that there is no clear strategy to solve the key element of the problem. The core of the problem. It we count a week ago. In reality, the critical point is not the bombed facilities, but the material that has survived to those attacks. We are talking about hundreds of kilos of highly enriched uranium that remain buried in underground complexes like Isfahan or Natanz, protected by rubble and structures designed precisely to resist attacks. That stock, a prioriis enough to bring Iran closer to a nuclear capability if it decides to reactivate, making it the most valuable and dangerous asset in the conflict. The strategic dilemma: leave. And here emerges the key idea that defines the entire “nuclear” situation: the United States’ problem right now is not simply to invade Iran, but survive long enough to get the uranium out of there. The reason? Recovering that material would involve deploying hundreds or thousands of soldierssecure hostile perimeters, excavate collapsed tunnels, and operate for days under constant threat from drones, missiles, and asymmetric attacks. The difficulty, therefore, is not only in locating it, but in maintain the forces on the ground the time necessary to extract and evacuate it safely. Extreme complexity. Experts describe this hypothetical mission as one of the most complex never raised in recent war history. Mainly because it would be necessary to coordinate special forces, engineers, protection units and air resources, in addition to create improvised infrastructure to transport the material out of the country. All this in an environment where every minute increases the risk of casualties, sabotage or contamination, and where the operation could last longer than expected without guarantees of total success. The uncomfortable alternative. There is, as almost always, a plan B. Given this scenario, the option that seems to prevail right now is the simplest: avoid operation and rely on deterrence. There is no doubt, this implies assuming that the uranium will remain in Iran, under indirect surveillance, with the apparent threat of new attacks if an attempt is made to recover or enrich it. Plus: this solution does not remove the “official” problem which gave rise to an entire war, if anything it only freezes it, leaving open the possibility that the country reactivates its program in the future. A latent risk. Under these scenarios, the result stages a conflict that has weakened capabilities visible, but has left intact the most determining elementor at least the one that has given rise to giving free rein to the war machinery to two (+1) nations. Meanwhile, the kilos of buried uranium have become a permanent pressure factorboth for Iran and its adversaries. And, above all, it reveals a most disturbing paradox, because you can win an air war and still lose control of the central strategic objective. Unless, of course, that wasn’t the goal. Image | x In Xataka | The US has asked all its allies in Hormuz for help. The answer he received was anticipated by Spain before anyone else: “no” In Xataka | The world is desperately asking Ukraine for its antidote to the Shahed. And Ukraine has decided to keep them for its war

the absolute dominance of uranium

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In late 2022, as he secured his third term in office, Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a serious warning to his top brass: they should prepare for “stormy seas” and “worst-case scenarios.” The party leader was obsessed with the crises of the “gray rhinoceros”obvious dangers but for which one is often not prepared. Today, with the Middle East submerged in a deep war that obstructs vital trade routes, the Asian giant’s resilience and energy strategy face an unprecedented litmus test. At the heart of this geopolitical storm is not only oil, but also “radioactive black gold” – uranium. A suffocation point. To resist this impact, China’s Ministry of Finance has budgeted 110.68 billion yuan (about $16 billion) for resource storage in 2026, an increase of 8.1% from the previous year. As Even Pay, director of the strategic advisory group Trivium China, explains to the Financial Timesfor decades Western economists criticized the inefficiency of maintaining these gigantic reserves, but the current crisis has completely vindicated Beijing’s strategy. A giant thirsty for uranium. However, at the heart of this geopolitical storm are not only fossil fuels, but also the “radioactive black gold” – uranium. The vulnerability of sea routes has accelerated Beijing’s urgency to escape its dependence on oil. The Chinese nuclear program is advancing at a dizzying pace. At the end of 2024, the country had 58 nuclear power units in commercial operation and 27 under construction. In fact, the government approves between ten and eleven reactors a year, with the goal of double its capacity by 2040. The problem? China produces very little uranium. According to World Nuclear AssociationIn 2023, national production was barely 1,700 tons (4% of the world), being forced to import about 22,000 tons the following year. As emphasized Bloombergthe country depends on imports to satisfy more than 70% of its domestic demand for this fuel. The strategy at hand. To overcome this deficit and prevent its nuclear sector from suffering the same strangulation as oil, Beijing has deployed an unprecedented financial, geological and technological strategy: Financial muscle: In December 2025, China National Uranium Co., the only company with rights to extract this element in the country, debuted on the Shenzhen stock exchange. According to Bloombergits shares tripled in its premiere, raising some 4.1 billion yuan (570 million dollars) that will be used to boost domestic and foreign mines. The Treasure of Ordos: Salvation could be under the sand. As reported by the specialized media Futurethe discovery of a monumental deposit of 30 million tons of uranium has been estimated in the Ordos Desert, in Inner Mongolia. China has managed to develop leaching technology on site to extract this mixed material in sandstone in an economically viable and environmentally friendly way. “Fishing” uranium in the ocean: With demand expected to exceed 40,000 tons in 2040, China has looked at the sea. China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced a historic milestone– The successful extraction of uranium at the kilogram level from seawater in a real marine environment. Land alliances: To avoid maritime blockades, China seeks border allies. According to the magazine The DiplomatMongolia is trying to develop its critical minerals sector – such as the huge Zuuvch-Ovoo deposit operated by France’s Orano – and China is emerging as the natural customer due to its geographical proximity and railway infrastructure. Beyond uranium. Beijing’s plan is not limited to securing traditional uranium. As we have explained XatakaChina has already commissioned the TMSR-LF1 reactor in Gansu province, which uses molten salts and thorium. Thorium is three times more abundant than uranium in the Earth’s crust, giving China an immensely rich “plan B” within its own borders. On the other hand, nuclear energy is no longer just a source of electricity. In January 2026, the Xuwei project started in Jiangsu province. How we advancethis pioneering project combines third and fourth generation reactors to produce steam at very high temperatures for the petrochemical industry, with the aim of replacing more than 7 million tons of coal per year. The century of the Chinese atom. The war in the Middle East has not stopped China’s ambitions; rather, it has validated the government’s obsession with economic security and preparedness for protracted crises. As Western powers try to rebuild their nuclear industries, China has gone into full action. From the depths of the Ordos Desert to the waters off its coasts, the Asian giant is rewriting the rules of the game. It is no longer just about surviving global instability, but about securing the fuel necessary to dominate the energy landscape of the 21st century. Image | World Economic Forum and IAEA Xataka | Nuclear energy has generated electricity for decades. China is reinventing it for something else: the industry

from uranium to the plug, step by step

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Do you remember Homer Simpson asleep in front of the control panel? For years, that has been the most popular image of a nuclear power plant: glowing bars, red buttons and donuts. Others, however, may think of sirens, black smoke, protective suits and names that continue to weigh: Chernobyl or Fukushima. Between fiction and collective fear, there is a much more normal story—and at the same time more amazing—that usually goes unnoticed: that of giant factories that produce electricity from the power of atoms. If you approach one, you will see towers that seem to breathe water vapor. And inside, hidden behind a heart of steel, millions of atoms splitting in two, releasing energy so enormous that a handful of uranium is enough to power a city for days. Although the debate is served with this type of fontthe truth is that it continues to be one more piece of the energetic present. So, leaving prejudices aside, let’s take a look inside a nuclear power plant: to discover how it works, how it differs from a thermal one, how many are still active in Spain and why it remains at the center of the energy debate. What is a nuclear power plant? A nuclear power plant is an industrial facility designed to produce electricity. At its core—literally—is the nuclear reactor, the place where the magic happens: the fission of atoms. Inside each atom there are protons and neutrons that remain united. When that nucleus breaks—when hit by a neutron—an enormous amount of energy is released in the form of heat. That’s where nuclear energy comes in: the same energy that holds those tiny particles together. Nuclear power plants take advantage of this nuclear fission process to obtain heat, heat water, produce steam and move turbines that generate electricity. It’s that simple. Or, if you look closely, that impressive. Difference between a nuclear power plant and a thermal power plant Confusion is common: “Aren’t a nuclear power plant and a thermal power plant the same thing?” In part, yes. Both use heat to drive a turbine and produce electricity. But the big difference is in the origin of that heat. In a thermal power plantthe heat comes from burning fossil fuels (coal, gas or fuel oil). This releases carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other polluting gases. While, in a nuclear power plant, heat is obtained from the fission of uranium atoms, without combustion or CO₂ emissions during electricity generation. Therefore, nuclear They are considered clean energy in emissionsalthough they leave a different challenge: what to do with radioactive waste? We could say that it is a smokeless energy, but not without questions and I will stop here because we will talk about it at the end. How it works: the process to generate electricity It may sound complicated, but the operation of a nuclear power plant can be explained in a simple way: Imagine a big kettle, like a teapot, only inside there are atoms splitting and releasing energy. Uranium fission. It all starts inside the reactor. Uranium-235 atoms break apart when hit by neutrons. Each fission releases heat and more neutrons, which continue colliding with other atoms, creating a controlled chain reaction. Water heating. The heat produced is used to heat water. This water circulates through pipes under enormous pressure or is transformed directly into steam, depending on the type of reactor. The steam drives the turbine. The force of the steam rotates the blades of a turbine connected to an electrical generator. That movement is what is finally converted into electricity. The electricity is sent to the grid. The generator converts the mechanical energy of rotation into electrical energy, which is transported to homes and industries. Cooling and recirculation. The steam condenses, cools, transforms back into water and returns to the circuit, repeating the cycle. It seems simple, and it is in concept. But behind it there are decades of engineering, thousands of security measures and constant surveillance so that this invisible and powerful energy is always kept under control. In Spain There are two types in operation: the pressurized water reactors (PWR)where water is heated inside the reactor and converted to steam outside, and the boiling water reactors (BWR)where steam is generated directly inside the reactor. How many nuclear power plants are there in Spain? According to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO)Spain has seven nuclear reactors spread over five sites: Almaraz I and II (Cáceres). In operation since 1981 and 1983, with a combined power of about 2,000 MW. It is one of the first that is on the list for closure: Almaraz I in 2027 and Almaraz II in 2028. Ascó I and II (Tarragona). Connected to the grid in 1983 and 1985, they total about 2,000 MW. Its closure is scheduled for 2030 Ascó I and 2032 Ascó II. Chests (Valencia). In operation since 1984; It is the only one with a boiling water reactor (BWR), with 1,092 MW of power. Its closure is scheduled for 2030. threshing (Guadalajara). In operation since 1988, with a power of 1,066 MW. It is scheduled to close in 2035. Vandellós II (Tarragona). In service since 1988, with a power of 1,087 MW. It is scheduled to close in 2035. In addition, there were three others that are already closed: Jose Cabrera (Guadalajara), the first Spanish nuclear power plant. Santa María de Garona (Burgos). Vandellós I (Tarragona), closed after a fire in 1989. In total, Spanish operational reactors generate around 20% of the country’s electricity, according to data from Nuclear Forum. And they do it constantly, 24 hours a day, without depending on the sun or the wind. What is the largest nuclear power plant in the world? If nuclear power plants had their own world ranking, Japan would be in first place. The central Kashiwazaki-Kariwa It has seven reactors and a power that exceeds 8,000 megawatts. Today it is stopped for revisions, but it is still the largest on the planet. The center follows … Read more

A milestone that will provide you with all the uranium you need for decades

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Nuclear energy It is essential for China. The development he has experienced in this Asian country during the last two decades supports this statement. In 2002 he only had two nuclear centrals in operation. Today you have nothing less than 58 activity in activity. Only US has more (94). There is no doubt about one thing: during the last two decades China’s civil and military nuclear program It has advanced with a dizzying speed. And it seems that he will continue to do so. Anyway the heart of the nuclear program of the country led by Xi Jinping, and that of any other nation that bets on nuclear energy, It is uranium. This chemical element is present in nature in very low concentrations, usually in rocks, land and water. Hence, its obtaining is expensive and its complex treatment, since it requires chemical processes capable of separating it from the other elements and impurities with which it usually lives. It has 92 protons and many other electrons orbiting around the nucleus, and the latter incorporates, in addition to the protons, between 142 and 146 neutrons. It is important that we remember that the nucleus of an atom is usually constituted by a certain number of protons and neutrons (although not always: the protio, the isotope of the most abundant hydrogen, has a single proton and no neutron in its nucleus), as well as by some electrons that orbit around it. China already knows how to exploit deposits that until now were inaccessible The fact that the number of neutrons of the uranium nucleus can vary, as we have just seen, it indicates that there are several isotopes of this chemical element, which are nothing other than atoms with the same number of protons and electrons, but different number of neutrons. The reason why in nuclear fission reactors An uranium-235 atom is used, and not another isotope of this element or any other chemical element, it is that by bombarding its nucleus with a neutron (a process that is known as induced fission) the Uranium-235 is transformed into Uranium-236, which is a more unstable element. This simply means that Uranium-236 cannot remain long in its current state, so it is divided into two lighter nuclei, such as barium-144 and crypton-89 or Cesium-137 and Rubidio-96, and also emits two or three neutrons (2.5 neutrons on average). And here comes the really interesting: the sum of the masses of the light nuclei It is slightly lower than that of the Uranium-236 nucleus from which they come (“disappears” around 0.1% of the original mass). Where has the mass we lack? Only one is possible: it has been transformed into energy. Its largest uranium deposit lies in the Ordos basin, in northern China Until now, China has obtained the uranium that its nuclear power plants need from their Xinjiang, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan and Sichuan deposits. However, it also matters from Namibia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Canada and Australia, among other countries. The funny thing is that its largest uranium deposit lies in the Ordos basin, in northern China, but has a very important problem: It is very difficult to exploit it. In fact, until just a few months that uranium was essentially inaccessible using existing extraction and processing technology. The technical limitations led to the Chinese government years ago to rule out the exploitation of the mines of the Ordos basin, but in 2023 it changed their minds and decided to launch a project called “National Uranium Nº1”. His plan consisted of Develop the necessary technology To extract and process the uranium of ordos with a purpose: take a giant step on the way to China’s self -sufficiency in the field of nuclear energy. The problem of this huge site was that uranium is disseminated and mixed with other sandstone -shaped elements. And it is difficult to process it without the costs are triggered. Even so, in mid -2024 China produced natural uranium by first time by leaching in situ. And now, According to the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)has produced its first uranium barrel using this method. The leaching in situ requires injecting in the bed of underground ore through wells a solution of carbon dioxide and oxygen that is capable of dissolving uranium. Then it is necessary to pump to the surface the liquid contained in this chemical element and process it. China’s merit is not just having solved this challenge by finding the ideal aqueous solution; is having achieved it from an economically viable and environmentally respectful formalways According to the information that the National Uranium Corporation of China has made public. Image | Xataka More information | Interesting Engineering In Xataka | The largest nuclear power plant in the planet is a beast with seven reactors. Is ready to return after Fukushima

Uranium centrifuges have triggered war between Israel and Iran. Without them it is impossible to have the atomic bomb

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Uranium centrifugers monopolize a good part of global attention since it began The last episode of the conflict between Israel and Iran on June 13. The government led by Benjamín Netanyahu has set as a fundamental objective dismantle the Iranian nuclear program that presumably seeks to develop the necessary technology to Manufacture atomic bombs. And to achieve it Israel and the US have bombarded The facilities in which Iran was carrying out the enrichment of uranium, such as the plants of Fordo, Isfahán and Natanz. According to Israel and the US, these Iranian nuclear facilities housed several hundred uranium centrifugers. It can even that several thousand of these machines. Its role in the nuclear program not only of Iran, but in that of any country with the ability to manufacture nuclear weapons, is to enrich 90%uranium. Otherwise it is not possible to use it to produce atomic fission pumps o Thermonuclear devices that combine fission and nuclear fusion. However, in these last pumps uranium is only used in the fission stage, which acts as a detonator of the nuclear fusion. In this last reaction two isotopes of hydrogen intervene: the deuterium and the tritium. Uranium-235 is the true protagonist of this story To precisely understand what is the purpose of uranium centrifuges it is necessary that we previously investigate in two isotopes of this chemical element Metallic, heavy and radioactive. Uranium is present in nature in very low concentrations, normally in rocks, land and water. Hence, its obtaining is expensive and its complex treatment, since it requires chemical processes capable of separating it from the other elements and impurities with which it usually lives. It has 92 protons and many other electrons orbiting around the nucleus, and the latter incorporates, in addition to the protons, between 142 and 146 neutrons. It is important that we remember that the nucleus of an atom is usually constituted by a certain number of protons and neutrons (although not always: the protio, the isotope of the most abundant hydrogen, has a single proton and no neutron in its nucleus), as well as by some electrons that orbit around it. The fact that the number of neutrons of the uranium nucleus may varyas we have just seen, it indicates that there are several isotopes of this chemical element, which are nothing other than atoms with the same number of protons and electrons, but different number of neutrons. In fission reactors and nuclear weapons it is used as uranium-235 fuel The reason why in the fission reactors and nuclear weapons is used as an uranium-235 fuel, and not another isotope of this element or any other chemical element, it consists that by bombarding its nucleus with a neutron (a process that is known as induced fission) the uranium-235 is transformed into uranium-236, which is a more unstable element. This simply means that Uranium-236 cannot remain long in its current state, so it is divided into two nuclei, one from Bario-144 and another of Crypton-89, and also emits two or three neutrons. And here comes the really interesting: the sum of the masses of the Bario-144 and Crypton-89 nuclei is slightly lower than the Uranium-236 nucleus from which they come (“disappears” around 0.1% of the original mass). Where has the mass we lack? Only one can be left: has been transformed into energy. Formula e = m c²probably the most popular in the history of physics, relates mass and energy, and what it says is simply that a certain amount of mass equals a specific amount of energy, even if the dough is at rest. In fact, the equivalence between mass and energy, proposed by Albert Einstein In 1905, he tells us something more important. The C of the formula represents the speed of light in a vacuum, which, as we all intuit, is a very large number (299,792,458 m/s). In addition, it is squared, which means that even a very, very small mass, such as the portion of the nucleus of an atom, although it is at rest contains a large amount of energy. This is what we know as resting energy. If the mass is in motion its total energy is greater than its resting energy. And, if we observe the equivalence between mass and energy, it is easy to realize that the mass of a body in motion too is greater than its resting massa phenomenon that It introduces us fully into relativistic physics. In any case, the energy we obtain by merging or fissting atomic nuclei comes from the force that keeps them together: Strong nuclear interaction. Understanding with some precision the relationship between mass and energy is important because it helps us understand how it is possible that a mass as small as that of an atom allows us to obtain such a large amount of energy. In any case, the nuclear fission process does not end here. And it is that each of the neutrons that we have obtained as a result of the disintegration of the Uranium-236 nucleus in the Bario-144 and Crypton-89 nuclei can interact with other physically nuclei, causing a chain reaction. However, not all neutrons emitted during the disintegration of the Uranium-236 nucleus will interact with a physirable nucleus. But they don’t need to do it all. It is enough that only one of those neutrons achieves it to obtain a stable number of fissures, and, therefore, a controlled reaction, which is the objective of the reactors of the nuclear power plants. Centrifugators serve to increase uranium-235 concentration The most abundant uranium isotope in nature is uranium-238. In fact, it represents approximately 99.3% of the total uranium. The problem is that this isotope is not physically. The uranium enrichment process seeks to increase the proportion of uranium-235, which, as we have seen, is physically, within the total mass of uranium. However, this last isotope is very scarce in nature. So much that only represents 0.7% of natural uranium. The nuclear reactors of the power plants require … Read more

We have been believing that Iran is “five years” from the nuclear bomb. In reality we only know how much uranium enriches

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Few phrases have been as repeated in the geopolitics of the West as “Iran is five years from the nuclear bomb.” For more than three decades, we have heard predictions that place the Iranian regime on the verge of crossing the atomic threshold, a stopwatch that restarts again and again without the prophecy becoming fulfilled. The real problem is not so much what we know about Iran’s nuclear program, as the immensity of what we do not know. And it is in that fog of uncertainty where the most dangerous decisions are cooked. A diffuse red line like Casus Belli. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has initiated a war against Iran framed in which the regime is “close to finishing the construction of a nuclear bomb.” This language transforms an old threat into an immediate danger, turning the rhetorical red line into a justification for war. Although the United States initially denies direct participation in the attack, political and military support has gone in crescendo. A Message of President Donald Trump In capital letters, “Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon!”, It works as a blank check for Israel. Thirty years of breached predictions. When a suspicion, and not an evidence, they are a reason for war, it is worth reviewing the newspaper library to put rhetoric in perspective. The feeling of “imminent nuclear bomb” in Iran is not new. It is a political construction that has been managing for decades, with Benjamin Netanyahu as its main architect. In 1992, Netanyahu already warned that Iran was “three or five years” to obtain nuclear weapons. In 2012, he starred in one of his most iconic moments at the UN, drawing a red line with a marker In a cartoon scheme of a pumpand ensuring that they would cross the line in the summer of 2013. Each period has been fulfilled without the weapon becoming materialized. What do intelligence agencies say. Although Israel had in the United States its main political ally, US intelligence agencies did not buy their rhetoric about Iran. In 2007, the National Intelligence Estimate De la CIA concluded with “high confidence” that Iran had stopped its nuclear militarization program, the AMAD Plan. The verification of this break came in 2015 with the Comprehensive Comprehensive Plan Joint (JCPOA), an agreement by which Iran limited uranium enrichment to 3.67% in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. The break that caught the fuse. Paradoxically, the withdrawal of the United States of the JCPOA in 2018, driven by the same rhetoric of the “imminent bomb”, caused the response that was intended to avoid. Iran began to enrich uranium at unprecedented levels: first 20% and then 60%, drastically shortening the theoretical deadlines for the pump and triggering the current crisis. Despite this, there are no evidence, beyond the expansion of enrichment plants, that Iran have the necessary technology or develop those weapons. Although, in honor of the truth, it is logical that there are no, since most of the activity is underground. Faith jump between enrichment and nuclear bomb. To understand how “near” Iran of the nuclear bomb is, you have to differentiate two key processes. The first is the fuel: the enrichment of uranium, the visible part of the process. It is about increasing the concentration of the fistible isotope 2 35 of the uranium from the 0.7% natural to 90% (the arms degree). Thanks to the withdrawal of the JCPOA, Iran accumulates a large amount of 60%enriched uranium. And moving from 60 to 90% is a technically feasible leap within a few weeks. However, Having the fuel is not having the enginewhat Anglo -Saxons call “weaponization.” A set of incredibly complex steps to convert the fistible material into a functional eye that can be mounted on a missile. They have to convert the uranium of arms degree, which is a gas, into a metal sphere. They have to surround that sphere with high precision explosives that have to detonate simultaneously in microseconds to compress the nucleus and start the chain reaction. And all this, in a package small and light enough to fit in the eyes of a missile and survive the launch. This is where we enter the field of almost total uncertainty. We know that this will investigated with the AMAD Plan, but its current progress is unknown. However, nobody knows it with certainty because intelligence on underground activities is very difficult to obtain. What we know with certainty. Despite decades of sanctions, sabotage, selective murders of its scientists and cyberbrains (like the famous Stuxnet, which destroyed uranium centrifuges), the Iranian nuclear program has not only survived, but has become stronger and more self -sufficient. Iran designs and produces its own advanced centrifuging. In fact, Israel’s main objective is to destroy the Fordow plant, that Iran built under a mountain to make it invulnerable to air attacks. In parallel, Iran has developed the largest and diverse ballistic missile program in the Middle East, and a fleet of trucks ready to shoot them. This resilience demonstrates that technical knowledge is deeply institutionalized in the regime, which is why Israel has eliminated those responsible for the nuclear program, as well as Iranian launches. At the same time, each Israeli attack can reinforce the conviction in Tehran that the pump is the only guarantee of survival, a fish that bites the tail, accelerated by Netanyahu’s rhetoric. They will go in the North Korean mirror or Pakistan. Beyond the rhetoric of the West, two countries offer key lessons about Iran. North Korea built its nuclear program to ensure the survival of the regime. Isolated and economically devastated, He saw the bomb as his only insurance policy against a overthrow imposed by the United States. The sanctions and pressure only reinforced their determination. Pakistan followed a strategic imperative. It sought to neutralize the military superiority of India. When India tried her bomb in 1974, the Pakistani bomb became a matter of national survival. Iran is a hybrid and more complex case. Share the survival … Read more

After the blackout, the government defended the nuclear closure because “in Spain there is no uranium.” Reality is more complicated

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The question of uranium has returned to the forefront after the president of the Government affirm that “in Spain there is no uranium and therefore we will have to import it.” Although Spain has large uranium deposits, reality is always more complicated than the usual black or white policy. The second European country with more uranium. Spain has between 25,000 and 30,000 tons of uranium, “the second most important reserves of the European Union,” According to the geologist Jesús Martínez Frías. Both the ‘Red Book’ of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) as the National Geographic Institute (IGN) indicate the existence of resources with the possibility of exploitation in Spanish territory, mainly in the province of Salamanca. Why they stopped exploding. Spain had uranium mining, but The last mine closed in 2000 for the “exhaustion of economically exploitable mining resources”, according to the Ministry for Ecological Transition. The Spanish Nuclear Society (SNE) said that production costs had exceeded 30% market prices, which made its continuity unfeasible. Two decades later, the Law 7/2021 of climate change and energy transition Truncó any new attempt To exploit the deposits: “Due to their prejudices, their cost will not be granted new exploration, research or concessions of exploitation of radioactive minerals, nor will new authorization requests be admitted.” Environmental problems. The risk of radioactive water contamination is another elephant in the room. A study Posted by Environmental Pollution In 2018 he documented “much higher” uranium concentrations than background geochemical levels near old mines abandoned in Salamanca. The levels in the soil ranged between 207.2 and 542.4 mg kg⁻¹, when the natural background levels are 29.8 mg kg⁻¹ for granite and 71.2 mg kg⁻¹ for slate. The study proposed environmental restoration measures, such as reforestation, in areas close to old farms. They are not entirely unfeasible. The political landscape has changed with the European Union in search of energy sovereignty and resources. The economic landscape too. With The price of upward uraniumthe Berkeley Minera company has a revived interest in its Retortillo project. The request for exploitation of this deposit was delivered before Law 7/2021 applied, but the Nuclear Safety Council also issued An unfavorable environmental report for “the low reliability and the high uncertainties of security analysis in geotechnical and hydrogeological aspects.” Uranium you have to enrich it. Although there was a political change that leads to the reactivation of Retry, the uranium that is extracted from the earth (natural uranium) barely contains 0.7% of Uranium-235, the necessary physiognable isotope for most nuclear reactors. It would be necessary to enrich uranium, a process that consists in increasing the concentration of uranium-235 to 3-5% levels for light water reactors, which are the most common. Spain does not have its own high -scale enriched uranium, or facilities in which to enrich uranium at the industrial level for use as fuel in nuclear centrals. Can Spain enrich uranium? Spain had the capacity to produce uranium concentrates (in the form of yellow cakes or Yellowcakes), But obtaining enriched uranium is a subsequent, technologically more complex and expensive process, dominated by a few countries. Today, 60% He leaves Russia and China. ENUSA (the national uranium company) already had difficulty replacing Russian enriched uranium after Commercial vetoes for the Ukraine War. Enriching it would be a major challenge. A change of direction. In the new geopolitical context, the European Union is promoting the reactivation of mining to ensure a sovereign supply of key materials for energy transition and defense. Spain is rich in Uranium, but also in resources such as copper, which is the second EU producer. Besides, It has lithiumcobalt, Coltán and possible lower land deposits. Seven of the 47 new Strategic Mining Projects promoted by the EU They will be developed in Spainalthough most face the rejection of environmental organizations for its environmental impact, such as the lithium mine in Cáceres. The epicenter of the debate. Discussions on Spanish uranium are a broader reflex of tensions: the strategic autonomy of resources, the imperatives of the energy transition, environmental protection and social acceptance of mining activity. In the end, the epicenter of the debate is the high cost of building and maintaining traditional nuclear plants in the face of renewable energy sources, of which Spain is world power. Only last year, Spain produced 148,999 GWh of renewable energy, 56.8% of Mix. If the blackout was A notice that the electricity is not prepared To stabilize large renewable energy fluctuations, what touches is wondering what are the investments in storage, investors, interconnections and energy sources alternative to pollutants combined cycles of gas to avoid another blackout. Everything is said regarding the closure of nuclear plants or the extraction of uranium in Spain, but the solar industry will not go anywhere. Image | Tecnatom In Xataka | In Salamanca there is a high -tech nuclear fuel bars factory that exports to all of Europe: we have visited it

China is immersed in a nuclear revolution and needs industrial amounts of Uranium. His solution: “fish” in the sea

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China is one of the countries that is most promoting the adoption of renewable energy thanks to Great ‘farms’ and market saturation of solar panels. At the same time, they have approved the Construction of ten new nuclear reactors. It may seem a contradiction, but in the midst of a Strong commercial warit is another step in energy self -sufficiency, and to achieve it they will need tons of uranium. Your solution? Squeeze the uranium of the seas. Marine mine. The country account with 56 nuclear reactors and has between 25 and 29 under construction. This implies that they need a lot of Uranium and the problem is that they do not produce enough. HE esteem That, in 2023, China’s production was only 1,700 tons, 4% worldwide, and although they have strong reserves, they need more. In turn, China imported Some 22,000 tons in 2024 and have begun to put solutions. In 2024 began The construction of the National Project of Uranium Nº1 in Ordos. It will become the largest uranium mine in the country and a few months ago They announced that had discovered another important site, also in Ordos. However, it still is not enough, so they have seen the sea. Uranium fish. Because yes: there is uranium in the oceans. Its concentration is extremely low, about 3 micrograms per liter, but due to oceanic immensity, it is estimated that the total is 4.5 billion tons of uranium. There are a thousand times more uranium in the seas than in known land reserves. Extract Uranium from the sea is not something new and, during the 80s, Japan led the development of marine uranium extraction techniques. The problem is that it is a complex and, above all, inefficient process. That is why researchers focus on active uranium collection methods‘dapando’ different materials to be able to extract more material per liter. It is also a expensive method, about ten times more to extract it from terrestrial sources. Miraculous material. But this is where the Chinese team of the Frontiers Science Center For Rare isotopes of the University of Lanzhou enters. In a study published in NatureThey explain that the key to extracting more efficient marine uranium resides in the MOF, or metal-organic frameworks. It is a crystalline material composed of metal ions that are coordinated with organic elements to form structures of great porosity. It is like an extremely efficient fishing network to catch small particles that, in the case of uranium, allows you to better separate this element from others to which it can be attached. The Chinese team has dopa with Dipniletinelo molecules and claim that this new DAE-MOF material allows an uranium absorption capacity of 588 mg per gram, according to the tests. This involves an efficiency 40 times higher when separating uranium from metals and vanadium and has been tested both in simulated and real sea water. Aim. The idea is now to create test extraction plants this year, with pilot plants on the tons scale for 2035 and with a continuous production by 2050. wait That China’s demand for uranium is more than 40,000 tons in 2040, so land mines in conjunction with these marine alternative sources are essential to achieve the goal. Without a doubt, it is an advance in marine uranium extraction at a time when the rest of the players on this board are also found Looking for ways to get more out of the sea for energy independence at a time when buying to other countries He has put up legs. And the United States, of course, is also in that fight, with the US Department of Energy analyzing The technical, economic and environmental viability of large -scale uranium extraction in its waters. Images | Robordouderio, Robert Taylor from StirlingNature In Xataka | Spanish nuclear have been criticized for their role in the blackout. This was what they did before, during and after collapse

The uranium is listed up after the nuclear resurgence. And a company wants to start extracting it in Greenland

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While Trump Keep with your speech to buy Greenlandiamining remains prohibited in the country. However, this decision may change by imposition of a judge. Short. The Energy Transition Minerals (ETM) company, formerly known as Greenland Minerals, has filed a millionaire demand against Greenland for the care of his project at the Kvanefjeld site. The company has demanded that the mine be allowed to exploit or receive compensation of 11.5 billion dollars. The dispute has reached an international arbitration under the dispute resolution system between investors and states (ISDS). The competent court to resolve the case will be the one established under international arbitration agreements between investors and governments. In depth. The company acquired the rights to exploit the Kvanefjeld site. This reserve is one of the largest in the world not exploited that contains uranium and rare earths. However, in 2021, the Greenlandic government prohibited uranium mining. Currently, the lawsuit accuses the country of illegal expropriation and for the moment the case is in international arbitration, initiated in 2022, but has progress slowly due to prolonged disagreements about the procedure. This summer, the referees will decide if they must accept the case. If they do, it is likely to be resolved at the end of this year. Meanwhile, the decision is dividing the population with nearby elections that could change this resolution. The complaint system. This arbitration system, designed originally to protect foreign companies of abuse by governments, it has been increasingly used to demand the states that adopt environmental laws. In several cases, companies They have sought millionaire compensation for the closure of mining projects that considered profitable. In this way, international arbitration It has become In a lucrative area of ​​international law, with multimillionaire payments to companies that require compensation for the losses attributed to regulatory or environmental changes. The history of uranium. Mining has meant a problem For Greenland for pollution. As of 1970, the first deposits of lead and zinc began to exploit, which has caused irreversible damage in the flora and fauna of the area. For this reason, when ETM acquired the rights to exploit the Kvanefjeld area in 2007, the local population was alarmed by the environmental impact it could cause in drinking water and in the farm farms. If the mine reopens. In case they return to work on the project, the exploitation would be done in the open, which implies removing large amounts of rock to extract terbio and neodymium, key metals to manufacture magnets in wind turbines and electric cars. However, in doing so, uranium would also be unearthed, which would generate radioactive waste. From the company itself, has explained to The Guardian that “will use the best environmental practices” whenever it is “technical, practice and financially.” The international game. While Greenland face again To the United States after the statements of the US president to “take the country in any form, now he will have to stay aware of how the trial on the exploitation of the Kvanefjeld site will be resolved. However, this sentence must be seen with magnifying glass, because the company Energy Transition Minerals (ETM) is partially owned by Shenghe Resources, a company backed by the Chinese government. So, Greenland is trapped between the interests of China and the United States. For its part, the government opposing uranium mining, demonstrating Your concern for the environment and the future of the sovereignty of the country. Image | Maggie & David Xataka | It is the fifth time that the US wants to buy Greenland from Denmark. If they asked on the island they would have it clearer

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