China is believed to operate indigenous enrichment plant
By Pavel Podvig on October 25, 2010 5:15 PM
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According to a report by Uranium Intelligence Weekly that quotes industry sources, China is operating an indigenous uranium enrichment facility with a capacity of about 0.5 million SWU/year. This facility is different from the four enrichment plants built there by Russia.
China's enrichment plant reportedly uses small centrifuges that are not as advanced as the latest models produced by URENCO or Russia's Tenex. It is possible that the centrifuges use Soviet technology - according to a Rosatom official, the original agreement between Russia and China regarding construction of the first three centrifuge facilities, which goes back to 1991, did not have provisions that would prevent transfer of intellectual property (i.e. technology). In fact, the agreement anticipated a possibility of technology transfer, although it did not materialize.
Under the 1991 Russia supplied China with centrifuges of the 6th generation. In 2007, before Russia and China signed a contract on construction of the fourth plant, they amended the original agreement with a protocol that protected Russia's intellectual property. Some reports mentioned a possibility of the fourth facility's using newer technology.
According to the Rosatom official quoted above, the two plants in Hanzhong have capacity of 0.2 million SWU/year and 0.3 million SWU/year, and the first plant in Lanzhou is 0.5 million SWU/year. The fourth plant, to be completed in 2011, will add another 0.5 million SWU/year.
Categories:
- Civilian nuclear industry
Tags:
- centrifuges,
- China,
- enrichment,
- Hanzhong,
- Lanzhou,
- Russia
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TrackBack URL: fissilematerials.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1768
New Russian-built enrichment plant in China begins operations from Fissile material on April 13, 2011 4:54 AM
The uranium enrichment plant in Hanzhong, Shaanxi province began its operations in mid-March 2011. According to a report at Nuclear.ru, the plant is expected to reach full capacity of 0.5 million SWU/year in June 2011.The new plant will bring the ... Read More
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