Reuters: USEC settles anti-dumping lawsuit with Areva
’Uranium fuel supplier USEC Inc and its French competitor Areva said they agreed to settle pending appeals related to an anti-dumping case involving imports of French low-enriched uranium. Under the settlement, the parties will immediately withdraw or request dismissal of all pending appeals and U.S. Department of Commerce proceedings. USEC said it expected to realize about $70 million no earlier than the fourth quarter from estimated duties deposited by Areva's holding company, Eurodif SA, as a result of the settlement. "This is expected to bring to an end all pending litigation and administrative proceedings regarding DOC's 2002 anti-dumping duty order, which now is expected to remain in place until at least... 2012," the company said.’

Moscow Times: Work Starts on Floating Nuclear Station
’Russia began building its first floating nuclear power plant on Monday as Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko laid out ambitious plans for the sector in a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev. The power plant, which is being assembled at the St. Petersburg-based Baltic Shipyard by Energoatom, a subsidiary of Rosatom, is the first of seven floating nuclear power plants that the company plans to build, Energoatom head Sergei Obozov told reporters on Monday. Obozov said the first two power plants are to service the towns of Vilyuchinsk, in the Kamchatka region, and Pevek, which is located in the Chukotka autonomous district. Future power plants could be built for and sold to foreign buyers, he said. The contract for building the first of the floating nuclear power plants is worth 983 billion rubles ($30.6 billion), Interfax reported.’

UPI: Analysis: Russia wins Mongolian uranium mining concessions
’While the Western press has largely fixated on the intense international struggle over the Caspian's hydrocarbon riches, farther east in Mongolia another rivalry is brewing between Russia and competitors for another valuable energy source -- uranium. Moscow has established a commanding lead to develop the country's energy reserves, and its dominance seems likely only to grow with time. Underscoring the Kremlin's interest, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia on Wednesday for a one-day visit, during which he held talks with Mongolian Prime Minister Sanjaa Bayar, President Nambaryn Enkhbayar and Damdin Demberel, chairman and speaker of the State Great Hural, Mongolia's parliament. During an interview on Russia's Zvezda Television, Putin made his interests explicit, saying, "We are laying big emphasis on the trade and economic area of cooperation, on the complex of issues related to the cooperation in investment, especially now, in the conditions of the global economic and financial crisis. Both Russian and Mongolian partners are oriented toward the soonest launch of joint investment projects in the mining industry. I believe that we will be able to implement the agreements reached earlier in the field of joint extraction and processing of uranium ore.’

The Guardian: Thorp nuclear plant may close for years
’The company that runs the Thorp nuclear reprocessing plant admitted that it may have to close for a number of years owing to a series of technical problems. The huge £1.8bn plant at Sellafield imports spent nuclear fuel from around the world and returns it to countries as new reactor fuel. But a series of catastrophic technical failures with associated equipment means Thorp could be mothballed at a cost of millions of pounds. Under strict orders from the government's safety watchdog, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, the plant's operators, Sellafield Ltd, is expected to have little option but to mothball the reprocessing plant for at least four years. Closure of Thorp for any length of time could cost the company and government hundreds of millions of pounds and embarrass the resurgent nuclear industry, which is embarking on an ambitious programme of new reactors for Britain. Thorp is contracted to reprocess more than 700 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel, most of it for Germany, which could sue if Sellafield does not return it on time.’

Reuters: Region warns Niger's leader on plan to keep power
’Niger's neighbours could penalise it with economic sanctions if President Mamadou Tandja's plan to stand for a third term contravenes pledges to follow democratic principles, regional body ECOWAS said on Monday. The government announced this month the 70-year-old leader, whose second and final term expires this year, would hold a plebiscite on constitutional changes to allow him to run again in polls due in November. The move sparked a street protest and opposition anger in the uranium-mining state. Areva's Imouaren project, which is due to become Africa's biggest uranium mine, will cost an initial 1.2 billion euros and is scheduled to start production in 2012.’

Nasdaq: Sarkozy Offers French Nuclear Know-how To Romania
’France is ready to help Romania build a new nuclear power station, President Nicolas Sarkozy told his Romanian counterpart on Monday. Several European companies including France's GDF Suez, Enel from Italy and E.ON from Germany have expressed an interest in the contract to build Romania's second nuclear plant. During a working lunch with President Traian Basescu, Sarkozy offered " France's cooperation, its expertise and that of its companies" to build a reactor that would go online in 2020, the French presidency said. Basescu, whose country joined the European Union five years ago, told Sarkozy that "European-made technology" would be chosen for the project, according to the Elysee palace. Romania's only nuclear plant at Cernavoda was designed with Canada's CANDU reactor technology and built under the former communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu.’