Touqan highlights JAEC’s uranium exploration, production plans

Ramtha: Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Chairman, Dr. Khaled Touqan, said it is "constantly" working to achieve "qualitative" achievements in its "cutting-edge" programs and train competencies by sending staff to training courses to obtain "advanced" scientific qualifications in nuclear science. Speaking at a symposium to introduce JAEC's activities and achievements at Jordan university of science and technology (JUST), Touqan added that the JAEC seeks to make Jordan as the "main" center in the region in terms of the quality of trained workers in nuclear science activities and programmes. Touqan added that projects of the Jordanian nuclear program are mainly Jordanian nuclear power plant, development of human resources, Jordan's nuclear reactor for research and training, synchrotron center, and the uranium enterprise. The nuclear reactor, he noted, plays a "key" role in building and training new generations of nuclear researchers, scientists and engineers and is used to produce medical and industria l radioactive isotopes. Touqan briefed the audience on the nuclear reactor for research and training and its produced radioactive isotopes, including the isotope of iodine (I-131), which is used in treatment and diagnosis of thyroid and liver cancers. Meanwhile, he said Jordan Uranium Mining Company (JUMCO), which was established in 2013, is managing the uranium project in central Jordan, and has worked to explore and develop uranium ore processing "optimally," which led to developing a pilot factory for uranium production. Touqan indicated that the company is also working on an economic feasibility study to produce uranium from raw materials in central Jordan region and establish a commercial factory capable of producing about 400 tonnes of uranium annually. Touqan said this figure will then hit 800 uranium tonnes per year to be used as fuel for Jordan's nuclear power plant and export the surplus to other countries in the region. Through JAEC, he noted the importance of Jordan to retain the right to enr ich uranium at low levels for use as future fuel for Jordan's nuclear power plants, as it is a "strategic" national wealth. Source: Jordan News Agency