Update on Sweden's Nuclear Policy - December 2007

Sweden's energy is provided by 47% nuclear power, 44% hydroelectric and 9% biofuels. The country is a world leader in nuclear efficiency research and disposal of nuclear waste which occurs in-country. Sweden ranks among the top countries in the world for reliance on nuclear power, as well as for power plant efficiency. The current government recently overturned a 27 year anti-nuclear power policy, and has approved the expansion of some nuclear plants.

In Sweden, the same legislation is applied to all minerals (including uranium) during the exploration phase. To gain approval for uranium mining, a company must apply to the national government for a ruling. There is no ban on uranium mining in Sweden today and the current government has stated it will review all uranium mining projects in light of the relevant legislation and environmental standards. The municipal government, where the specific project is located, retains a right of veto for uranium mining projects. Sweden's nuclear power plants require 1,500 tonnes of uranium fuel each year, all of which is imported.

Location Mawson Uranium Projects in Sweden click on image to view enlarged

Mawson is a well funded Canadian exploration company with over CDN$15 million in cash, focussed on uranium exploration in Sweden. Sweden is an excellent place to explore, with more than 1000 years of mining tradition. Three mines have opened in the last three years in Northern Sweden and two more are currently in feasibility. Sweden is the leading producer of gold, silver, copper, lead and iron ore in the EU15, and environmental laws are well established to facilitate decision making and permitting.

As in most jurisdictions, uranium is a political issue in Sweden. The uranium debate is particularly active in Sweden, as the country is highly reliant on nuclear power, with ten nuclear reactors that provide approximately 50% of the country's electricity, plus a very large uranium resource base. In this light, Mawson has taken a strategic decision to acquire world class uranium assets in a country that is reliant on nuclear power.

The Chief Mining Inspector of Sweden, Jan-Olof Hedström, at a recent conference in Finland, has outlined the exploration permitting process for uranium (see http://www.lapinliitto.fi/fem2005/pdf_day_1/hedstrom.pdf):

"One hopes for a more positive political attitude from Sweden's government towards uranium mining in the future than one can say has been the case up till now after our referendum of the year 1980. Obtaining a permit for uranium prospecting follows the normal regulations for prospecting in Sweden.

The prospecting permits that the Chief Mine Inspector issues are nearly always valid for all the 60 minerals that are included in the Swedish Mineral Act, in other words they include uranium. When a company, having received an exploration permit, wishes to carry out exploration that can affect the environment to a substantial degree, that company has a meeting with the County Council who decide on conditions for the work from an environmental point of view.

In order to prospect for uranium the same rules apply. It is for the stage after prospecting, in other words for the permit to mine ore, that one must first obtain a political decision from the government when it is a matter of uranium in particular. Sweden's nuclear power plants require 1500 tonnes of uranium fuel each year and today all that fuel is imported"

With respect to mining of uranium in Sweden, the legislative process is in place, but requires approval of the government of the day. Should a company wish to begin mining, permitting follows a process determined by the uranium grade or production quantity. If the uranium grade is less than 200ppm or production is less than 5 kg then the normal mining law is followed without any specific concern about the uranium content. If the grade or production quantity is higher, the permitting process will follow the law concerning "nuclear technical activity". In such cases the application to mine must pass to the government for decision making, as directed by the Swedish Environmental Code (Chapter 17 Section 1). Under this section governmental permissibility is compulsory for four types of projects:

1. Operations based on nuclear technology including mining of uranium or other substances that can be used to produce nuclear fuel.
2. Freeways of certain types
3. Railways of certain types and
4. Channels/navigable courses

A global debate is well underway with regard to the role of nuclear power as a viable energy source to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and greenhouse emissions. The global mood is reflected within Sweden, with active debate about the future of Sweden's uranium resources. A few articles of interest are included below:

http://www.platts.com/Nuclear/News/7159562.xml?src=Nuclearrssheadlines1

Sweden's parliament remains open to uranium mining

New York (Platts) - 13Mar2007

Uranium mining should not be forbidden in Sweden, a key committee in the Riksdag, or parliament, decided March 13, 2007. A majority of the Standing Committee on Industry and Trade said that the law as it now stands is sufficient to ensure that mining would have proper oversight. But the members added that they do not expect mining operations to start up, although several companies are interested in tapping Sweden's uranium reserves. The committee's recommendation is unlikely to be overridden by the full Riksdag.

NYA REGERINGEN ÖPPNAR FÖR URANBRYTNING (Swedish Article, English translation: THE NEW GOVERNMENT OPEN FOR URANIUM MINING) 15 November 2006

Chronology Of Some Key Nuclear Cycle Events In Sweden

Early 1900s: Attempts to extract radioactive minerals from alum shale in Västergötland. An attempt to produce radium on an industrial scale began in 1905 by the AB Kolm company. The project became unprofitable and was abandoned in 1915.

1947: The government established an atomic energy research organization, AB Atomenergi.

1956: A Commission recommended development of nuclear power program also producing heat. Atomenergi commissioned a 50 MW test reactor at Studsvik in 1960 to further this goal. (It was run by Studsvik AB and decommissioned in mid 2005.)

1957: Parliament made a policy against production of nuclear weapons.

Early 1960's: Atomenergi commenced uranium exploration, including at Tåsjö.

1964: Atomenergi and Vattenfall together commissioned the small (65 MW thermal) Agesta heavy water reactor to deliver 55 MW of heat and a little electricity to Stockholm. It operated until 1974. The two organisations then started to build the larger (140 MWe) Marviken heavy water reactor supplied by ASEA, but the project was aborted just before fuel loading.

1965: The Ranstad uranium mine started production in 1965. Mining continued up to 1969 on a reduced scale. A total of 215 tonnes of uranium oxide was produced.

1966: Following a proposal for a small boiling water reactor (BWR), a Sydkraft-led consortium OKG AB ordered a 460 MWe BWR unit - Oskarshamn-1 from ASEA. This was the first western light water reactor designed and built without requiring a licence from US vendors. It started up in 1972.

1968: Vattenfall ordered reactors Ringhals-1, a 750 MWe BWR from ASEA, and Ringhals-2, an 800 MWe PWR from Westinghouse, in order to compare the technologies. Two further PWRs were built at Ringhals.

1969 OKG ordered reactors Oskarshamn-2 and Sydkraft ordered Barseback-1 with option for unit 2, all from ASEA Atom. In the 1970s Vattenfall cooperated with other utilities to build the Forsmark nuclear plant.

1972: Start-up of Oskarshamn 1, the first commercial nuclear reactor.

1970's: Six reactors entered commercial service in the 1970s.

1976: Social Democrats lost the federal election, after holding Government for over 40 years.

1976: Establishment of the Government nuclear agency SKI.

1977: First test drilling to find a suitable storage site for high-level nuclear waste.

November 1977: Skövde and Falköping municipalities, both directly effected by the Ranstad uranium mine, used their local veto to stop further operation of the mine.

Spring of 1979: Controversy created after the Three Mile Island accident on March 28, 1979 at Harrisburg, U.S.A.

March 23, 1980: Referendum on nuclear power. The referendum canvassed three options for phasing out nuclear energy, but none for maintaining it. A clear majority of voters favoured running the existing plants and those under construction as long as they contributed economically, in effect to the end of their normal operating lives (assumed then to be 25 years). Parliament decided to embargo further expansion of nuclear power and aim for decommissioning the 12 plants by 2010 if new energy sources were available realistically to replace them.

1980s.: Six further reactors were commissioned. In total the 12 reactors operating in Sweden were at four sites around the southern coast.

1982: The Financing Act established that the nuclear power companies must pay into a fund enough money to cover the total cost of waste management.

1982: The pro-nuclear Social Democrats were re-elected to power.

1982: Spent fuel from Swedish nuclear reactors was sent to the reprocessing plant in La Hague, France.

1983: Test drilling for a high-level nuclear waste storage site at Klipperås began.

December 1985: The Environment Minister announced an end to Sweden's uranium exploration program. Sweden through the 1960's to 1985 spent US$40 million exploring for uranium for self-sufficiency purposes.

1986: Chernobyl disaster (first recognised at a Swedish nuclear power station) created some pressure to progress the issue of nuclear decommissioning. In 1988 the government decided to begin the phase-out in 1995, but this decision was overturned in 1991 following pressure from the trade unions.

July 9, 1987: The first of eight shipments of West German spent MOX-fuel was made by the Swedish vessel SIGYN from Lübeck, West Germany to Simpevarp, Sweden.

April 27, 1988: The first containers of low- and medium-level nuclear waste were put down in SFR-1.

1995: The government appointed an Energy Commission consisting principally of backbench politicians, which reported at the end of 1995 that a complete phase-out of nuclear power by 2010 would be economically and environmentally impossible. However, it said that one unit might be shut down by 1998. This gave rise to intense political manoeuvring among the main political parties, all of them minority, with varied attitudes to industrial, nuclear and environmental issues. The Social Democrats ruled a minority government but with any one of the other parties they were able to get a majority in parliament.

1996: Swedish Environmentalists for Nuclear Power founded http://www.ecolo.org/base/basese.htm.

1999: Barseback reactor 1 closed.

April 2004: 77% of people gave top environmental priority to restraining greenhouse gas emissions, 13% to protecting unspoiled rivers from hydro-electric development, and only 7% to phasing out nuclear power. On nuclear power matters, 17% supported a nuclear phase-out, 27% favoured continued operation of all the country's nuclear power units, 32% favoured this plus their replacement in due course, and 21% wanted to further develop nuclear power in Sweden. The total support for maintaining or increasing nuclear power thus was 80% as the government tried to negotiate a phase out.

March 2005: Opinion polls showed 83% support for maintaining or increasing nuclear power. Another poll in May that polled residents that lived around Barsebäck found that 94% wanted it to stay. The subsequent leak of radioactive water from the nuclear waste store in Forsmark did not lead to a major change in public opinion.

May 2005: Barseback reactor 2 closed. The closure made it more difficult for Sweden to meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Sweden goes from net energy exporter to importer. The two Barseback reactors are located only 30 kilometres from the Danish capital, Copenhagen, and have been a source of contrived concern to the Danes on that account.

Early 2005: In the 1970s it was the Centre Party in Sweden which started the anti-nuclear debate culminating in the 1980 referendum canvassing three options for phasing out nuclear energy. Since then the Centre Party has lined up with the three socialist parties on nuclear power, but the three non-socialist parties on other issues. Early in 2005 the leadership of the Centre Party indicated a substantial reversal of this earlier anti-nuclear position, saying that climate change must be put ahead of nuclear decommissioning. This view was in line with the overwhelming majority of public opinion. Against a background of increasing electricity prices, the Centre Party then abandoned its alignment with the socialist parties on energy policy and fully joined the three pro-nuclear parties, so as to allow nuclear power to continue supplying a major part of the country's electricity.

2006: The government is working with the utilities to expand nuclear capacity to replace the 1200 MWe lost in closure of Barseback-1 & 2. Investments in the Swedish energy sector in the next five years add up to a total of 120 billion SEK out of which 32 billion (US$5.3 BILLION) will be invested in existing nuclear power plants (modernisation and upgrading).

2006: "Thought ban" on nuclear research removed.

Sept 2006: Social Democrats loose power. The Conservative-led coalition which came to power was much more in tune with popular sentiment and positive about nuclear power than its predecessor. The Centre party in the coalition had recently changed its view to be more in favour of nuclear power, aligning with the Christian Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives. While no reactors will be closed, planning of new units is not on the agenda during the coalition's first term. However, several major reactor upgrades will be undertaken.

Nov 2006: New government minister, Maud Olofsson, responsible for mining states government will review all uranium mining projects in light of the relevant legislation and environmental standards. http://www.nyteknik.se/nyheter/energi_miljo/karnkraft/article41373.ece.

13 March 2007: A key committee in the Riksdag, or parliament, decided that uranium mining should not be forbidden in Sweden. A majority of the Standing Committee on Industry and Trade said that the law as it now stands is sufficient to ensure that mining would have proper oversight. But the members added that they do not expect mining operations to start up, although several companies are interested in tapping Sweden's uranium reserves. The committee's recommendation is unlikely to be overridden by the full Riksdag.

With respect to mining of uranium in Sweden, the legislative process is as follows. Should a company wish to begin mining, permitting follows a process determined by the uranium grade or production quantity. If the uranium grade is less than 200ppm or production is less than 5 kg then the normal mining law is followed without any specific concern about the uranium content. If the grade or production quantity is higher, the permitting process will follow the law concerning "nuclear technical activity". In such cases the application to mine must pass to the government for decision making, as directed by the Swedish Environmental Code (Chapter 17 Section 1).

March 2007: The Christian Democrats changed their policy to explicitly disown the phase-out and allow for new reactors being built after 2010.

January 2008: As many as 48% of the Swedes are in favour of building new nuclear reactors, 39% are opposed and 13% are undecided. This is in contrast to the stance of the political parties in Sweden, the only one in favour of building new reactors is the 7.5% Liberal party [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folkpartiet].

Early in 2008: Leaders of the Liberal Party called for construction of four new reactors at existing sites as replacements for those which would be retired in the 2020s. They also called for a policy focus on electric vehicles rather than biofuels.

2008: Sweden is the 5th most active uranium exploration country worldwide based on reported projects (after Australia, Canada, US, Mongolia). 24 companies have applied for uranium exploration permits in Sweden. New guidance laws created by the Nuclear Inspectorate SSI for uranium explorers.

2008: Sweden now has 10 nuclear power reactors providing almost half its electricity from 9000 MWe of capacity representing approximately 50% of total electricity production. Sweden imports 1,500t of uranium annually

Feb 2009: Sweden lifts ban on nuclear power. Swedish government announced plans to overturn a near 30-year ban on atomic plants as part of a new drive to increase energy security and combat global warming.

June 2009: Sweden picks site to bury nuclear waste for 100,000 years. The world's first permanent nuclear waste storage sites that can house highly radioactive waste for more than 100,000 years will be built in Sweden, project officials said on Wednesday. The waste will be buried in tunnels drilled 500 metres (1,640 feet) underground in the bedrock in Forsmark, near the town of Oesthammar 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Stockholm, the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) said. Construction on the cutting-edge site could begin in 2016 and the site could be inaugurated in 2022 or 2024, according to SKB.

September 2009: Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt says he is not against uranium mining in Sweden - a deviation from his conservative moderate party's earlier negative standpoint and the views of some anti-nuclear power critics in his own center-right government.

June 17 2010: Sweden's parliament passed a landmark government proposal allowing the replacement of nuclear reactors at the end of their life span. The plan entails that new reactors can be built at the same site as today's three existing plants when they wind down, but no new sites will be approved and the number of reactors in the Scandinavian country will not be permitted to exceed 10.

July 10 2010: A decision in Sweden's parliament, the Riksdag, to allow old nuclear reactors to be replaced has broad support among Swedes. Overall 72 percent of people surveyed supported the decision while 28 percent are opposed.  

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