Australian company Silex Systems is considering taking an equity position in Global Laser Enrichment, the exclusive licensee for its laser uranium enrichment technology, after GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy announced its intention to exit the company.

KazAtomProm and ConverDyn have signed an agreement whereby the world's largest uranium producer and the "leading provider" of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) conversion services will jointly and immediately offer uranium in the form of natural UF6 to global utilities. UF6 is the natural uranium feedstock for the enrichment step in the nuclear fuel cycle.

Centrus Energy Corporation has announced the completion of operations at the American Centrifuge demonstration uranium enrichment plant in Ohio. Decontamination and decommissioning activities will begin within weeks, but the company plans to maintain its construction and operating licence for a commercial plant at the site.

Demolition work has begun on building K-27, the last of five gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment facilities at the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The US Department of Energy plans to remove all gaseous diffusion buildings from the site by the end of the year under its Vision 2016 project.

Russia's Techsnabexport (Tenex) has said that it expects the value of its exports this year to outstrip that of 2014 by $500 million. The Rosatom subsidiary's preliminary results for 2015 indicate that its revenue from the global market will be worth about $2.7 billion.

Centrus Energy Corp has reached agreement with Russian uranium enrichment company Techsnabexport (Tenex) to modify the terms of the long-term supply contract they signed in 2011 and to extend their contractual relationship until 2026.

The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has authorised the introduction of a 15-month fuel replacement interval at units 1-4 of the Paks nuclear power plant, the plant's owner MVM NPP Ltd announced on 8 December. The move licenses the switch to a new type of fuel assembly with an average enrichment of 4.7%.

Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner led the official opening ceremony of the Pilcaniyeu uranium enrichment plant on 30 November.

Global uranium inventories upwards of 1.1 billion pounds U3O8 equivalent (423,100 tU) are likely to drive the uranium markets for some time to come, affecting not just uranium suppliers but also the conversion and enrichment industries, according to the Ux Consulting Company (UxC).

A funding cut of some 60% will allow continued development of the American Centrifuge uranium enrichment technology at Oak Ridge, but will not support ongoing centrifuge operations in Piketon, Centrus Energy announced on 11 September.

The International Uranium Enrichment Centre in Angarsk, Russia will serve as a reference point for similar regional International Atomic Energy Agency-sponsored fuel 'banks', the agency's director general, Yukiya Amano, said last week. He said the IAEA may one day revisit a proposal to set up an international centre for the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel.

French engineering company Areva has for the first time signed a contract with Energoatom for the supply of enriched uranium to be used at Ukraine's nuclear power reactors. The first batches will be delivered in 2015.