Brazil's INB gets approval for Caldas decommissioning
The first licence for the decommissioning of a uranium mine in Brazil has been issued to the Caldas Decommissioning Unit of Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil.
The licence has been issued by the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), which is part of the country's environment ministry. Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB) said the operating licence, issued on 14 January, followed in-depth analysis of the plans by specialists from the company and IBAMA.
Brazilian production of uranium began in 1982 in Caldas/Minas Gerais - it was the first ore extraction and processing unit in the country - and supplied the needs of the Angra 1 plant for 13 years before closing production in 1995 because of market conditions.
INB President Adauto Seixas said that obtaining the licence was "further evidence of our commitment to decommissioning, transparency and sustainable development" and ensures that the area of the unit in Caldas can be made available for other uses in the future.
INB said the next steps involve publishing the operating licence and "managing the requirements broken down into conditions in the license itself, to advance the decommissioning of the unit".
The Caldas Decommissioning Unit (UDC) covers an area of 1360 hectares. INB announced in September 2023 that the first stage of building demolition had been completed with 12 buildings demolished at the deactivated industrial plant, including offices, warehouse changing rooms, boiler control house and the water treatment plant control house. At that time, 500 tonnes of scrap metal had been disposed since 2019 during the decommissioning process.
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