Guinea Discovers Uranium

By Stewart Douglas

The West African nation of Guinea has today announced its discovery of uranium reserves in Firawa.

The Government announcement today reflects the first discovery of uranium in Guinea, an element much sought after worldwide with increasing demand as a nuclear fuel.

Information Minister Justin Morel made the announcement on national television, after the discovery was made by a mineral company earlier today in Firawa.

The government has the pleasure of officially announcing the discovery of uranium deposits in Guinea,” announced the Guinea Information Minister today.

The reserves are thought to be of a commercially viable quantity, and with increasing demand for the substance for nuclear power generation worldwide, versus a limited supply, prices have dramatically increased in recent times.

With a very poor economy, the news has been taken well by Guinea, as a potential stepping stone out of crippling poverty for the citizens earning less than $1 a day with very little employment opportunities available.

Whilst it is thought that uranium reserves could be extracted and sold in the near future, it is as yet unclear as to when the relevant infrastructure will be in place to facilitate the trade, and indeed when mining companies will be able to extract the substance in any quantity.

Guinea has also benefited from trade in gold, diamonds, iron ore and aluminium ore over recent years, although today’s news has been taken as an important step in the country’s economic development.

The French colony is heavily mined by foreign companies at present, and is likely to see large scale investment in infrastructure from abroad to cash in on the potential commerciability of the reserves.

With depleting fossil fuels and the fears of global warming, demand for cleaner, more sustainable energy sources like nuclear power look set only to continue over the coming decades.