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PRIVATELY, the Federal Government is not happy that uranium miner Rio Tinto has launched an attack on its recently stated opposition to nuclear power. But publicly, Government ministers were polite yesterday in responding to a pro-nuclear submission made by Rio Tinto over a white paper on government energy policy. Treasurer Wayne Swan moved quickly to ground debate, declaring yesterday: "We don't agree with Rio Tinto on that point." Climate Change Minister Penny Wong was equally dismissive, but civil: "Rio Tinto is entitled to their view." After lobbing the hand grenade which has reignited the nuclear debate, the uranium mining giant ran for cover yesterday.

It is said that all that glitters is not gold. Keep that in mind when considering the bidding war heating up the nuclear power business. France's EDF has offered $6.5 billion for half of Constellation Energy Group's nuclear business and some other assets, trumping Warren Buffett's bid of $4.7 billion for all of Constellation. If plummeting demand for everything from new cars to tin foil could fell BHP's monster bid for Rio Tinto, why wouldn't it weigh on demand for energy? While nuclear power has regained some favor as a cheap, relatively clean alternative to nasty fossil fuels, is it really safe to expect consumers to ramp up electric heat this winter, and air conditioning next summer, when they are worried about losing their jobs?

RIO Tinto is considering boosting output at its Rossing mine in Namibia by more than 60 per cent This would make it the world's second-biggest uranium producer. The news is an indication that uranium has not be included in recently announced plans to delay expansion. Speaking at the mine last week, Rossing managing director Mike Leech said the goal of growing to 5500 tonnes of uranium by 2012, outlined four months ago, would probably be raised in the first or second quarter of next year. The open pit mine in the Namib Desert will log production of more than 4000 tonnes of uranium in 2008, its best year since 1990. It is looking to build up to the plant's design capacity of 4500 tonnes by 2012.

Namibian environmentalists warn expansion of uranium mining could devastate spectacular natural landscape The hidden cost of Britain's new generation of nuclear power could be the destruction of the Kalahari desert in Namibia and millions of tonnes of extra greenhouse gas emissions a year, the Observer has discovered. The desert, with its towering sand dunes and spectacular lunar-like landscapes, is at the centre of an international uranium rush led by Rössing Uranium, a subsidiary of the British mining giant Rio Tinto, and the French state-owned company, Areva, which part-manages the nuclear complex at Sellafield and wants to build others in Britain.

Namibian environmentalists warn expansion of uranium mining could devastate spectacular natural landscape The hidden cost of Britain's new generation of nuclear power could be the destruction of the Kalahari desert in Namibia and millions of tonnes of extra greenhouse gas emissions a year, the Observer has discovered. The desert, with its towering sand dunes and spectacular lunar-like landscapes, is at the centre of an international uranium rush led by Rössing Uranium, a subsidiary of the British mining giant Rio Tinto, and the French state-owned company, Areva, which part-manages the nuclear complex at Sellafield and wants to build others in Britain.

A major drilling program has commenced in Western Australia to prove up what could potentially be Australia's fifth uranium mine. The Kintyre deposit, 2000 kilometres north east of Perth, is believed to hold around 36 million kilos of uranium of a similar grade to the Ranger mine in the Northern Territory. Last year, Canadian company Cameco joined forces with Mitsubishi to buy Kintyre from Rio Tinto for almost $700 million.

"Russia is ready to invest $1 billion in uranium exploration in Namibia, Russia's state nuclear firm said on Thursday as it seeks to compete for projects with global miner Rio Tinto in the African country. "We're ready to start investing already this year," the head of state corporation Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, told journalists. Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba was visiting Moscow to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Kiriyenko said the uranium extracted from Namibia could be used for a nuclear power plant Russia was building in Turkey."