OCR Text |
Show . keeping it viable Ending several years of speculation, the Atomic I Energy Commission last week announced that surplus stocks of uranium concentrate, totaling some 50,000 I; tons, would be disposed of to customers in the non-gov- ; crnmcnt sector of the economy. ' The knowledge that this surplus existed has been causing ;.ome unrest in the uranium industry for a num- " her of years. The uranium industry, since the completion of the government buying program, has been trying with ' some difficulty, to remain viable. With new contracts ". being signed and announced plans for more power gen- ' crating pU'rrx finally coming along, the industry has ; faced a more optimistic future this fall than in a number ; of years. I Dumping on the market of a vast sum of govern- .'icnt-stockpiled uranium concentrate, however, could upset that optimism in a hurry, and apparently the ; Atomic Energy Commission is fully aware of this fact. ; The Commission has come up with a plan of dis-" dis-" posal of the surplus uranium concentrate that is detailed in a news story on Page Bl of this issue. The proposal would ph.-sc the a ncentrate onto the market over a period of years, keeping in mind market conditions, pro- jectcd growth rates in the domestic market, etc. In all j appearances, the Commission has attempted to work out a plan which would cee the disposal of the large stock- pile, but would allow the private uranium industry to I remain viable. ,.., But most important, the AEC plan is not final. The ; Cornrnis?ion is inviting comments from citizens with re- ;: spect to the proposal, and those comments will be con- ; sidercd oclore any plan is finally adopted. Wc would urge knowledgeable local residents to " read the proposal carefully, and send their comments to the Atomic Encgy Commission. National energy re- quirements in future years will bring about an increas- ingly higher use of nuclear electrical generation, we are convinced. It is important that the domestic uranium ' industry be allowed to survive these lean years so that when the need arises, the industry will be healthy enough to handle the requirements. |