NOVEMBER 2007

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator resigns

[Associated Press, Bloomberg, 20 October] Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, has resigned, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). He will be replaced immediately by Saeed Jalili, a deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs. Government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham said that Iran's nuclear policy would not change as a result of Larijani's resignation, saying, "Iran's nuclear policies are stabilized and unchangeable." He said the new negotiator would meet as scheduled with the EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, in Rome on 23 October. The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that Larijani will also attend the talks in Rome, despite his resignation. Larijani's resignation has been interpreted by many as a move that will strengthen President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's influence over policy in the atomic standoff with the West. Rumours have been circulating in Iran for months that Larijani was at odds with Ahmadinejad and had offered to resign. Larijani was seen as more committed to a diplomatic solution over Iran's nuclear program, while Ahmadinejad is seen as not favouring talks with the West.   Under Larijani, Iran agreed with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in June to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities after the US and its allies accused the country of developing nuclear weapons.

India, Brazil and South Africa agree

India, Brazil and South Africa have agreed to work together to explore cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the context of ensuring the supply of safe, sustainable and non-polluting energy sources to meet rising demand, especially in developing countries. In a wide-ranging seven-page declaration at the end of the second India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit in Pretoria, the leaders of the three countries - President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, and his Indian and Brazilian counterparts, Manmohan Singh and Luiz Lula da Silva - said nations should be allowed to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Multilateral decisions related to the nuclear fuel cycle should not undermine the "inalienable right" of states to take up nuclear energy in conformity with international obligations, the declaration said. IBSA is a trilateral developmental initiative established by the three countries in 2003 to promote cooperation and exchange in the southern hemisphere.


Putin: Bushehr problems not political

UPDATED Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that delays to Iran's Bushehr nuclear power project were technical rather than political. At a summit of nations bordering the Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan) he confirmed that Russia would supply and take back the power plant's nuclear fuel, but evaded questions about when exactly the reactor would be complete. Bushehr is currently pencilled in for operation in the first half of 2008, but this is about 18 months later than originally scheduled. Reports from the summit said the countries' leaders signed a declaration, part of which reaffirmed the right of all countries to use nuclear power in accordance with the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty. Putin also held talks with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Kamenei during which the Tehran Times reported he made a "special proposal" on nuclear issues, which Kamenei said was "ponderable."

ERA reports Q3 Ranger output boost

Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) reported a 24% increase in uranium production, to 1363 tonnes of drummed uranium oxide, during the third quarter of 2007, compared with the same period in 2006. The company said the increase was a result of processing of high grade ore made available through the implementation of various water disposal measures and the optimization of the Ranger mine plan. ERA said the amount of ore mined was actually 27% lower, at 702,218 tonnes, but the grade of the ore was 55% higher, at 0.31%. Force majeure, which was declared after flooding at the Ranger mine and processing plant in Australia's Northern Territory in February, will continue to apply to sales contracts in the first half of 2008 as the backlog of deliveries is cleared, ERA said. The company expects 2008 production to be restored to normal levels, subject to a normal wet season. At the end of September, ERA approved an A$57 million ($50.1 million) project to extend the operating pit at Ranger, meaning that mining will now continue to 2012. Studies on a further possible mine extension are under way.