New uranium deposits discovered in Iran

Iran has discovered new uranium deposits during the past 1.5 years, claiming to hold 4,400 tons of uranium reserves, IRNA reported, citing the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran.

The national uranium reserves have increased to 4,400 tons from 1,527 tons 35 years ago, according to the report.

Sixteen new places have been identified as being appropriate for building new nuclear power plants nationwide. The locations are situated across the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, Khuzestan Province, and the country's northwest.

The construction of Bushehr nuclear power plant was started by Germany's Siemens before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and was taken over by Russian engineers in the 1990s.

Iran officially launched Bushehr nuclear power plant on September 12, 2011, which started by generating electricity at 40 percent of its capacity.

The 1,000-megawatt plant was connected to the country's national power grid with the power of 60 MW on September 3, 2011. It reached the capacity of 190 MW on September 27, and a day later it increased its capacity to 300 MW.

The plant gained almost half of its nominal power on October 7, 2011 as it reached the capacity of 420 MW.

The Bushehr power plant, southeast of the city of Bushehr along the Persian Gulf, operates under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.


/Trend/