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DRC Cobalt Exports Carry Unreported Uranium, Study Warns of Nuclear Risk
Key Takeaways
- A peer-reviewed study in Nature Communications links Copperbelt cobalt production to likely unreported uranium exports from the DRC.
- Uranium and cobalt occur together in the same rock and behave similarly during chemical processing, making separation difficult.
- Researchers modelled ore grades from geologic maps, facility ore volumes and processing chemistry to derive the estimate.
- Most likely scenarios suggest 2,000–5,000 tonnes of natural uranium are involved in the cobalt trade.
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DT Editorial Team··via phys.org