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A Kazatomprom worker checks the radiation level of uranium oxide at the East Mynkuduk PV-19 uranium mine in southern Kazakhstan May 11, 2006. The construction of the mine in the 1980s was the first step in the Soviet Union's secret plan to build a new uranium mining city in the middle of the steppe to fuel its Cold War ambitions. The plan was ditched shortly after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, and the building was left to fall into ruin. But after two decades of neglect, the mine is in the spotlight again, with Kazakhstan - home to a fifth of global uranium reserves - ambitious to become the worlds No.1 uranium producer. To match feature Kazakhstan Uranium. Picture taken May 11, 2006. REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov

South Australia has created a royal commission that will look into the potential economic viability as well as risks of establishing a nuclear industry in the state. South Australia actually holds some of the largest uranium deposits in the world.

Jay Weatherill, SA Premier, said the inquiry will open for a public discussion of the potential economic benefits for the state, versus threats to the overall environment as well as health of the state’s residents. Noting that Australia had long been involved in the nuclear fuel cycle by “selling uranium to the world,” the commission will be a chance to look at "mining, enrichment, energy and storage phases" of the nuclear fuel cycle.

Admitting he had been sceptical of nuclear power in the past, he said global warming was a major rallying point on his decision to call a royal commission, knowing the emissions of nuclear power plants are lesser compared to those of coal-fired ones. "I am gravely concerned about the threat of climate change," he said. "That for me is a very considerable element of the equation. Of course I'm also concerned about the risks associated with the generation of nuclear energy, but these things have to be weighed up."

Four out of Australia’s five uranium mines are in SA. The Australian state controls 30 percent of the world’s known ­uranium deposits, supplying 7 percent of the world’s uranium needs. The value of Australia’s uranium oxide concentrate exports is considerable, the Business Insider said. In 2009, it hit a value of more than $1.1 billion.

The Australian said independent experts will be asked to participate in the commission's work, so that SA will get a clearer understanding of the world's demand and use of nuclear energy, he said. He added it is also important for SA most specially to understand how it can help or contribute to the nation's energy needs in the future.

"This Royal Commission will also look at the opportunities and risks associated with this sector. Some people describe the potential economic benefits as enormous while others describe the risks as unacceptable,” Weatherill said.

Ziggy Switkowski, a nuclear physicist and former Telstra chairman, told portal miningaustralia.com the commission’s findings “could open the door for nuclear generation and construction of nuclear-powered submarines.” Dan Zavattiero, executive director of the Minerals Council of Australia, believed the consultations will yield successful results for Australia’s uranium industry. After all, it is “well established and highly regulated.”

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