KENYA SOCIALIST WEB SITE

Last Updated: 19^th May 2005.

CANADA AND THE KWALE TITANIUM-MINING SCANDAL

A CLASSIC CASE OF NEO-COLONIALISM.

“We agree with the government’s position that the big deposits, including those in the precious metals field, should be developed only by Russian companies” [Putin Moves to Limit Foreign Investment – The Epoch Times; May 13 – 19, 2005].

“The need to nationalize companies such as Inco has been recognized for many years. The disaster which has now befallen Sudbury as a result of Inco’s failure to build downstream processing facilities or to reinvest its profits in the local community underlies why public control of our mineral resources is so vital” [Daniel Drache and Duncan Cameron (eds), 1985; The Other Macdonald Report: The Consensus On Canada’s Future That The Macdonald Commission Left Out, James Lorimar & Company, Publishers (Toronto)].

“Canada will never be competitively productive unless it vastly increases its R & D; and it will never vastly increase its R & D so long as it is an American branch-plant colony or trust territory. It is becoming more and more obvious that human resources are far more important than natural resources in our modern competitive world. Tying the hands and limiting the minds of Canadians is a tragic mistake” [The Betrayal Of Canada – Mel Hurtig; Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, Toronto (1991)].

“The most telling feature of the trade deal is the way it restricts Canada’s ability to modify its industrial structure, thus limiting Canadian governments ability to manage the economy strictly in Canada’s national interest” [Marc Gold and David Leyton-Brown (eds), 1988; Trade-Offs On Free Trade: The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, The Carswell Company Limited (Toronto)].

“Given Canada’s own fears about becoming a satellite of the United States, it might be expected that this country would take an active part in assisting the developing countries to achieve the best bargain with prospective investors” [Peyton V.L and Tareq Y.I, 1976; Canada And The Third World, The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited, Toronto (1976)].

“Tiomin Resources of Toronto, Canada plans to strip-mine titanium along the coast of Kenya, East Africa...Extracting 1,500 tons of ore per hour” [Dongo Kundu – A film by Gene Bernofsky, Ken Furrow, and James Kinsey (2000); World Wide Film Expedition, www.montana.com/wwfe/].

Related references:

“Coltan…is a dull metallic ore found in major quantities in the eastern areas of Congo. When refined, coltan becomes metallic tantalum, a heat-resistant powder that can hold a high electrical charge. These properties make it a vital element in creating capacitors, the electronic elements that control current flow inside miniature circuit boards…the path that coltan takes to get from Central Africa to the world market is a highly convoluted one…much of the coltan…from Congo is already in laptops, cell phones and electronics all over the world”

[What is Coltan? The Link between your Cell Phone and Congo – ABCNews.com].

“In the Eastern Congo alone, the casualties of war on each single day equal the number of deaths on September 11^th in New York” [Darwin’s Nightmare – A film by Hubert Sauper, 2004; Produced by Mille et une productions, Paris; coop99 filmproduktion, Vienna; and Saga Film, Bruxelles].

Dedicated to the countless who have suffered, and those who still do, for the sake of only a few.

(This write-up is largely ad verbatim, its objective being primarily to inform).

“The drama began unfolding in 1995, when Tiomin struck what are now recognized to be the biggest unexploited titanium deposits” [Mineral Obsession: Inside The Canadian push to make a killing on Kenya’s titanium – Toward Freedom (online magazine), June/July 2001)]. The Kwale deposit, one of four along the Kenyan coast, contains six different ores; kyanite, zircon (primary ore of zirconium and hafnium), rutile (ore of titanium), ilmenite (ore of titanium), leuxocene (ore of titanium), and monazite (primary ore of cerium and lanthanum) [Tiomin Resources Inc. – Annual Information Form (April 30, 2003)]. There are also significant quantities of uranium and thorium present [A Study Of Environmental Impact Assessment Of Titanium Mining In Kwale District: Executive Summary And Conclusions – Faculty of Environmental Studies, Kenyatta University].

(Please note: Staple = Raw material)

The staple theory is considered to be Canada’s most notable contribution to modern economic thought. Its most powerful claim is that, when Canada “entered the world system as an advanced country, the backward, forward, and final demand linkages generated by export-led growth remained weak, and import penetration, foreign ownership, and the absence of an indigenous class of entrepreneurs blocked the transformation of the Canadian economy into a fully mature industrial one” [Laxer G (ed), 1991; Perspectives on Canadian Economic Development: Class, Staples, Gender and Elites. Toronto: Oxford University Press]. As evidenced, exogenous forces, or what economists call, externalities, set the agenda despite all the factors favourable for rapid and sustained development being present. The seminal message of the staple theory was that by exporting every rock and log as fast as it could, Canada had a raw deal. “It needed to mobilize its resources in order to build strong industries, deepen its domestic market, and create new and better employment opportunities for all” [Innis A. Harold, Daniel Drache (ed) 1995; Staples, Markets, and Cultural Change (Selected Essays – Innis A. Harold), McGill-Queen’s University Press (Montreal & Kingston)].

In exposing their industries to the global business cycle, Canadian’s have paid a high price [Ibid]. “Whereas the earlier staple trades demanded commercial capital and investment in infrastructure, particularly in transportation, the new staples of the twentieth century…required enormous investments in fixed capital without proportionate demands for development-supporting investments in infrastructure for forward and final demand linkages. Large backward linkages did exist, but for the most part these were either captured by foreign investment, or were manifested in the initial construction boom. In this manner, Canada’s long-recognized reliance on exports has intensified existing problems of structural and regional imbalance” [Daniel Drache and Meric S. Gertler (eds), 1991; The New Era of Global Competition: State Policy and Market Power, McGill-Queen’s University Press (Montreal & Kingston)].

Flashback…

“Nickel is prominent on the United States Department of the Interior list of 13 basic raw materials required by an industrial society…The oil crisis of 1973-74 has made obvious to all a truth which American policy makers have long understood; secure supplies of raw materials at reasonable prices are the lifeblood of any industrial nation… Security of basic materials, when both the outcome of wars and the ability to maintain the uneasy balance of terror between wars are closely related to economic strength and performance, is a paramount objective…Within the general scheme of raw material supplies, nickel has a special place. The U.S. Defence Department warned in 1945 that nickel comes closest to being a true ‘war metal’. It deserves the first priority among metals receiving conservation attention. Since the start of the Korean War, nickel has remained the world’s most critical material; this condition is likely to continue for some time…The properties that make nickel such a useful and strategic metal are its strength, hardness, ductility, and resistance to corrosion, plus the ability to retain these features at extremely high and low temperatures. It imparts these same benefits to other metals… when combined with them in alloys…American industry has long experience in attempting to find substitutes, but nickel consumption continues to grow rapidly. The growth in demand continues despite rising prices…The reason for this strong demand, not only in the United States but also in Western Europe and Japan, is the key role nickel plays in many high-technology products and processes. This also helps to explain its classification as a war material. One of the chief activities of the massive military establishments in industrialized countries has been the pioneering of advanced technology and its application to enormous, expensive, ever-growing and ever-changing stocks of military hardware. The expansion of the nickel industry from its earliest beginnings…has been intimately linked to the rise of military expenditure in times of peace and war.

“Commercial production of nickel in Canada, the world’s leading producer for nearly 70 years, was begun for military purposes…The U.S. navy moved quickly to pursue the technological advantage nickel seemed to offer. Nickel steel passed the artillery punishment tests with flying colours and was judged the most wonderful armour plate ever made…the Canadian Copper Company made its first sale in 1891 to the United States Navy, and the new industry was on its way…expansion of nickel production was based primarily on meeting the demand of the various national military establishments… During the 1960’s the increasing civilian uses of more than 3000 nickel alloys competed with the military requirements of the Vietnam war to encourage a further strong growth in productive capacity.

“Space and military technology and all related civilian production dealing with intense stress and heat require extremely high-performance materials in large quantities, as for example in the large and powerful jet engines of the aircraft industry. The change in the scale of demand is indicated by the changing nickel requirements of that industry: a four engine piston driven plane required only about 125 pounds of nickel; a commercial four engine jet requires 4,000 pounds; the Boeing 747 jumbo uses 11,000 pounds; and the supersonic transports, if their day ever comes, will each need 18,000 pounds of nickel. The same trend appears in any productive activity where the power, size and speed of machinery is increasing.

“Another special feature of nickel, its non-corroding quality, spreads the demand for nickel to other high-technology growth industries. The petroleum industry in the capitalist world now uses 64 million pounds of nickel annually, mainly in refinery process equipment. The new nuclear power plants require large amounts of nickel alloy tubing in their heat exchanger systems, and a similar need for miles of nickel alloy tubing arises from the desalinization plants which will be needed to increase fresh water supplies. The same is true of pollution control systems for the treatment and disposal of industrial wastes” [John Deverell and the Latin American Working Group, 1975; Falconbridge: Portrait Of A Canadian Mining Multinational, James Lorimer and Company, Publishers (Toronto)].

The divergence between the interests of the mining companies and of the Canadian nation was also becoming clear. A pattern was being established, often to be repeated. Resources were being extracted from Canada on terms essentially in accordance with the economic, political, and strategic demands of the United States. The enforcement of these terms was largely dependent on the nature of the corporations involved – put simply, they were American companies ultimately integrated in the American system. The vast wealth generated from the staple trades went hand in hand with a crippling pattern of commercial dependency that shaped the fundamental condition of Canadian development. The wealth from resources, the revenues from markets, and the benefits from production flowed largely to others. Canada’s economic trajectory was subject to the decisions and strategies of states or groups within the dominant industrial countries (United States and Britain) [Innis A. Harold, Daniel Drache (ed), 1995; Staples, Markets, and Cultural Change (Selected Essays- Innis A. Harold), McGill-Queen’s University Press (Montreal & Kingston)]. “As exhaustion of mines proceeded in the United States, increasing demands for capital brought increasing centralization of control. The mining industry in part became entrenched behind tariffs and cartels and in part migrated to new countries…American protectionist policies…encouraged the development of secondary industry in the United States at the expense of Canada as a producer of ore in the case of asbestos and gypsum…the enormous drain on Canadian energies left the task of exploiting mineral resources to an important extent to America; and the Canadians were effective in the exploitation particularly of precious metals and base metals” [Innis A. Harold, 1956; Essays in Canadian Economic History, University of Toronto Press (Toronto)]. Stevenson Burke, the President of Canadian Copper (1897), openly stated that the Americans, naturally wished to see refining done in the United States and the work provided for American citizens [Jamie Swift and The Development Education Centre, 1977; The Big Nickel: Inco at home and abroad, Between the Lines (Kitchener)].

“The emergence of large scale ventures in the mining of lateritic deposits of nickel in the third world was an extremely critical development for the future of the Canadian nickel industry. Inco had began generating large pools of capital through its Canadian operations that allowed the company to make very substantial investments abroad. Important areas in Inco’s expansion outside Canada were: Indonesia, Guatemala, and Brazil. In effect, the company had used its profits made in Canada to make it less dependant on Canada in the future. Ironically, the failure of past Canadian governments …to insist on a higher return to the public purse from Inco’s operations had assisted the company in generating a capital pool, which allowed the company to diversify internationally, thus cutting down the bargaining power of Canadian governments with Inco in the future” [Laxer James, 1981; Canada’s Economic Strategy, McClelland and Stewart Limited (Toronto)].

“The need to nationalize companies such as Inco has been recognized for many years. The disaster which has now befallen Sudbury as a result of Inco’s failure to build downstream processing facilities or to reinvest its profits in the local community underlies why public control of our mineral resources is so vital” [Daniel Drache and Duncan Cameron (eds), 1985; The Other Macdonald Report: The Consensus On Canada’s Future That The Macdonald Commission Left Out, James Lorimar & Company, Publishers (Toronto)].

The general tendencies in the industrial areas of western civilization, particularly the United States and Great Britain, have had a pronounced effect on Canada’s export of staples. “These two areas began to draw increasingly on outside areas for staples and even continental United States has found it necessary with the disappearance of free land, the decline of natural resources, and the demand for new industrial materials…to rely on outside areas as shown in her imperialistic policy of the twentieth century. Canada has participated in the industrial growth of the United States, becoming the gateway of that country to the markets of the British Empire. She has continued, however, chiefly as a producer of staples for the industrial centres of the United States even more than of Great Britain making her own contribution to the Industrial Revolution of North America and Europe” [Innis A. Harold, Daniel Drache (ed), 1995; Staples, Markets, and Cultural Change (Selected Essays- Innis A. Harold), McGill-Queen’s University Press (Montreal & Kingston)]. A concurring source states that “Canadian-based firms have generally chosen to serve the US markets through exports from Canada…The interests of Canadian multinationals are similar to those of the Canadian subsidiaries of US multinationals” [Joseph R. D’Cruz and James D. Fleck, 1988; Yankee Canadians In The Global Economy: Strategic Management of U.S. Subsidiaries Under Free Trade, National Centre for Management Research and Development, University of Western Ontario (London)]. As her most famous economist declared, American imperialism has replaced and exploited British imperialism, and Canada has had no alternative but to serve as an instrument of both [Great Britain, the United States and Canada, by Harold A. Innis. Quoted in The New Canadian Political Economy, Wallace Clement and Glen Williams (eds), 1989; McGill-Queen’s University Press (Kingston, Montreal, London)].

“The Third World directly threatens the interests of the United States in obtaining assured supplies

of primary products at reasonable prices and avoiding the loss of jobs and exports. It threatens relations among the United States, Western Europe, and Japan, triggering scrambles among them for specific deals with commodity suppliers…And it could threaten world peace as well, both indirectly through economic conflicts and directly through nuclear proliferation and regional hostilities” [C. Fred Bergsten, Fellow of the Brookings Institute and former economic advisor to U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, November 17, 1974].

Guatemala and The Nickel Cartel.

“With a revolver slung conspicuously on his hip, General Kjell Eugino Langerud, Guatemala’s President, officially opened Inco’s nickel mine in that country’s El Estor province. The July 12, 1977 ceremony was kicked off with the hoisting of the Canadian and Guatemalan flags – Canada’s being raised by Charge d’Affairs William Taylor, head of the Canadian mission. The opening was heralded in the Guatemalan press with such headlines as “Guatemala: Nickel Capital of Central America” [Jamie Swift and The Development Education Centre, 1977; The Big Nickel: Inco at home and abroad, Between the Lines (Kitchener)].

“The Cold War concealed the unprecedented expansion of American-based transnationals which followed World War II. This direct use of state power to further corporate interests was symbolized by a meeting of the key members of President-elect Dwight Eisenhower’s cabinet in 1952. Appropriately occurring on board a U.S. warship, it was intended to plan the new administration’s foreign policy, or in the language of the day, to decide how best to combat Soviet-dominated Communism throughout the world. In attendance were John Foster Dulles of Sullivan and Cromwell, longtime counsel and executive committee member of International Nickel; George Humphrey, for twenty three-years President of the Hanna Mining Company; and Charles Erwin Wilson, President of General Motors. Respectively, they were appointed Secretary of State, of the Treasury and of Defence…In 1956 the Hanna Mining Company of Cleveland had secured a concession on the shores of Lake Izabal in Guatemala, from the military government of Carlos Castillo Armas… Hanna had secured these mining rights only two years after a CIA-inspired coup...When Hanna Mining invited Inco’s participation in the Lake Izabal development, the vehicle for co-operation became a Canadian-based holding company called Explorer Metal” [Jamie Swift and The Development Education Centre, 1977; The Big Nickel: Inco at home and abroad, Between the Lines (Kitchener)]. It is worth noting that Guatemala’s mining code was enacted between the suspension of the country’s constitution in 1963, and the institution of its successor almost two years later. Furthermore, the new constitution did not include the requirement that all mineral exploitation agreements be ratified by the Guatemalan Congress [Ibid].

How history repeats itself….

Titanium is not only about half as dense as ferrous and nickel-based metals, it also possesses an exceptionally high strength to weight ratio. This means that when equipment costs are calculated on a per unit area of measure basis, rather than per pound, the differential cost of material required narrows dramatically. In other words, owing to its superior strength, about half as much titanium is required to do the same job. Looked at in another way, the same weight of titanium will go twice as far. It also offers lifecycle cost advantages while providing initial cost advantages [http://www.timet.com/industrial.html].

For the sake of brevity, this write-up shall focus on (I) zircon and (II) rutile, the ores from which the multinational expects to earn 80% of its revenues [www.tiomin.com].

(I) Zircon.

This is reputed to be the oldest mineral on earth. It derives its name from the Arabic /Persian word zarqun, which means gold colour. According to rock samples obtained from previous Apollo space missions, zircon is also found in abundant quantities on the moon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zirconium].

1^st IMPORTANT NOTE: “Zircon is extracted as a co-product or by-product of titanium minerals…The global demand for zirconium materials increased in 2002. Growth was expected to increase by 3% to 5% per year during the next few years, and new deposits are expected to come online…further exploration and development efforts are underway in Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, South Africa, and the United States” [Zirconium and Hafnium – By James B. Hedrick (U.S Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook – 2002)]. Another report has stated that “there is a very real risk that demand for zircon could soon be substantially greater than global supply…the shortfall could be more than 100,000t in 2005 and some industry observers believe that even if all the planned mineral sands projects come into production over the next ten years, demand will outstrip supply. If zircon production does not increase to meet the expanding demand, prices will continue to rise…the last three years have shown a degree of concentration of corporate control of zircon production…Four corporate groups now effectively control about three quarters of the world’s zircon supply...Prices for zircon sand have been rising since 1999. Since the beginning of 2003 ceramic grade zircon sand prices have increased by nearly 25%...Over the same period the price for opacifier-grade milled zircon increased…which reflects strong competition between zircon milling companies in the west and their need to remain competitive in an industry facing a strong challenge from China” [Zircon Prices continue to rise as demand exceeds supply – www.roskill.com/reports/zirconium].

2^nd IMPORTANT NOTE: Zircon is the primary ore source of zirconium metal and hafnium, which both have critical uses, as we shall soon see.

Applications.

N.B: The only application that Tiomin mentions, with respect to zircon, is that it is

used in the jewellery industry. Here are a few others that may be worth

considering…

(1) The Nuclear Industry.

Note: The information below is only for ‘illustrative’ purposes, regarding the

significance of zircon.

Zirconium metal - Owing to its remarkably low-absorption cross-section for neutrons, zirconium metal is ideal for nuclear energy uses, such as cladding nuclear fuel elements [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zirconium]. Today’s commercial reactors may use as much as a half-million linear feet of zirconium alloy tubing. (As a matter of fact, more than 90% of the metal is utilized in nuclear power generation). A good example is the CANDU^TM (“CANada deuterium Uranium”) nuclear reactor, whose unique design has served as a blueprint for every Canadian nuclear reactor built since the 1960’s. One of this reactor’s key features is its core, which is comprised of hundreds of zirconium alloy pressure tubes [CANDU Nuclear Power Technology – www.nuclearfaq.ca. See also “WHY CANDU” – By G.L Brooks (former Chief Engineer, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited) and Titanium and Zirconium Seamless Tube – www.nutechpresicionmetals.com].

Hafnium – About half of all hafnium metal is produced as a byproduct of zirconium refinement. The two are usually difficult to separate owing to their almost identical chemistry. Hafnium, however, has an extremely high absorption cross-section for neutrons (600 times that of zirconium!). It is therefore a very vital component of reactor ‘shutdown systems’, playing a critical role in the event of emergencies such as reactor overpower, loss of reactor regulation, or impairment of fuel cooling [Maple Facilities For National Nuclear Programs – R.F Lidstone et al (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited). See also Advanced Test Reactor – http://nuclear.inel.gov/facilities/atr.shtml and Maple Research Reactor Beam-Tube Performance – A.G Lee et al (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited)].

(a) Electricity Generation.

As the energy marketplace evolves, the challenge is to respond competitively to new economic expectations for low-cost, high-quality nuclear generation. Advances in technology make the economics of nuclear power more attractive, and they may become even more so as fuel prices continue rising [“Nuclear Power for the 21^st Century” – International Ministerial Conference (Paris, France: Organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency), 21 – 22 March 2005. See also Canada’s Energy Future: Scenarios for Supply and Demand to 2025 – National Energy Board, www.neb-one.gc.ca]. “The International Atomic Energy Agency forecasts stronger growth in countries relying on nuclear power…Based on the most conservative assumption…just over 500 nuclear power plants worldwide by 2020…The upward forecast is rooted in specific national plans but it is also driven by factors like the Kyoto Protocol, which recently came into force. It commits countries to meet cleaner air targets and impose a tax on emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Nuclear electricity plants produce virtually no greenhouse gases. Apart from environmental considerations, nuclear power plants remain most attractive where energy demand growth is rapid, alternative resources are scarce, and the security of energy supplies a priority. The fastest growth is in Asia. By 2020 for example, China plans a six-fold increase in its nuclear electricity capacity, India a ten-fold increase” [Rising Expectations for Nuclear Electricity Production – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), www.iaea.org. Related references: U.S National Energy Policy Supports the Expansion of Nuclear Energy – (Ibid); U.S Nuclear Energy Industry Works Toward ‘Vision 2020’ Strategic Plan – (Ibid); Prominent Environmentalists, Including Founder of Greenpeace and Former Chairman of Friends of the Earth, Endorse Nuclear Energy – (Ibid); European Commission Study Finds Nuclear Energy Causes Least Socio-Environmental Damage Among Baseload Electricity Generating Sources – (Ibid); World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg Acknowledges Countries Use Nuclear Energy to Meet Sustainable Development Goals – (Ibid); and U.S House Passes New Energy Bill Favourable to New Nuclear Power Constitution - Nuclear Canada (Canadian Nuclear Association Electronic Newsletter; Vol. IV, Number 43), 21^st November 2003].

However, “the prospects for using nuclear energy have been hampered because the large size of nuclear plants makes them unsuitable for lower capacity electricity grids. For this reason the IAEA has maintained a focus on the potential for innovative small and medium sized reactor design, and a few projects are moving toward implementation” [www.aecl.ca]. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited has developed the ACR^TM (Advanced CANDU Reactor), an innovative next-generation CANDU product to not only meet these requirements, but also the demands of electricity companies around the world [related ref: Atomic Energy of Canada Limited: The Crown Corporation as Strategist in an Entrepreneurial, Global-Scale Industry – Lermer George, Canadian Government Publishing Centre (Ottawa, 1987)].

In recent news, “the Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo, witnessed the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)…that will…establish a framework for collaboration on research and development programs, projects and activities aimed at furthering a basic understanding of nuclear energy and its applications, and improving cost and safety of nuclear energy systems…The CANDU 6 nuclear reactor has been one of the most successful power reactor designs providing cost effective, clean and reliable electricity to countries on four continents” [Canada and China Strengthen Cooperation in Nuclear Energy – News Releases (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, www.aecl.ca), 20^th January 2005]. AECL recently announced a partnership agreement with SNERDI (Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute). “This strategic partnership agreement provides a platform to promise the localization and further development of CANDU technology in China” [AECL Signs Strategic Alliance – News Releases, www.aecl.ca]. The reactor’s design has also served as a template for the Indian, Romanian, and South Korean nuclear industries (including the nuclear-weapon programs of India and North Korea [www.aecl.ca]).

(b) Nuclear Medicine.

“The health care industry continues to discover innovative ways to improve the lives of people globally. Medical research using isotope based technologies have enabled scientists; physicians and clinicians to research, develop and apply advanced therapies. Isotopes have enabled research into the functioning of the human body, evaluation of organs that are critical to normal human development, and the ability to apply leading-edge therapies…The radiopharmaceutical industry continues to develop treatment that relies on medical isotopes for accurate diagnosis, cancer therapy and pain control. Advanced techniques such as brachytherapy and radioactive implants have proven to be effective therapies. Recent explorations using monoclonal antibodies radio-labeled with isotopes – the “magic bullet” – have demonstrated the value of continued medical research using isotope-based technologies.

“Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) is the backbone of the nuclear medicine industry. It is used to make Mo-99/Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) generators, which are used in most nuclear medicine departments around the world. Tc-99m is, by far, the most widely used radioisotope in nuclear medicine. It is estimated that 50,000 people worldwide benefit daily from the use of this isotope” [A Conversion Development Program To LEU Targets For Medical Isotope Production In The MAPLE Facilities – G.R Malkoske (Vice President, Engineering and Technology MDS Nordion), Canada. See also Maple Facilities For National Nuclear Programs – R.F Lidstone et al (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited)]. Canada-based MDS Nordion is the world’s largest producer and supplier of Molybdenum-99 [www.mds.nordion.com. See also MDS Nordion’s Nuclear Medicine Saves Lives – OttawaLife, July 2004]. Canadian nuclear-medicine-milestones include, pioneering present cancer therapy technology, and laying the foundation for human cell genetics [Medical Applications - www.aecl.ca].

(c) Producing hydrogen for transportation fuels.

“The goal of the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative is to demonstrate the economic commercial-scale production of hydrogen using nuclear energy by 2015, and thereby make available a large-scale, emission free, domestic hydrogen production capability to fuel the approaching hydrogen economy…nuclear energy can produce hydrogen in very large quantities consistently over long periods of time without emitting greenhouse gases or other harmful air emissions. The…hydrogen fuel initiative is a new research and development initiative focused on hydrogen to reverse America’s growing dependence on foreign oil and expand the availability of clean, abundant energy” [Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative: Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology, U.S Department of Energy – March 2003. See also Nuclear power and the hydrogen economy – USNews.com, 12^th September 2004. Related references: New Nuclear Power Plants Are Vital to U.S Energy Security, NEI tells Congress – The Nuclear Institute (NEI), www.nei.org and President Bush Calls for Expanding Nuclear Energy in State of the Union Address – (Ibid)]. Canadian experts have proposed building one CANDU reactor every year, for the next 20 years, in order to supply an estimated 13 million hydrogen-powered vehicles. Some authorities have even predicted that “the energy demand for hydrogen production could exceed that now used for electricity production” [The Hydrogen Economy – UIC Nuclear Issues Briefing Paper #73, January 2005. See also Secretary of Energy Abraham Joins International Community to Establish the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy: 15 Countries, EC Sign Terms of Reference, Supports President Bush’s Hydrogen Initiative – www.energy.gov]. One of the major advantages of using hydrogen as a fuel is that water is the only byproduct!

(d) For desalination.

An increasingly serious global concern is the availability of water to support our rapidly growing population [Related references: Water Wars of the Near Future – By Marque de Villiers, Author of “Water Wars”; Scientists Say Risk of Water Wars Rising – www.planetark.com; Africa’s potential water wars – http://news.bbc.co.uk, 15^th March 2005; and Water Wars: The next major conflict in the Middle East – A lecture by Adel Darwish (Geneva Conference on Environment and Quality of Life - June 1994), www.mideastnews.com/WaterWars.htm]. “Desalination of seawater is one of the most promising alternatives for supplying potable water, and nuclear power plants could be an important part of the picture. In 1993, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that using nuclear energy to desalinate water could be carried out safely and reliably, without any technical difficulties” [Nuclear and Alternative Technologies – Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, www.aecl.ca].

(e) Denaturing weapons-grade plutonium.

A proposal to use CANDU reactors to degrade hazardous weapons-grade plutonium declared surplus from the Cold War, has been submitted to the United States Department of Energy [ref: http://www.ccnr.org/aecl_mox_plans.html]. It is presently being debated by government agencies and non-governmental organizations [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zirconium. See also CANDU Nuclear Power Technology – www.nuclearfaq.ca].

(f) Oil-Sands recovery.

There are an estimated 1.6 trillion barrels of oil in Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands. Recent studies have shown the promise of CANDU technology (specifically the ACR-700) in the recovery of these oil sands, by providing economic steam for Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAG-D) technology, with side production of electricity and hydrogen. This would help unlock a huge North American energy source while reducing the use of natural gas and making it available for export [www.aecl.ca. See also China Emerging as U.S. Rival for Canada’s Oil – New York Times, 23^rd December 2004 and IMF set to recognize oilsands as reserves – 26^th April 2005].

(g) Materials research.

Nuclear facilities can also be used in underlying research into nuclear science and technology. Such facilities address key areas of advanced materials research and engineering with long-term benefits to industry [www.aecl.ca]. The Canadian Neutron Facility (CNF) research reactor is expected to ultimately improve everyday Canadian products including automobiles, airplanes, pharmaceuticals, food, biomaterials, electronics, and computing devices. Australia, Germany, China, Holland, Japan, Thailand, and Egypt have also “identified the requirement of advanced materials research facilities in the twenty-first century and are already constructing, or planning to construct new research reactors” [Ibid].

N.B: Nuclear power proponents have claimed that it reduced the global production and release of some 500 million metric tones of carbon dioxide in 2002. The aforementioned proposal by Canadian authorities, to build one CANDU reactor every year for the next 20 years, is expected to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 120 million metric tonnes per year [www.aecl.ca]. About 150 companies support the Canadian Nuclear program, with most of the revenues flowing to private industry [CANDU Nuclear Power Technology – www.nuclearfaq.ca].

(2) Fuel Cells.

(a) The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC).

This is an electrochemical device that converts the chemical energy in fuels (such as hydrogen, methane, butane or even gasoline and diesel) into electrical energy by exploiting the natural tendency of oxygen and hydrogen to react. By controlling the means by which such a reaction occurs, as well as directing the reaction through a device, it is possible to harvest the energy given off by the reaction [http://www.csa.com/hottopics/Fuecel/oview.html].

“Engineers and environmentalists have long dreamed of being able to obtain the benefits of clean electric power without pollution-producing engines or heavy batteries. Solar panels and wind farms are familiar images of alternative energy technologies. While they are effective sources of electrical energy, there are problems with the stability of their energy source as, for example, on a cloudy or windless day. Their applications are somewhat limited due to lack of portability; a windmill is not much help to the power plant of a diesel truck, a solar panel cannot provide power at night, etc.

“In 1962 a revolution in energy research occurred. Scientists at Westinghouse Electric Corporation (now Siemens Westinghouse) demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of extracting electricity from a device they called a solid electrolyte fuel cell…Since then there has been an intense research and development effort to develop the alternative energy technology known as fuel cells. Now, as energy issues are at the forefront of current events, fuel cell technology is ripening and on the verge of being ready for large scale commercial implementation.

“Much development has focused on solid oxide fuel cells because they are able to convert a wide variety of fuels and because they do so with such high efficiency (40-60% unassisted, up to 70% in pressurized hybrid system) compared to engines and modern thermal power plants (30-40% efficient)…SOFC technology dominates competing fuel cell technologies because of the ability of SOFCs to use currently available fossil fuels, thus reducing operating costs. Other fuel cell technologies (e.g. molten carbonate, polymer electrolyte, phosphoric acid and alkali) require hydrogen as their fuel. Widespread use of such fuel cells would require a network of hydrogen suppliers, similar to our familiar gas stations.

“High efficiency and fuel adaptability are not the only advantages of solid oxide fuel cells. SOFCs are attractive as energy sources because they are clean, reliable, and almost entirely nonpolluting. Because there are no moving parts and the cells are therefore vibration-free, the noise pollution associated with power generation is also eliminated.

“Although the operating concept of SOFCs is rather simple, the selection of materials for the individual components presents enormous challenges. Each material must have the electrical properties required to perform its function in the cell. There must be enough chemical and structural stability to endure fabrication and operation at high temperatures. The fuel cell needs to run at high temperatures in order to achieve sufficiently high current densities and power output; operation at up to 1000 C is possible using the most common electrolyte material, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ).

“The United States government is taking a proactive role in expediting the technology through the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA), which is coordinated by the Department of Energy and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The technical goal is to develop mass producible, modular SOFC units capable of 3-10 kW at a price of $400/Kw” [http://www.csa.com/hottopics/Fuecel/oview.html]. The goal of SECA (Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance) is to accelerate the commercialization of low-cost solid oxide fuel cells as quickly as possible over the next decade. It is a collaborative effort coordinated by two of the U.S Department of Energy’s national laboratories. This alliance of U.S industry, universities, and other research organizations, represents a new model for joint government and private industry technology development [Ibid]. Used individually or in clusters, depending upon the amount of energy required, SOFCs cells could be configured for a broad array of applications. “As the number of fuel cell uses grow, per unit costs will be reduced as high volume production technologies are brought to bear. Reducing manufacturing costs, combined with the traditional efficiency and outstanding environmental performance of the fuel cell, will make the SECA module the most attractive option for a wide range of electric power needs” [http://www.seca.doe.gov/overview.html].

“There seems, therefore, to be little doubt that SOFC technology will be implemented. Analysts expect that the overall market for fuel cell technology could reach $95 billion by the year 2010…The market share that will belong to SOFCs is unclear but will surely be significant, as SOFCs are targeted for use in three energy applications: stationary energy sources, transportation, and military applications.

“Stationary installations would be the primary or auxiliary power sources for such facilities as homes, office buildings, industrial sites, ports, and military installations. They are well suited for mini-power-grid applications at places like universities and military bases…worldwide demand for electricity is expected to double in the next 20 years. SOFC technology is ideal for such an expansion, since much of the anticipated demand is expected to come from growing economies with minimal infrastructure. SOFCs can be positioned on-site, even in remote areas; on-site location makes it possible to match power generation to the electrical demands of the site…Siemens Westinghouse has tested several prototype tubular systems, with excellent results. A plant in the Netherlands has been operational for two years and an earlier prototype installation has been operating for 8 years. The fuel cells have been through over 100 thermal cycles and the voltage degradation during the test time has been minimal less than 0.1%/thousand hours. Siemens Westinghouse expects to have its first fully operational tubular fuel cell plant in place by October 2003…Meanwhile, in Australia, Ceramic Fuel Cells, Ltd. has been operating prototype planar fuel cell plants since 2001 and expects to be ready with market-entry products in 2003” [http://www.csa.com/hottopics/Fuecel/oview.html].

Several hundred residential stationary power units utilizing SOFCs are presently being tested in Europe. Much larger SOFCs being tested by various utility companies worldwide, have been found to be highly reliable, possessing the additional advantage of being able to serve remote off-grid locations. “Several companies have succeeded in developing fuel cell systems based on SOFCs, which cover the heat requirements and the basic electricity needs of a single-family home. With their high efficiency and favourable carbon dioxide balance, solid oxide fuel cells meet ecological requirements and will in future make a significant contribution to sustainable development” [Power Technology based on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells – www.hcstarck.com/index.php?page_id=566].

“In the transportation sector, SOFCs are likely to find applications in both trucks and automobiles. In diesel trucks, they will probably be used as auxiliary power units to run electrical systems like air conditioning and on-board electronics. Such units would preclude the need to leave diesel trucks running at rest stops, thereby leading to a savings in diesel fuel expenditures and a significant reduction in both diesel exhaust and truck noise. Meanwhile, automobile manufacturers have invested at least $4.5 billion in fuel cell research (not all SOFC)…There are an estimated 600 million vehicles worldwide, 75% of which are personal automobiles, and the number is expected to grow by 30% in the next 10 years…With more stringent environmental restrictions in the United States and European Union, automobile manufacturers are under growing time pressure to bring non-polluting cars to the marketplace. SOFCs are attractive prospects because of their ability to use readily available, inexpensive fuels” [http://www.csa.com/hottopics/Fuecel/oview.html]. In recent news, General Motors Corp. of North America signed “a US$88-million deal with the U.S Department of Energy to build a fleet of 40 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and further develop the technology. Under the five-year program, GM will spend US$44-million to deploy fuel cell demonstration vehicles in Washington D.C., New York City, California and Michigan…In a separate deal, Shell Hydrogen LLC will support GM by setting up five hydrogen refueling stations” [GM to build hydrogen fuel cell demonstration fleet with government backing – The National Post (Canada), 31^st March 2005]. GM / Chrysler hopes to have a family car employing fuel technology by 2010, and its price is expected to be the same as that of a standard petrol-engine car [Introduction To Ceramics – www.newi.ac.uk/buckleyc/ceramics.htm. See also The evolution of powertrain technology 2008 and beyond: engines, hybrids, battery electric, fuel cells, transmissions – http://www.sussex.ac.uk/automotive/tvt2002/1_gott.pdf; Nickel producers eye hybrid cars – Metro (Ottawa), 19^th May2005; BMW Hydrogen Cars –http://www.bmwworld.com/hydrogen/strategy.htm; Developing countries and Hybrid Energy Systems: A World Bank Perspective – http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/01/hybrids/mather.pdf; and The road to a sustainable future – hybrid cars are leading the way – http://www.inco.com/newscentre/featurestories/apr1305.aspx].

Meanwhile, researchers at the U.S Department of Energy’s Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) and Ceramatec Inc. of Salt Lake City have reported significant developments in their efforts to help the U.S adopt a clean hydrogen economy. The U.S Secretary of Energy, Spencer Abraham, “recently announced a grant of nearly $2 million…This new grant will work to enlarge by 100 times the size of a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) that is capable of co-generating high-purity hydrogen and electric power from natural gas. The program will build on a cell stack architecture of alternating flat cells and gas distribution plates invented…for NASA.” [Idaho lab, Utah company achieve major milestone in Hydrogen research – INEEL (Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory – www.inel.gov), 29^th November 2004. See also The Residential Applications of SOFC Micro-Cogeneration Systems – Fuel Cell Today (www.fuelcelltoday.com), 27^th September 2001 and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) For Advanced Power Technology – http://www.hcstarck.com/index.php?page_id=564].

Summary of SOFC applications:

• Communications - GPS support, radar, navigation, cellular nodes, tower/antennae sites, telescope support, security/observation etc;
• Commercial – Office buildings, schools, healthcare facilities, agriculture, warehouses, remote research facilities, weather data collection etc;
• Industrial – Oil rigs, oil pipeline instrumentation, gas pipeline control, seismic analysis, critical manufacturing, food production, wastewater treatment, airstrip lighting etc;
• Military – Bases, future combat systems, vehicles, arms controls, chemical agent detectors, communications, medical evacuation vehicles, disaster relief etc [http://fuelcellworld.org/article_flat.fcm?articleid=110&subsite=425]. SOFCs are of high interest to the military because they can be established on-site in remote locations, are quiet, and non-polluting. Moreover, the use of fuel cells could significantly reduce deployment costs: 70% by weight of the material that the military moves is nothing but fuel [http://www.csa.com/hottopics/Fuecel/oview.html].

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells are expected to play a crucial role in the future energy needs of the world’s most industrialized nations, by providing efficient, environmentally friendly electrical energy while extending the capacity of their diminishing fossil fuel supplies [http://www.seca.doe.gov/overview.html]. “Forty years have passed since the first successful demonstration of a solid oxide fuel cell. Through ingenuity, materials science, extensive research, and commitment to developing alternative energy sources, that seed of an idea has germinated and is about to bloom into a viable, robust energy alternative” [http://www.csa.com/hottopics/Fuecel/oview.html].

(b) Micro Fuel cells.

“About 400 million portable devices such as cell phones, laptops, and digital cameras are sold each year to the huge and growing market of 1.4 billion users – a $5 billion market that is expected to reach 2 billion users by 2007. The trend is to continue adding more energy thirsty features to these devices, from color screens to memory, and toward multipurpose devices like cell phones that double as digital cameras. Current battery technologies can’t satisfy this energy demand. Devices are also getting smaller making it doubly challenging to find room for a battery” [Partner Conversation: The Expert’s View on Micro-Fuel Cells – www.sustainablebusiness.com]. Fuel cells are expected to solve this problem in the future.

(3) Other applications in the transportation industry.

Zirconium compounds also provide catalytic functionality by reacting with noxious gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide in automobile catalytic converters (and power generating equipment), to prevent environmental pollution arising from burning gasoline and coal [What are Nanomaterials? – www.nanomat.com/nanoint.htm]. This results in increased performance coupled with higher temperature stability, a key feature for the newer generations of automobile catalysts [AMR Technologies: Zirconium Markets & Applications – www.amr-ltd.com/products/zirconium_markets.html]. “The market for catalytic converters is growing as emission standards are introduced in developing sectors of the world, and are continuously becoming stringent in developed areas. A major growth driver for the industry is the new demand from developing countries, such as China and India, which have recently legislated emission controls for new vehicles. Manufacturers, including GM, Audi and Volkswagen, are producing 15,000 new cars per day in China” [Cleaner Air Through Nanotechnology – AMR Technologies Inc., www.amr-ltd.com/products/case_catalyst.html].

Automobile engines waste considerable amounts of gasoline. This is because conventional spark plugs are not designed to burn gasoline completely and efficiently. This problem is compounded by defective or worn-out, spark plug electrodes. Nanocrystalline ceramics such as zirconia, which has even been rendered “superplastic”, are stronger, harder, and much more wear-resistant / erosion-resistant. These ceramics can be pressed and sintered into various shapes at significantly low temperatures, whereas it would be almost impossible, to press and sinter conventional ceramics even at high temperatures [What are Nanomaterials? – www.nanomat.com/nanoint.htm].

Automobiles also waste significant amounts of energy by losing the thermal energy generated by the engine, particularly in the case of diesel engines. Hence, engine cylinders (liners) are currently being coated with nanocrystalline ceramics, so that they retain heat much more efficiently, which results in complete and efficient combustion of fuel [Ibid]. Thermal barrier usage in the IGT (industrial gas turbine) market alone is expected to grow tremendously over the coming years [AMR Technologies: Zirconium Markets & Applications – www.amr-ltd.com/products/zirconium_markets.html].

High-sensitivity sensors – Sensors employ their sensitivity to the changes in various parameters they are designed to measure. The measured parameters include electrical resistivity, chemical activity, magnetic permeability, thermal conductivity, and capacitance. All of these parameters depend greatly on the microstructure (grain size) of the materials employed in the sensors. A change in the sensor’s environment is manifested by the sensor material’s chemical, physical, or mechanical characteristics, which is exploited for detection. It follows, therefore, that sensors made of nanocrystalline materials such as zirconia, are extremely sensitive to changes in their environment. Typical applications for such sensors are smoke detectors, ice detectors on aircraft wings, automobile engine performance sensors (e.g controlling air to fuel combustion ratios) etc [What are Nanomaterials? – www.nanomat.com/nanoint.htm].

Ceramic superconducting magnets containing zirconium have been used in magnetic levitation (maglev) trains. These fascinating vehicles travel efficiently and at high speeds by floating on a frictionless magnetic cushion. They have also been operated in Germany and Japan [Introduction To Ceramics – www.newi.ac.uk/buckleyc/ceramics.htm].

The NASA Lewis Research Centre and the two leading aircraft engine manufacturers, General Electric Aircraft Engines (GE) and Pratt and Whitney (P & W), have been developing the technology for an environmentally safe propulsion system for High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) vehicles. These supersonic airliners are expected to transport more than 300 passengers in a three-class arrangement over 5,000 nautical miles at more than twice the speed of sound. A trip from Los Angeles to Tokyo, for instance, would take just over 4 hours as compared to 10 hours on subsonic planes. CMC’s (Ceramic Matrix Composites) have been the material of choice for the combustor and acoustic liners for the proposed low NOx propulsion system [Introduction To Ceramics – www.newi.ac.uk/buckleyc/ceramics.htm].

(4) The Power Utility Industry.

When alloyed with niobium, zirconium becomes superconductive at low temperatures

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zirconium]. High-temperature superconductors are now being developed for direct large-scale generation of electric power, and are poised to play a major role in the future of the power utility industry. Electric wires made from superconductive materials carry electricity with little or no resistance losses. These wires can be used to produce super efficient coils, magnets, conductors, and power components [References: Introduction To Ceramics – www.newi.ac.uk/buckleyc/ceramics.htm and Composite cable design triples power-line capacity – www.electronicproducts.com].

(5) The Medical Industry.

Zirconia is used as a femoral head component in hip implants. High strength and toughness allow the hip joint to be made smaller, allowing a greater degree of articulation. The ability to be polished to a high surface finish also allows a low friction joint to be manufactured for articulating joints such as the hip. Bioceramics such as Partially Stabilized Zirconia (PSZ) possess, among other qualities, high flexural strength, fracture toughness and excellent reliability. Partially stabilized zirconia femoral heads make up about 25% of the total number of operations per year in Europe, and 8% of the hip implant procedures in USA. Over 400,000 zirconia implants were reportedly implanted between 1985 and 2001 [References: Zirconia – www.azom.com and Bioceramics: Traditional and Innovative Bioceramics Including Alumina, Zirconias, Hydroxyapatite and Composites – www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=2632].

Superconducting magnets containing zirconium also greatly enhance the ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners and other non-destructive examination devices, to sense minute changes in magnetic fields [Introduction To Ceramics – www.newi.ac.uk/buckleyc/ceramics.htm].

(6) Telecommunications – Fibre Optic cables.

Fibre optic technology is not only safe, secure and cost effective, but also has the highest level of reliability for transmitting audio, video and data information. Its characteristic broad bandwidth makes it the technology for tomorrow [Fibre Optic Technology – http://corporate.golden.net/FibreOpticTechnology.shtml. See also ‘Fibre-optic cables have the edge on copper wires – The Daily Nation, 15<