NEA Mandates and Structures


Joint NEA/IAEA Group on Uranium (UG)

Chair(s): Susan HALL, United States
Secretary:  Luminita GRANCEA
(luminita.grancea@oecd-nea.org)
Vice-Chair(s): Tom CALVERT, Canada
Christian POLAK, France
Olga GORBATENKO, Kazakhstan
Alexander V. BOITSOV, Russia
Member(s):All NEA member countries*
Russia (Suspended*)
*Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council.
Full participant(s): European Commission
Under the NEA Statute
Date of creation:01 April 1996
End of mandate:31 December 2021

Mandate (Document reference):

  • Proposed reconstitution of the Joint NEA/IAEA Uranium Group [NEA/NE(96)6]
  • Minutes of the 92nd Session of the Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy [NEA/NE/M(96)1/REV1]]
  • Summary Record of the 48th NDC Session [NEA/NDC(2003)25/REV1]
  • Summary Record of the 55th NDC Session [NEA/NDC(2008)34]
  • New Mandate of the Joint NEA/IAEA Uranium Group [NEA/NDC(2011)20]
  • Extension and updated Mandate of the Joint NEA/IAEA Uranium Group [NEA/NDC(2014)22]
  • Extension of the mandate of the Joint NEA/IAEA Group on Uranium (UG) [NEA/NDC/M(2018)2]

Mandate (Document extract):

Extracts from document NEA/NDC(2014)22

General objectives

To co-ordinate the preparation of periodic assessments of the world’s supply of natural uranium; to examine the relationship of these supply capabilities to projected demand for natural uranium demand; to foster the exchange of technical information in the fields of uranium resources, exploration, production technology, environmental effects and environmental protection technologies associated with mining and ore processing in co-operation with members, and with other international organisations as appropriate; and to recommend to the NEA and IAEA actions that might be taken to assure an adequate long-term supply of uranium for nuclear power development.

Mandate:

1. To plan, direct and co-ordinate the preparation of periodic assessments of the world’s uranium supply capabilities (i.e. levels of uranium exploration activity, estimates of resources and production capability) in co-operation with members and with other international organisations as appropriate.

2. To examine the world’s uranium supply capabilities in relationship to projections of natural uranium demand, and to recommend to the NEA and IAEA actions that might be taken to assure an adequate long-term supply of uranium for nuclear power development.

3. To foster the exchange of technical information in the fields of uranium geology, resources, exploration, mining and ore processing technology, environmental effects and environmental protection technologies associated with mining and ore processing, in co-operation with members, other countries and with other international organisations as appropriate, with a view to promoting collaborative R&D efforts in areas that may be identified through these exchanges.

4. To promote the expansion of the geographical and geological coverage of information on uranium activities throughout the world, with particular emphasis on developing countries.

5. The Uranium Group remains a formal body of the OECD. In this respect, the following rules apply:

a) All members of the joint NEA/IAEA Uranium Group are formally nominated by their member countries/states in writing. The NEA Secretariat handles this issue for OECD/NEA member countries; the IAEA acts similarly for its Member States that are not OECD/NEA member countries.

b) Ad hoc participation is similarly formalised.

c) All work is conducted on the basis of consensus.

d) The Uranium Group abides by all relevant OECD legal instruments in its operation.

6. Secretariat

e) The Secretariat function is jointly managed by the NEA and the IAEA, reflecting an informal division between OECD/NEA and non-OECD/NEA member countries, respectively. The assignment of individual activities is adjusted to suit the tasks to be conducted and the skills and competence of the resources available.

7. Documents

f) Meeting agendas are prepared by the NEA and IAEA Secretariat and approved by the Uranium Group Chair. The NEA formally publishes the agendas on the OECD’s OLIS system.

g) Summary records are also prepared jointly by the NEA and IAEA Secretariat and approved for issuing to members by the Uranium Group Chair. The final summary record is approved after review by the whole Uranium Group, usually at its following meeting. The NEA formally publishes the summary record on the OECD’s OLIS system.

8. Publications

h) No document is published without formal review by members of the OECD/NEA Nuclear Development Committee (NDC).

i) Similarly, no document is published without IAEA having the option to conduct an internal review in Vienna, including some experts not involved with the initial drafting of the document.

j) The Uranium Group assists the Secretariat in preparing the joint NEA/IAEA publication titled Uranium: Resources, Production and Demand (the Red Book), currently published biennially.

9. Meetings

k) The normal schedule of Uranium Group meetings is based on one meeting held each year over a two-year cycle roughly corresponding to the biennial publication cycle of the Red Book.

l) Normally, late in the year prior to publication, a meeting is held to review the data received in response to the questionnaire issued in January of that year. The meeting location alternates between IAEA headquarters in Vienna and NEA headquarters in Paris. Review of the draft report is conducted by email exchange with Uranium Group members prior to publication.

m) In the summer or fall of the year of publication, a meeting is held in a location determined by the Uranium Group, hosted by one of the member countries/states. The primary purposes of this meeting are to approve the questionnaire for use in the upcoming edition of the Red Book and to share information on mining, processing and remediation science and technology.

10. Uranium Group Bureau

n) The Uranium Group is managed by a Bureau which consists of a Chair, four vice-chairs and the Secretariats.

o) Membership on the Bureau is open to any member of the Uranium Group. Election of the Chair and Bureau members is by majority vote of the member countries/states attending the meeting at which the election is held.

p) The Uranium Group Bureau shall be elected each year at the Uranium Group meeting.

q) To date, the Chair has always been a member of an OECD/NEA member country, reflecting the interests of both agencies.

r) An informal understanding has been that of the five bureau members, three represent OECD/NEA countries and two non-OECD/NEA countries.

s) Normally, Bureau members will serve a total of five one-year terms to allow them to participate in the publication of two successive Red Books. Service may be extended beyond five years by Uranium Group consensus.

t) Bureau members are expected to contribute to the review of documents, especially the final review of the draft text before it is forwarded to the NDC for approval for publication.