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 2024

Mandate (Document reference):

Proposed reconstitution of the Joint NEA/IAEA Uranium Group [NEA/NE(96)6]
Minutes of the 92nd Regular Session of the Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy [NEA/NE/M(96)1/REV1]
Summary Record of the 48^th NDC Session [NEA/NDC(2003)25/REV1]
Summary Record of the 55^th NDC Meeting [NEA/NDC(2008)34]
Mandate of the Joint NEA/IAEA Group on Uranium (2012-2014) [NEA/NDC(2011)20]
Summary Record of the 59th NDC Meeting [NEA/NDC(2011)17]
Mandate of the Joint NEA/IAEA Uranium Group (2015-2018, updated) [NEA/NDC(2014)22/PROV]
Summary Record of the 64^th NDC Meeting [NEA/NDC(2015)6/FINAL]
Summary of Decisions Taken at the 70th meeting of the Committee for Technical and Economic Studies on Nuclear Energy Development and the Fuel Cycle (NDC) [NEA/NDC/M(2018)2]
Mandate of the Joint NEA/IAEA Uranium Group (2021-2023, updated) [NEA/NDC(2022)1]
Summary of Decisions Taken at the 75th NDC session [NEA/NDC/M(2022)1] forthcoming

Mandate (Document extract):

Extracts from document NEA/NDC(2022)1

General Objectives

To support 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; 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 its members actions that might be taken to assure an adequate long-term supply of uranium for nuclear power development.

Mandate:

I. Objectives

To provide input for the 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;
To examine the world’s uranium supply capabilities in relationship to projections of natural uranium demand, and to recommend its members actions that might be taken to assure an adequate long-term supply of uranium for nuclear power ; and advise the NEA and IAEA to raise awareness and encourage member states to this end;
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;
To promote the expansion of the geographical and geological coverage of information on uranium activities throughout the world.

II. Governance

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 member countries; the IAEA acts similarly for its Member States that are not OECD 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 and non-OECD 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 ONE 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 ONE system.

8) Publications

h) 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.

i) Documents are published after formal review and approval by the OECD/NEA Nuclear Development Committee (NDC).

j) Before the submission of a document for NDC’s approval, IAEA has the option to conduct an internal review, within a reasonable timeframe, including some experts not involved with the initial drafting of the document.

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/country report earlier that year. The meeting location alternates between IAEA headquarters in Vienna, NEA headquarters in Paris or one of the member countries/states. Some meetings may be held virtually, at the discretion of Chair, NEA and IAEA.

10) Uranium Group Bureau

m) The Uranium Group will designate its Bureau, which consists of a Chair and four Vice-Chairs. The Bureau shall be assisted by the NEA and IAEA Secretariats.

n) Membership on the Bureau is open to any member of the Uranium Group. Designation of the Chair and Vice-Chairs is done by majority vote of the member countries/states attending the meeting at which the election is held.

o) The Uranium Group Bureau shall be designated each year at the Uranium Group meeting.

p) An informal understanding has been that, of the five Bureau members (Chair and Vice-Chairs), three represent OECD/NEA countries and two non-OECD countries, and the Chair is a national of a country that is member to both to the IAEA and the NEA, thus familiar with the working methods of both Organisations.

q) Normally, Bureau members will serve maximum five consecutive 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.

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

s) The Bureau may be consulted first on any proposed changes to the structure of the Red Book publication.