Uranium producers pay an amount that has
generally corresponded to 40% of ASNOs annual costs for safeguards activities.
The current arrangements were introduced
through the Nuclear Safeguards (Producers
of Uranium Ore Concentrates) Act 1993, to recover some of the costs of
ASNOs activities which the then Government decided were of significant benefit
to industry. The Act provides for each
producer to pay an annual charge, prescribed by regulation, up to a maximum of
$500,000.
Following a review as part of the
Governments overhaul of business regulation, in June 1997 it was recommended
that the charge on uranium producers be retained, but in a different formthe
charge would be a safeguards fee per kilogram of productionwhich was seen as
a fairer mechanism than the previous flat fee. The fee would include a component for future costs, that is, the ongoing
costs in respect of AONM which could remain in the fuel cycle for a considerable
period after the originating mine had ceased production.
In November 1999 the
fee was set at 8.6456 cents per kilogram of contained uranium produced during
199899, which yielded $468,260 for Consolidated Revenue.
View of Australias next uranium
minephotograph courtesy Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd