India’s Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Context:

India continues advancing its three-stage nuclear power programme with operational and research achievements in uranium mining, thorium utilization, and fast breeder reactor development.

Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycle:

India follows a closed nuclear fuel cycle, emphasizing reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) to recover fissile material such as plutonium and uranium-233. This helps minimize high-level radioactive waste and ensures optimal utilization of limited uranium and abundant thorium resources.

Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme:

Stage-I: Utilizes natural uranium (U-238) in Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs).
Stage-II: Uses plutonium obtained from reprocessing spent fuel from PHWRs in Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) along with thorium as a blanket to breed uranium-233.
Stage-III: Employs uranium-233 obtained from thorium for sustainable energy production.

Reprocessing & Reactor Infrastructure:

Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) and Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) have been developed at Kalpakkam.
Reprocessing of irradiated Thoria to obtain Uranium-233 has been successfully demonstrated. The KAMINI reactor at IGCAR is the only reactor globally operating on U-233.

Thorium R&D Initiatives:

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has developed technologies to fabricate Thoria-based fuel.
Post-irradiation studies and reprocessing capabilities for Thoria fuels have been established at lab scale.

Uranium & Thorium Exploration and Mining:

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL) is responsible for uranium mining and processing in India.
Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) has identified:
- 4,33,800 tonnes of in-situ U?O? resources in 47 deposits across multiple states.
- 18 million tonnes of thorium oxide (ThO?) in 136 deposits (mostly in beach sands and inland placers).
- 29,900 tonnes of ThO? in hard rocks (Gujarat), incidental to rare earth mineral exploration.

Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD)

Establishment & Evolution:

Founded in 1948 as Rare Minerals Survey Unit.
Renamed as Raw Materials Division and then Atomic Minerals Division (1958).
Adopted current name, Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) in 1998.
It is the oldest unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
HQ:Hyderabad, Telangana.

Mandate & Functions:

Responsible for exploration, identification, and evaluation of uranium and thorium resources for India’s nuclear power programme.
Also undertakes exploration for rare earth elements (REEs) and strategic minerals.
Conducts multidisciplinary surveys – geological, geochemical, geophysical (including heliborne), radiometric studies, and drilling.

Administrative Control:

Works under the Department of Atomic Energy, which is directly under the Prime Minister of India.
Functions as one of the research arms of the DAE alongside BARC, IGCAR, RRCAT, and VECC.