China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) recently signed another MOU with Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, west of Saudi Arabia, to deepen cooperation in exploring uranium and thorium. This is another important fruit of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, according to the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

The two sides signed an MOU last March to carry out geological survey in Saudi Arabia, and they have confirmed through explorations that Saudi Arabia has a good prospecting potential. The second phase of exploration is ahead of schedule due to the fruitful discovery in the first phase.

Exploration of uranium has been a major part in China-Saudi Arabia cooperation in nuclear power. CNNC will work closely with Saudi Arabia and provide full support to the peaceful use of nuclear power, said Qian Zhimin, general manager of CNNC.

In the future, China and Saudi Arabia will focus on how to extract uranium from sea water, as the uranium resources are comparatively limited on land, but over 4 billion tons of uranium are still untapped in the sea. Experts from Saudi Arabia will come to China to start a two-year research program with their Chinese counterparts on extracting uranium from sea water.