Rio Tinto to explore uranium in Jordan

Jordan on Monday inked a preliminary deal with the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto group on uranium exploration, said a senior energy official.

Under the MoU, the mining giant will help the exploration of different areas of Jordan for uranium, thorium and zirconium, said haled Touqan, head of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC).

The preliminary deal is expected to pave the way for further cooperation between the two sides in future, according to the official.

This is the latest deal Jordan has reached with world nuclear and mining giants, including France, Canada, China, the Republic of Korea and Britain.

Unlike its oil-rich neighbors, Jordan faces grave energy challenges. Currently, about 96 percent of its energy needs are met by imports at a cost of some 20 percent of its gross domestic products.

In a drive to reduce the country's dependence on imported hydrocarbons, the government mapped out a nuclear energy program in 2007, under which Jordan will have its first nuclear reactor up and running by 2016, with more to be built in the years leading up to 2030.

It is estimated that Jordan can extract 80,000 tons of uranium from its uranic ores and the country's phosphate reserves also contain some 100,000 tons of uranium, according to official data.