SAO PAULO, Brazil - Police have seized a load of uranium and thorium ore taken from a secret mine in the jungle in northern Brazil and destined for sale in the black market, an official said.
Based on a lead from an informant, federal police seized 1,320 pounds of ore containing the radioactive metals in a pickup truck about 75 miles from Macapa, capital of Amapa state, near the mouth of the Amazon River.
Police said they believed it was Brazil's first such case.
The Brazilian Nuclear Industries (INB) group, which produces nuclear fuel for atomic power plants, said in a written reply to Reuters the natural ore could not be used to make a nuclear bomb and the confiscated quantity did not inspire fear.
"Judging by the quantity mentioned in reports and because it is ore, the material hardly has any commercial value," INB said. Police said they believed the shipment's owner had told the prospective buyer it had been refined to metal.
"We got a fax from the laboratory in Rio de Janeiro yesterday saying the cargo had significant levels of uranium and thorium," officer Luiz Carlos told Reuters, adding that the truck was seized last month.
Samples were sent to another lab in Minas Gerais, which is expected to report on the concentration of the radioactive material, Carlos said.
Police said that based on confessions from some of those involved, they estimated that the owner of the cargo was expecting to get over 1 million reais ($330,000) for the ore.
"Neither 600 kg nor 6,000 kg of uranium and/or thorium ore is hazardous for human health," the INB said. Uranium has to be extracted from ore and highly enriched to make a bomb.
Pure uranium would have various applications in guidance devices and shielding material. Thorium is expected to be used as a nuclear reactor fuel in the future, but is not widely used today. It is used in portable lamps and various metal alloys.
The investigation was continuing. A man fled from the truck carrying the illegal material when police stopped it.
"The location of the mine is still unknown. We believe it is in the jungle in the Serra de Navio region," Carlos said. "This is the first case that we've run across in the state, and I believe in Brazil," he said.
Brazil has the world's sixth-biggest reserve of uranium. It is considered government property and strictly regulated.
Natural uranium is sufficiently radioactive to expose a photographic plate in an hour or so. Much of the Earth's internal heat is considered attributable to the presence of uranium and thorium.
Uranium on the Earth's surface, not as rare as once thought, is now considered more plentiful than mercury or silver.
(Additional reporting by Andrei Khalip)
Story by Reese Ewing
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
