You can invest in thorium by having exposure to nuclear energy companies such as US Ecology, Inc, Cameco, Energy Fuels, and Uranium Energy, in addition to First Energy Corp, Nextera Energy Inc, and the Fluor Corporation.
Full Answer
What is thorium used for?
In pure form Thorium is a silvery metal and it is chemically reactive and light toxic. However, its weak radioactivity can become dangerous, if it is inhaled. Therefore thorium metal is not longer much used for mantles in gas lights, which it was for a long time.Thorium metal is used for some special alloys and in good camera lenses (as ThO2).
Should you invest in thorium?
Investing in thorium can be tough, as it’s not yet used for nuclear power generation. Companies like Flibe Energy, which is focused on thorium reactors, are still private. But there are several companies working on thorium solutions that you can add to your portfolio... Lightbridge Corp. (NASDAQ: LTBR)
How is thorium made?
Like our protactinium samples, the thorium was laboriously extracted from uraninite and then painstakingly purified over many steps to achieve a small quantity of the pure metal. As it was refined chemically out of the retorts and test tubes came not neat shiny metal bars but metallic powder.
What is thorium metal square 99%?
Thorium metal square 99%. Incredibly rare and high purity Thorium metal, sample of the element 90 of the periodic table! Dimensions: approx. 4x4mm square. Purity: 99%. Packaging: Argon Sealed ampoule permanently sealed in acrylic inside a glass vial with label.
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Can I invest in thorium?
Investing in thorium can be tough, as it's not yet used for nuclear power generation. Companies like Flibe Energy, which is focused on thorium reactors, are still private. But there are several companies working on thorium solutions that you can add to your portfolio...
Is thorium the future?
Currently, thorium is enjoying a revival, with experiments on molten salt thorium technology in the Netherlands and reactors being built not only in India, but also in China and elsewhere.
What company produces thorium?
Top thorium CompaniesMoltex Energy. n/a. Founded 2014. ... RADTRAN LLC. n/a. Founded date unknown. ... Thorium Power Canada Inc. n/a. Founded 2015. ... Alpha Tech Research Corp. n/a. Founded date unknown. ... Thorium Space Technology. n/a. Founded 2017. ... Hope Innovations. n/a. Founded 2014. ... Flibe Energy. n/a. Founded 2011. ... Elysium Industries. n/a.More items...
What is the cost of thorium today?
The salts cost roughly $150/kg, and thorium costs about $30/kg. If thorium becomes popular, this cost will only decrease as thorium is widely available anywhere in the earth's crust. Thorium is found in a concentration over 500 times greater than fissile uranium-235.
Why are we not using thorium?
Even though a conventional meltdown would be unlikely, thorium still produces harmful radiation that needs to be contained, and something could always go wrong. But the real reason we use uranium over thorium is a result of wartime politics.
Who is building thorium reactors?
A team from the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) the Netherlands has built the first molten salt reactor powered by thorium in decades. There are several basic facts of nuclear power that have made it a tough sell around the world. For one, the uranium needed for nuclear power plants is rare and expensive.
Can thorium replace uranium?
One reason thorium is an interesting alternative to uranium is that it is cheaper and more abundant. Thorium is also used more efficiently in the reaction process — thorium inputs are almost completely used up during a nuclear reaction, meaning spent fuel or radioactive waste is reduced to a minimum.
Is thorium better than uranium?
Thorium-based reactors are safer because the reaction can easily be stopped and because the operation does not have to take place under extreme pressures. Compared to uranium reactors, thorium reactors produce far less waste and the waste that is generated is much less radioactive and much shorter-lived.
Which country has most thorium?
Thorium resources are found throughout the world, most notably in Australia, Brazil, India, and the United States. India has the largest resources (850,000 tons), followed by Brazil (630,000 tons), and Australia and the United States (600,000 tons each).
Is thorium cheaper than uranium?
False. Although thorium is more abundant than uranium, the cost of uranium is a small fraction of the overall cost of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy economics are driven by the capital cost of the plant, and building a power plant with a thorium reactor is no cheaper than building a power plant with a uranium reactor.
How is thorium available?
Thorium averages 7.2 parts per million (ppm) in the earth's crust and is the 39th most abundant of the 78 crustal elements. Soil commonly contains an average of 6 wppm of thorium. It is about three times more abundant than uranium.
Why is thorium not used as nuclear fuel?
Thorium cannot in itself power a reactor; unlike natural uranium, it does not contain enough fissile material to initiate a nuclear chain reaction. As a result it must first be bombarded with neutrons to produce the highly radioactive isotope uranium-233 – 'so these are really U-233 reactors,' says Karamoskos.
Which element is more abundant, uranium or thorium?
The radioactive element is safer, more abundant, and cheaper to extract and handle than the nuclear power fuel of choice uranium. It is so plentiful on Earth and so effective at generating heat that its radiation makes a measurable contribution to our planet’s internal heat. Three unique properties make thorium superior than uranium in nuclear ...
How many times can you recycle plutonium?
Not only are costs saved, but you can recycle thorium at least six or seven times, whereas uranium is used only one.
How many neutrons does uranium have?
Natural uranium from the ground contains 238 neutrons and protons per atom. When used in a power plant, uranium-238 gains 1 neutron to become toxic waste and eventually decays into plutonium-239 which can in turn be used one more time in power plants or in nuclear weapons (after being enriched).
Is India dependent on uranium?
The obstacle, of course, is that this creates a huge demand for uranium which India cannot supply. With just 2% of global uranium reserves, India is already dependent on outside sources even with just 20 nuclear plants in operation. Imagine the dependency when its uranium demand increased by 12.5 times.
Is thorium more complex than uranium?
The obstacle here, however, is that the technology required to harness the power of thorium in generating electricity is more complex than even uranium technology. It’s not just nuclear science; it’s the next generation of nuclear science.
How was Thorium extracted?
Like our protactinium samples, the thorium was laboriously extracted from uraninite and then painstakingly purified over many steps to achieve a small quantity of the pure metal. As it was refined chemically out of the retorts and test tubes came not neat shiny metal bars but metallic powder.
Is thorium radioactive?
Well, yes and no. Thorium is so weakly radioactive that carrying a lump with you poses about as much of a threat to human health as getting an X-ray every other year. You’d have to stand next to a piece of thorium the size of a building before radioactivity levels would become a concern.
About Thorium Metal
Thorium Metal is available as ingot, foil, rod, plate and sputtering target and in numerous other forms and custom shapes. Ultra high purity and high purity forms also include metal powder, submicron powder and nanoscale, quantum dots, targets for thin film deposition, pellets for evaporation and single crystal or polycrystalline forms.
Packaging Specifications
Typical bulk packaging includes palletized plastic 5 gallon/25 kg. pails, fiber and steel drums to 1 ton super sacks in full container (FCL) or truck load (T/L) quantities. Research and sample quantities and hygroscopic, oxidizing or other air sensitive materials may be packaged under argon or vacuum.
Recent Research
Iridium Nanotubes as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution and Nitrate Reduction Reactions.
