December 5, 2010 6:08 PM

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Iran to use domestically produced uranium for first time

Iran says it will start using domestically produced uranium for the first time today. Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said the country has produced its first batch of uranium yellowcake, the raw material for enrichment, from a mine in the south of the country. Salehi said on state television that the West had counted on the possibility of Iran being in trouble over raw material, but today Tehran had the first batch of yellowcake from Gachin mine sent to Isfahan facility. The atomic chief said the new step made Iran self-sufficient in the entire nuclear fuel cycle, but he declined to reveal the amount of the first domestically produced batch. He said Iran cannot cover the overall need of the Isfahan facility, but will produce a significant part of it.Salehi said Iran would formally notify the International Atomic Energy Agency of its yellowcake production. The announcement comes a day before Iran is due to resume talks in Geneva on its nuclear program. Iran previously imported yellowcake from South Africa.

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