"As a tin partisan mineral, monazite exists everywhere in Babel. Therefore, the nuclear power plant project will e built in 2013," Rusbani said here Friday.
He explained that 182.9 tons of monazite sediment was found in Mount Muntai and its energy covered many areas in the world`s richest tin province.
"http://www.facebook.com/pages/Antaranewscom/164882486874333 contains radioactive element which is also found in pegmatite rocks and greisen granite," he said.
He also said the monazite mineral was a compound of phosphate rare earth metal containing one to ten percent of thorium which in the form of thorium oxide (ThO2) and few below one percent uranium. Besides holding thorium, monazite also contains other rare earth metals, such as cerium (Ce) and yttrium (Y).
"Based on observation, monazite contains granites found mostly in Mt. Muntai, especially in the ridges and peak of the mountain. However, the mineral is hardly found in granite in megacopic," he said.
According to him, if the nuclear power plant project in Muntok, West Bangka and South Bangka districts became a reality 2013, the fuels for the project would be sufficient.
"Every 20 grams of monazite for the power plant is equal to 385 tons of coal for a steam power plant. It is economically profitable, moreover the coal stock in Indonesia is run out," he said.
Therefore, he added, the province should maintain the mineral monazite and not to be sold to foreign investors because the element was important for the nuclear power plant project.
"Many foreign investors wanted to buy the monazite, but the local administration won`t sell it," he said.
He also added that the nuclear power plant will support the economy in Babel by encouraging investment in the region.
"This nuclear power plant is purely built for economical development purposes, and has nothing to do with mass distribution weapons (nuclear arms). Moreover, the power plant project has already been inspected by nuclear scientists and the International Atomic Energy Agency," he said.(*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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