AERIAL VIEW OF THE ZUUVCH-OVOO URANIUM MINE PILOT FACILITY IN MONGOLIA'S GOBI DESERT
THE GOBI DESERT, ONCE REVERED BY MONGOlian poet Dulduityn Danzanravjaa as hiding a cosmic portal to the heavenly kingdom of Shambala, was transformed in the 20th century from spiritual energy center to fossil-fuel hub. Wild rabbits and donkeys share the windswept dunes with rusting oil pumps, while an endless caravan of soot-stained trucks haul coal south to the border with China. Now, the Gobi is on the cusp of another reincarnation, one that its supporters believe could help future-proof the global energy landscape.
In October, the French state-owned nuclear firm Orano signed a $1.7 billion deal to extract and process uranium from the Zuuvch-Ovoo mine, not two hours by car from the landmarked site of Danzanravjaa's cosmic portal.
Mongolia's first uranium mine is expected to produce about 2,750 tons annually for three decades, some 4% of global production; it's currently one of the top 10 unexploited deposits worldwide.
"This deposit is far from the only one," says Olivier Thoumyre, a senior vice president for Orano. "There is huge potential in Mongolia... to enter the uranium market at the right time, because we know needs are going to increase." Mongolia boasts the world's second-largest uranium reserves, which promise to catapult this landlocked nation of 3.5 million into position as a key player in the global renewable-energy transition.
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Denne historien er fra May 27, 2024-utgaven av Time.
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TV SHOWS
An artistic triumph. A record-breaking 18 Emmy wins. An all-time viewership high for FX.
MOVIES
If you read only the synopsis of Babygirl before seeing it, you might imagine it's an erotic age-gap thriller about the workplace power dynamic between men and women.
BOOKS
Percival Everett's reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which won a National Book Award, is a sweeping story centering on Jim, the enslaved sidekick in Mark Twain's classic adventure tale.
ALBUMS
Singer Beth Gibbons hasn't released much music in the 30 years since her iconic band Portishead stormed out of the gate with seminal trip-hop record Dummy. Nor has she spoken to the press much, gaining a reputation for intense privacy.
PODCASTS
The most engrossing podcast Dan Taberski has produced since Missing Richard Simmons, Hysterical investigates a mysterious illness that spread among high school girls in Le Roy, N.Y., beginning in 2011, in what is believed to be the largest case of mass hysteria since the Salem witch trials.
Elton JOHN
Elton John has no address. Visitors to his home are given three names: the name of a house, the name of a hill, and the name of a town, which is near Windsor, as in Windsor Castle, where King Charles III lives.
Caitlin CLARK
A Fever coach has tasked me with standing under the basket to retrieve her misses. But as Clark, the two-time college national player of the year for the University of Iowa, reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year from the Indiana Fever, and emergent American sports icon, runs all over the court to launch long-range bombs, I barely have to move. Swish, swish, swish. She hits 14 shots in a row. A dozen in a row. Eleven in a row. Nine in a row. Another nine.
Lisa SU
It's the day after the U.S. presidential election, and like much of the nation she was awake until the early hours, transfixed as the results came in, only tearing herself away once it became clear that Donald Trump had won.
Donald TRUMP-THE CHOICE
A once and future President whose influence dominated this year
Mental Health Levels Up
2024's progress hints at things to come
