Ok it's come to my attention that this has been moved to Chit Chat I am insulted.
Not that I don't love to chat but this is about the markets for nuclear power, thorium and needs better placement. Let's bring in the ambassador.
Thorium Power, a nuclear R&D outfit based in McLean, VA, has appointed former US ambassador Thomas Graham, Jr. as executive chairman of its board of directors. He will take up his post in August.
Graham is an expert on nuclear nonproliferation having been involved in most of the major US negotiations to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The treaties include NPT, SALT, START, and CTBT. He served for 15 years as the general counsel for the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
Seth Grae, CEO of Thorium Power, stated in a press release, "We are pleased that Tom, who has served as Thorium Power's Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors since April 2006, has been appointed Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors to reflect his added responsibilities and full-time involvement in the Company. As our discussions with governments of other countries and leading companies in the nuclear power industry continue to evolve, Ambassador Graham's contribution as a knowledgeable and experienced expert in nuclear negotiations has been exemplary. We look forward to his continued support and guidance."
Thorium Power plans to license its technologies to commercial and government owned reactor operators; and, nuclear fuel fabricators who want to benefit from thorium-based fuels. The Company is targeting new reactors in countries without a nuclear industry, as well as currently operating and new reactors in countries with an established nuclear energy industry including Russia.
Russian partners are the key
The Company maintains long-standing relationships with leading Russian nuclear entities, providing experts and facilities for its nuclear fuel development activities. The company announced a plan in 2006 to turn aging Russian nuclear warheads into thorium-based fuel that will run in exist reactors.
In April 2007 Thorium Power Ltd and Red Star (Krasnaya Zvezda), a Russian government-owned entity announced agreement on a contract with Thorium Power. It's seed and blanket fuel designs will undergo irradiation testing. The goal is deployment within full-sized commercial reactors. The contract is under the supervision of the Russian Federal Agency for Atomic Energy (RosAtom). Testing at the Kurchatov Institute, Russia's leading research and development institution in the field of nuclear energy, will take place starting in summer 2007.
RosAtom is no lightweight R&D outfit. It is the Soviet Union's vertically integrated nuclear power complex organized by President Vladimir Putin in February 2007. It integrates all stages of nuclear energy generation: uranium extraction and enrichment, fuel production, and generation, as well as all related industries, including nuclear and non-nuclear machine-building, science, engineering, and construction. This makes Thorium Power's alliance with RosAtom a big deal.
Vladimir S. Vasilkovsky, General Director of Red Star, and also an official with RosAtom, stated in a joint press release, "This new contract includes a technical scope of work that includes a continuation of the testing program in a live research reactor. The later phases will lead to commercial deployment of thorium-based fuel, bringing many benefits to the world's nuclear power plants, including less waste and enhanced proliferation resistance, facilitating the expansion of the use of nuclear power to generate clean energy."
Evgeny Strakhov, Deputy Director of Department of Red Star, also noted, "The additional work that will be performed is a necessary step towards demonstrating Thorium Power's fuel designs in a commercial reactor. Ultimately, our collaboration will lead to wide-scale use of Thorium Power's technology in the nuclear power industry."
So there you have it. The top nuclear agency in Russia wants thorium fuel for its reactors.
As we know Things are not going so well back in the states. NNSA has other ideas like MOX fuel. This all
raises the question of whether NNSA is objecting to the Thorium technology or the competition from RosAtom?
Opposition to Yucca Mountain may play in the mix
Reid is so completely up in arms about Yucca Mountain that he explores every possible avenue to prevent it from opening and that includes technical solutions.
Thorium Power Seth Grae thinks this kind of congressional sponsorship will bring federal money to the thorium power R&D effort despite NNSA's objections.
Penny stocks are not a magnet for deep pocket investors
The financial problem for Thorium Power are that it has no products and no income despite being traded as an over the counter stock. (THPW.OB) With a stock price of less than a dollar, its ability to attract large, risk-adverse investors is limited.
The future of the company has to emerge from its current penny stock status if it is going to be successful. Only two of the company's executives actually receive salaries. The rest hold stock which trades briskly at prices well under $1.00 and in volumes of from 250,000 to over 2,000,000 shares daily. In 2007 the company says it plans to strengthen its management team with a full time CFO and position itself to license intellectual property that will result from its R&D efforts with its Russian partners
Thorium Power obviously has something going for it else it would not have attracted Ambassador Graham to its board. Thorium is an abundant element. Time will tell whether the company or anyone else can profit from it.
Well we have come to the end of our tale and we have to now make the big choice Do We Buy?? From what I have uncovered in this exhaustive research for you all, The Russian angle which is strong, the summer 07 testing results, the Ambassador brought on to the board, Harry Reid pushing through funding... is this tiny Thorium Power the one. The one that's going to make us all rich.
Please provide your input on how many shares I should accumulate> I eventually see $1.50 in THPW's future it may take 3 years but I would like to retire on this one trade if possible. ~ stoney