China is pursuing an ambitious plan to triple its nuclear energy output by 2020, from 2% of the country’s total energy supply to 6%. Beijing’s nuclear power agenda is part of the government’s broader agenda to reduce carbon emissions that is contributing to staggeringly high-levels of pollution in many of China’s largest cities. To do so, the Chinese have embarked on a nuclear reactor building spree with some 20 new plants currently in development.

If China is going to rely more on nuclear power as part of its renewable energy strategy then it is also going to have to find a reliable supply of uranium to power all of these new reactors. Not surprisingly, Chinese energy officials have set their sights on Africa, specifically two of the world’s largest sources of uranium in Niger and Namibia.