It has its hands in every part of the nuclear industry, from uranium mining to enrichment to fuel fabrication to reactor design and construction to maintenance and refueling to reprocessing and recycling.

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Mining the moon for fuel used in nuclear fusion reactors is among NASA's 200-plus set of mission goals and could precipitate another reason for other countries and private investors to join future lunar exploration.

CNN: Mining the moon for a nuclear future

Andrew Ferguson, who manages Geiger Counter, a nuclear investment fund, reckons that more than 200 uranium-mining firms have listed on stockmarkets around the world in the past 18 months.

ECONOMIST: Uranium

Ouyang advocates eventually mining the moon for minerals such as titanium and for potential nuclear fuels such as helium-3.

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Uranium also has mining restrictions in a few countries due to its use for nuclear weapons, which helps keep supply in check.

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Fifty years ago, at the dawn of nuclear power, Wall Street was in the grip of a uranium-mining fever, with stocks and even mutual funds cropping up to take investors' money.

FORBES: Magazine Article

This does not mean that Iran will not be able to complete a nuclear program, but civilian technologies including those where Bolivia seeks assistance are highly undeveloped except perhaps in the area of mining.

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