No cite, but I remember reading that the chief geologist for the Israeli government said that a fairly good sized deposit of uranium ore was found in the Sinai. because of fears that the land was to be returned to Egypt, there was a top secret mining operation there, which extracted the bulk of the ore. I s this correct? I also understand that Israel acquired some uranium ore in the time of the Sha’s rule in Iran -Israel and the Shah were secret allies.
I don’t know about Sinai, but in the Negev Desert there’s phosphate deposits that contain uranium in concentrations that are probably recoverable, but it requires an expensive unconventional process and apparently thus far Israel has had no problems getting uranium from other sources.
Googling, there’s apparently a company that’s trying to do it as a commercial venture, but the news stories I’m seeing look more like they’re trying to drum up investors than describing anything that’s likely to happen any time soon.
well, for starts Israel and the Shah were open allies.
As to uranium ore and Israel’s lack, I cannot remember correctly the original source of its ore, but my hunch is it was France, and how it got it I really don’t know.
The Israeli and French nuclear weapons programs developed in tandem. Under (now President) Shimon Peres, Israeli inventions of a fast way to refine Uranium using very small amounts were traded for French know-how in weapon design.
There’s a good amount of open history on that.
Israel got most of their uranium by less than above board means.
The ApolloAffair writeup presents much evidence that it was not stolen, and that the material was later accounted for. The Wiki concludes with a classic government lawyerly fudge:
…. August 2009. The NRC [stated] not have information that would allow it to unequivocally conclude that nuclear material was not diverted from the site…"[8]
Not saying it didn’t happen, just that it isn’t even clear as far as even these things go.
There was also the Israel/South Africa connection. South Africa has large deposits of Uranium and supposedly they exchanged some with Israel for their scientific help in making a small stockpile of non-thermonuclear bombs (actually Little Boy style ‘gun-type’ weapons). See the infamous Vela Flash…