Thorium is a radioactive metal that occurs naturally in soil, water, and rocks. It's also used in nuclear reactors, welding rods, and ceramic glazes.
It's three to four times more abundant than uranium
https://x.com/RT_com/status/1895490719038706022
More than 200 thorium-rich veins in the Beaverhead Mountains form the Lemhi Pass district, Idaho and Montana. This district is thought to contain the largest concentration of thorium resources in the United States and is the site of renewed thorium exploration activity.
Why China Is Building a Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor China’s demo reactor could breed nuclear fuel from rare earth waste
Endless thorium supply in China can help make unlimited nuclear power: Survey
Thorium is supposedly abundant in a lot of places. There are allegedly single mines in the US that discard enough to power the entire country. It is a different type of nuclear reactor though. LFTR (lifter) or Liquid Flouride Thorium Reactor was apparently beat out by competing technologies, because it didn’t have the potential for weaponization. I don’t think there are currently any active thorium reactors in any country. Cheap abundant power like that could change the world. (Or galaxy if we could do it in space)
Yes, Russia has them, and one of their models will be delivered to Indonesia.
The Netherlands has for years operated one thorium reactor in Petten. https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Molten-salt-irradiation-test-completed-at-Petten
Funny sidenote: it creates medical isotopes ....
The basic regulatory framework in relation to nuclear power generation is based on uranium fed systems, causing two concerns:
O the hole, one could postulate a nuclear triade: uranium -> thorium => nano diamond batteries.
=> the end product of this line is a non-radiative material, and an energy creation supply chain that is sustainable, geen, cost-effective, space-effective, pleasant to the eyes, decentralized, peaceful, limiting melt-down risk.