UAE launches first Arab uranium exploration firm

A United Arab Emirates based private business group has launched the first independent Arab uranium exploration company, as several regional countries plan to build nuclear reactors, an executive said on Tuesday.

Arabian Uranium Ventures, a unit of Thani Holdings which has a diversified business in oil and gas, mining, real estate and trading, was launched on Tuesday and will be extracting the radioactive metal from the Middle East and Africa.

"With growing energy needs, ever-decreasing oil and gas reserves and environmental concerns, I believe the business case for Arabian Uranium Ventures is sound," Rishard Camball, chief executive officer of Thani Holding, told Reuters.