研究人员在菲律宾南部一个经长期勘探的矿区内发现了一个潜在的铀资源产地，与此同时，马尼拉正致力于发展核电并扩大其关键矿产行业。
Researchers have identified a potential source of uranium in a long-explored mining district in the southern Philippines, as Manila moves to establish nuclear power and expand its critical minerals industry.
这项发现如果经进一步勘探证实具有可行性，将能为核燃料循环提供铀。发现铀矿的地点位于北甘马省的拉拉普-帕拉卡莱（Larap-Paracale）矿区，该矿区的勘探工作始于20世纪50年代。
The discovery, which could provide uranium for the nuclear fuel cycle if further exploration confirms its viability, was made in the Larap-Paracale mining district in Camarines Norte province, where exploration began in the 1950s. Researchers from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), the University of the Philippines Diliman and Akita University in Japan confirmed that surface deposits collected from the area contained uraninite as the main uranium-bearing mineral, and that the material could be processed into a product with higher uranium content.
来自菲律宾核能研究所（PNRI）、菲律宾大学迪利曼分校以及日本秋田大学的研究人员证实，从该地区收集的地表矿物含有沥青铀矿（即主要的含铀矿物），并且该材料可以被加工成铀含量更高的产品。
“The findings are vital as uranium may become important in the country’s foray into nuclear energy,” PNRI said in a statement on Friday.
菲律宾核能研究所周五在的一份声明中表示：“这些发现至关重要，因为铀可能会在我国进军核能领域的过程中发挥重要作用。”
The researchers said the material could potentially be processed into uranium concentrate, commonly known as “yellowcake”, an intermediate product in the nuclear fuel cycle.
研究人员表示，这些材料有可能被加工成八氧化三铀（通常被称为“黄饼”），这是核燃料循环中的一种中间产品。
Although the Larap-Paracale district has been explored for decades, the latest samples came from the Bessemer area, a newly identified zone of uranium mineralisation.
尽管拉拉普-帕拉卡莱矿区已经经历了数十年的勘探，但最新的样本来自贝瑟默（Bessemer）地区，这是一个新发现的铀矿化带。
About 180kg of material was collected and tested in their laboratory, where uraninite grains were found among other minerals.
研究人员收集了约180公斤的矿物材料并在实验室进行了测试，在其他矿物中发现了沥青铀矿颗粒。
PNRI said more work was needed to determine their economic significance, which would include “detailed geological, radiometric and geophysical surveys followed by systematic drilling and analysis of drill cores”.
菲律宾核能研究所表示，需要开展更多工作来确定其经济价值，其中包括“详细的地质、辐射和地球物理调查，随后进行系统的钻探和岩芯分析”。
The study comes as the Philippines takes steps to integrate nuclear power into its future energy mix, targeting at least 1,200 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2032 according to the Philippine Energy Plan.
这项研究出台之际，正值菲律宾采取措施将核电纳入其未来的能源结构，根据《菲律宾能源计划》，该国计划到2032年实现至少1200兆瓦的核电装机容量。
It also comes at a pivotal moment as the country explores moving up the value chain in the critical minerals industry while developing a road map for its national industrialisation.
这也是在该国探索提升关键矿产行业价值链、同时制定国家工业化路线图的关键时刻进行的。
“The finding is very significant if further exploration proves that the uranium in Camarines Norte is large enough and economically viable to develop,” said Djoan Kate Tungpalan, a professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, who led the uranium extraction and recovery work.
“如果进一步的勘探能够证实卡马林斯北省的铀资源储量足够丰富且具有经济开发价值，那么这一发现将具有重大意义，”领导铀提取与回收工作的菲律宾迪利曼大学矿业、冶金与材料工程系教授乔安·凯特·通帕兰（Djoan Kate Tungpalan）表示。
Tungpalan told This Week in Asia that having a domestic option “could significantly strengthen our long-term energy security and resilience and make us less dependent on fluctuations in international markets and supply chains”.
通帕兰告诉《This Week in Asia》杂志，拥有国内铀资源“将显著增强我们的长期能源安全与抵御外部冲击的能力，减少我们对国际市场和供应链波动的依赖”。
However, Tungpalan said the “sensible first step” for the Philippines as a newcomer to nuclear power was to import nuclear fuel from established suppliers such as Kazakhstan.
不过，通帕兰认为，对于刚刚开始发展核能产业的菲律宾来说，合理的初步步骤应该是从哈萨克斯坦等成熟供应商那里进口核燃料。
The Philippines “is essentially rebuilding a nuclear fuel cycle capability” that was first developed over four decades ago when the country was preparing for nuclear power under then president Ferdinand Marcos Snr, said Angel Bautista VII, a scientist and head of nuclear materials research at PNRI.
菲律宾“实际上正在重建其核燃料循环技术体系”——这套技术体系最初是在四十年前，费迪南德·马科斯总统执政时期为发展核能而建立的，”菲律宾国家研究委员会（PNRI）的核材料研究负责人安赫尔·鲍蒂斯塔（Angel Bautista VII）指出。
Bautista said much of the initial work slowed after the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and the broader nuclear power programme were mothballed in 1986 following fears from the Chernobyl explosion and corruption allegations.
鲍蒂斯塔表示，由于切尔诺贝利核事故的影响以及腐败指控，1986年巴丹核电站及整个核能计划被暂停后，许多初期工作被迫中断。目前，这项由政府资助的核燃料循环研究计划仍处于第一阶段，主要致力于开发从铀资源勘探与提取到放射性废物管理的全套技术。
Bautista leads the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Research Programme, a 2024 government-funded initiative continuing work that began several years ago. He said the programme was currently in its first phase, developing capabilities across the fuel cycle from uranium exploration and recovery to radioactive waste management.
该计划还包括其他相关任务，例如从矿石、海水和化肥副产品中提取铀，以及建立核电站模拟系统等。
This also entails other efforts such as recovering uranium from sources including ores, seawater and fertiliser by-products, and establishing a nuclear power plant simulator.
然而，包蒂斯塔表示，菲律宾距离发展商业核燃料产业还有很长的路要走，进展仍“处于早期阶段”，并补充说，需要持续的支持来帮助该国实现2032年的目标。
However, the Philippines was still far from developing a commercial nuclear-fuel industry, with progress still “at an early stage”, Bautista said, adding that continuous support would be needed to help the country meet its 2032 target.
通帕兰表示，菲律宾“不必独自建立核燃料循环的每一个步骤”，因为它可以战略性地在某些领域发展能力，同时在其他领域依赖国际合作伙伴。
Tungpalan said the Philippines “does not have to build every step of the nuclear fuel cycle on its own”, as it could strategically develop capabilities in certain areas while relying on international partners for others.
在发现铀矿之际，菲律宾不仅在考虑如何产生核能，还在考虑如何建立能够消耗大量可靠电力的工业基础。
The uranium finding comes as the Philippines considers not only how to generate nuclear power but also how to build an industrial base capable of consuming large amounts of reliable electricity.
菲律宾核研究所（PNRI）前所长、菲律宾大学国家地质科学研究所教授级讲师卡洛·阿西拉表示，核能将成为菲律宾关键产业雄心的重要基石，拟议中的“硅Pax”（Pax Silica）枢纽需要巨大的能量，远超该国目前所能提供的水平。
Nuclear energy would be an important cornerstone for the Philippines’ critical industry ambitions, with the proposed Pax Silica hub requiring enormous amounts of energy, far more than the country can offer, according to Carlo Arcilla, a former PNRI director and a professorial lecturer at the University of the Philippines’ National Institute of Geological Sciences.
“硅Pax”是一个占地1,620公顷（4,000英亩）的“人工智能原生、高科技枢纽”，涵盖半导体、人工智能和关键矿产供应链，将需要3吉瓦的嵌入式发电能力——相当于吕宋电网的16%，而吕宋电网承担了菲律宾总电力需求的74%。
Pax Silica, a 1,620-hectare (4,000-acre) “AI-native, hi-tech hub” for semiconductor, artificial intelligence and critical mineral supply chains, would require 3 gigawatts of embedded generation capacity – equivalent to 16 per cent of the Luzon grid, which is responsible for 74 per cent of total power demand in the Philippines.
阿西拉说：“只有核能才能为‘硅Pax’提供动力”，并补充说该枢纽将“需要我们目前不具备的电力”。
“Only nuclear can power Pax Silica,” Arcilla said, adding that the hub would “need power, which we don’t have”.
与此同时，诸如太阳能等替代能源要提供所需的发电能力，将需要占用巨大的土地。
Meanwhile, alternative sources such as solar power would entail an enormous land requirement to supply the needed capacity.
阿西拉表示，虽然重启巴丹核电站是一个合理的选择，但菲律宾最好将重点放在建设新址上，以避免与该核电站相关的政治争议。
While reviving the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant would be a sound option, it might be better for the Philippines to focus on building new sites to avoid political controversies associated with the plant, Arcilla said.
今年8月，能源部在巴丹省、巴拉望省、马斯巴特省、邦阿西楠省和北甘马磷省确定了七个新的潜在厂址。
In August, the Department of Energy identified seven new potential sites in the provinces of Bataan, Palawan, Masbate, Pangasinan and Camarines Norte.
通帕兰表示，菲律宾可以先从发展本国的铀矿开采和加工能力入手，逐步积累相关技术；只有在涉及铀浓缩等更为敏感的技术阶段时，再寻求国际合作伙伴的帮助。
Tungpalan said the Philippines could start small by developing local capabilities in uranium mining and processing, before relying on international partners for more sensitive phases such as enrichment.
“因此，这一发现的价值并不在于它一定能为我们国家的首座核电站提供所需的铀资源，而在于它能为我们的核能发展计划提供一个重要的战略选择。”——萨姆·贝尔特兰（Sam Beltran）
“The value of [this finding], therefore, is not that it must supply our first nuclear power plant, but that it could give our country an important strategic option as our nuclear energy programme grows.”By Sam Beltran