I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2290 

To provide for the application of measures to foreign persons who transfer 

to Iran, Syria, or North Korea certain goods, services, or technology 

that could assist Iran, Syria, or North Korea to extract or mill their 

domestic sources of uranium ore. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2009 

Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Mr. ROYCE, and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide for the application of measures to foreign persons 

who transfer to Iran, Syria, or North Korea certain 

goods, services, or technology that could assist Iran, 

Syria, or North Korea to extract or mill their domestic 

sources of uranium ore. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Uranium 

5 Extraction and Milling Control Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Uranium is a naturally occurring element 

2 found around the world in low levels in rock, soil, 

3 and water. 

4 (2) Uranium ore extracted through mining and 

5 other methods is the principal component of the con6 centrate known as yellowcake, a precursor to the 

7 production of highly enriched uranium. 

8 (3) Uranium is a necessary element in any fuel 

9 cycle capable of producing fissile material usable for 

10 a nuclear explosive device, whether such device uti11 lizes uranium or plutonium. 

12 (4) According to the World Nuclear Associa13 tion, over 40,000 metric tons of uranium ore were 

14 produced worldwide in 2007. 

15 (5) The wide availability of naturally occurring 

16 uranium, a favorable commercial environment, and 

17 the growing demand for nuclear power may lead to 

18 a significant expansion of the production of uranium 

19 ore worldwide, including in countries with nuclear 

20 weapons programs such as Iran and North Korea, 

21 which maintain that their production is intended for 

22 peaceful purposes. 

23 (6) Over the past two decades, Iran has opened 

24 as many as 10 uranium mines. The ore from these 

25 mines is estimated to contain concentrations of uraVerDate Nov 24 2008 05:24 May 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2290.IH H2290

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1 nium too low to be suitable for legitimate commer2 cial use. 

3 (7) During the 1980s and 1990s, Syria, with 

4 technical assistance from the International Atomic 

5 Energy Agency, studied the feasibility of uranium 

6 extraction and conducted preliminary extraction ac7 tivities. Like Iran, Syria’s uranium ore was found to 

8 be unsuitable for commercial use. 

9 (8) Iran and Syria can make use of their do10 mestic sources of uranium ore for military purposes 

11 only if they have access to extraction and milling 

12 goods, services, and technology from other countries. 

13 (9) The significant reserves of uranium ore in 

14 North Korea are a potential source for other coun15 tries with covert nuclear weapons programs. 

16 (10) Unlike other nuclear materials and facili17 ties, the processes of extracting uranium ore and 

18 milling it into yellowcake are not subject to safe19 guards by the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

20 (11) Iran, North Korea, and Syria have been 

21 sanctioned by the United States and other countries 

22 as a result of their nuclear and other programs in23 volving weapons of mass destruction. 

24 (12) Transfers of nuclear and certain other sen25 sitive goods, services, or technology to Iran, North 


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1 Korea, and Syria are prohibited by the laws of the 

2 United States. 

3 (13) Foreign persons that make such transfers 

4 may be sanctioned by the United States pursuant to 

5 the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation 

6 Act. 

7 (14) Denying Iran, North Korea, and Syria ac8 cess to the goods, services, and technology needed to 

9 utilize their domestic sources of uranium ore for 

10 their nuclear weapons programs should be a signifi11 cant nonproliferation goal of the United States and 

12 like-minded countries. 

13 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

14 It shall be the policy of the United States— 

15 (1) to oppose the transfer to Iran, North 

16 Korea, and Syria of goods, services, or technology 

17 relevant to their capability to extract or mill ura18 nium ore; and 

19 (2) to work with like-minded countries to im20 pose restrictions on such transfers internationally. 

21 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE IRAN, 

22 NORTH KOREA, AND SYRIA NONPROLIFERA23 TION ACT. 

24 Section 2(a) of the Iran, North Korea, and Syria 

25 Nonproliferation Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by redesignating subpara2 graphs (A) through (E) as clauses (i) through (v), 

3 respectively; 

4 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

5 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

6 (3) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and in8 serting ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’; and 

9 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

10 inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

11 (4) by striking all that precedes subparagraph 

12 (A), as redesignated, and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(a) REPORTS.—The President shall, at the times 

14 specified in subsection (b), submit to the Committee on 

15 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

16 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report 

17 identifying every foreign person with respect to whom 

18 there is credible information indicating that person— 

19 ‘‘(1) on or after January 1, 1999, transferred 

20 to or acquired from Iran, on or after January 1, 

21 2005, transferred to or acquired from Syria, or on 

22 or after January 1, 2006, transferred to or acquired 

23 from North Korea—’’; and 

24 (5) by adding at the end the following new 

25 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(2) on or after January 1, 2009, transferred 

2 to Iran, Syria, or North Korea goods, services, or 

3 technology that could assist efforts to extract or mill 

4 uranium ore within the territory or control of Iran, 

5 North Korea, or Syria.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

7 The Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation 

8 Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is further amended by striking 

9 ‘‘Committee on International Relations’’ each place it ap10 pears and inserting ‘‘Committee on Foreign Affairs’’. 

Æ 


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