35 Realising Australias uranium potential T o that end the Royal Commission released an issues paper calling for submissions in response to 13 questions Many of the questions related to issues of economic viability of the uranium trade Economic viability requires willing customers to pay a price for a product that covers the costs of production and provides a suffcient proft margin to compensate for the risks and opportunity costs of that production Suppliers must be able and willing to meet demand for the product at the market price Even in the most pessimistic International Energy Agency scenario there is signifcant demand for uranium It is not clear what market prices would prevail under that scenario but it is very likely that many uranium producers would exit the industry having lost some or all of their investment Under other scenarios demand for uranium rises and quite likely market prices would rise too Other questions that the Royal Commission poses relate to government policy What could or should government do to promote the industry T o be clear there is no case for direct government assistance to the uranium industry There is however a case to be made for regulatory reform and improvements to the business environment South Australia is behind Canada Saskatchewan for example in mining regulation Many of the indicators examined encourage mining investment in Canada Saskatchewan but are neutral or even mild discouragements in South Australia Ideally business would make commercial decisions in an environment that was broadly supportive of greater investment and expansion Nuclear F uel Cycle Royal Commission Issues paper one exploration extraction and milling Adelaide April 2015 The South Australian government has established a Royal Commission to consider the feasibility of exp anding the current level of exploration extraction and milling of m inerals containing radioactive material Box 5 The South Australian Nuclear F uel Cycle Royal Commission