Rio Tinto to grow uranium business

Global mining giant Rio Tinto Group is looking into opportunities for growth in uranium business, predicting an uptick in the industry driven by China's rising demand for the nuclear fuel.

"Uranium has been a tough business since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, but the uranium market will recover with new nuclear power plants coming on in China and other countries in the world," said Sam Walsh, chief executive of the company.

Rio Tinto has uranium-related operations in Australia and Namibia and potential projects in Canada after it completed the acquisition of Hathor Exploration Ltd, a uranium exploration company with assets in the Athabasca Basin region of Saskatchewan, in 2012.