Uranium deposits were identified among several other minerals in six weredas of the eastern region, including Harar Kersa, Babile, Girawa, Midaga, and Faddis. An outcome of a two-year survey on the prospect for mineral resources across Ethiopia, the reports of the uranium deposits surfaced as the federal government considers utilising the mineral as an alternative power source, next to hydropower.

This gives hope, offering a reason for officials and experts at the Geological Survey of Ethiopia (GSE) to be upbeat.

Ethiopia has ambitious plans of generating 1,200mw of electricity from nuclear energy in 25 years. Russia and Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding in 2019, setting out a three-year plan to lay the ground for creating a centre for nuclear science and technology.

Bekele Tefera, a geologist who worked on the GSE uranium survey, relates that the initiation for the survey was prompted by findings from an aerial survey carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"After the lead from that survey, we've measured radioactivity to identify host rock areas potent for the uranium mineral-like granite or sandstone, which can be found in most regions," he told Fortune.

GSE's studies and surveys are conducted following the government's priorities. The latest one, which almost took two and half years, targeted discovering industrial minerals such as coal and iron ore and strategic minerals such as gold, aiming to reduce foreign currency demands for their imports or boost the reserve from export proceeds.

The survey involved around 100 people, including geologists, geophysicists, and geochemists. Experts at GSE claim that they have discerned a total of 50 deposit sites, of which 29 are rich sediment gold deposits discovered in Sidama, Oromia, and Benishangul-Gumuz regional states. Two tonnes of gold were extracted from each of the latter two regions over the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. Ethiopia exported over half a billion dollars worth of gold over the same period.

The survey results have also identified areas rich with iron ore deposits in western Gojjam, Merto Le Maryam and Mekane Selam, and southern Wello of the Amhara Regional State. More than 800 million dollars was spent on importing iron reinforcement bars in 2018, accounting for over five percent of total imports.