Jordan and France will sign an agreement next week for the mining of the kingdom's uranium reserves, Jordan Times has reported. The Jordan French Uranium Mining Co, a joint venture between French mining company Areva and Jordan Energy Resources Inc., has been operating within a 1,400-square-kilometre concession area. The resource is vital to the kingdom's nuclear energy programme, which is expected to provide up to 30% of Jordan's electricity by 2025. The country's first nuclear power plant, a 1,000 megawatt Generation III reactor, is expected to be built in a location in Aqaba, inland and west of the port city, within the next decade.