RIO Tinto's Australian uranium miner plans to broaden its relationship with China and secure further customers from the region.

Energy Resources of Australia -- a Rio subsidiary -- was the first Australian miner to ship uranium to China last year, a move it plans to expand.

ERA chief executive Rob Atkinson said he expected to secure further business from China, as its need for nuclear energy grew.

Mr Atkinson, who has just returned from a tour of China, Taiwan and South Korea, said the company had developed a strong relationship with China since it shipped uranium there last year, and that he hoped to develop it further.

"It was a visit to the customers and excellent timing for me. It is still a small market compared to our other customers, but very positive," he said.

Mr Atkinson's comments come as the miner's biggest rival, BHP Billiton, announced it would stick to its controversial plan to send uranium-infused copper concentrate to China for processing, under plans to expand its Olympic Dam mine.

In its draft environmental impact statement for the Olympic Dam expansion, released in Adelaide on Friday, BHP outlined detailed plans for the project to tap into the world's largest known uranium body.

Mr Atkinson said the Chinese were expecting a huge increase in nuclear power use over the coming years, with plans for the country's nuclear power capacity to hit 70 gigawatts by 2020, and further plans to double and even triple the capacity.

"One of the key concerns for us with China was around the very aggressive nuclear build program and how that would be hit by the current economic climate," he said.

"There was a huge amount of assurance from our customers and the Government that the nuclear power plants were part of the economic stimulus. There is no doubt in their minds that the nuclear power plants will be built and will go ahead. Given the level of build they are expecting, I fully expect we will be a key customer of theirs into the future."

China's interest in securing Australia's resources is widely known, but its focus on uranium has recently gained momentum, with reports that key governing bodies were seeking exposure to local projects.

The China National Nuclear Corporation, the country's body governing all supply of nuclear fuel for power generation, has reportedly held preliminary talks with Australian uranium miners.

Mr Atkinson said the interest was increasing, but ERA had not been approached, though he expected some of the juniors or exploration-based companies could have been targeted. 

"Whether it is through the Northern Territory Government or the Australian diplomats in China, there is a significant amount of interest in China in Australian uranium projects," he said. 

Mr Atkinson added that while interest in Australia was growing, the country still only had a small number of mines and it would be some time before more were established. 

"Australia really only has a handful of uranium mines. The WA developments are very interesting, but given the current economic challenges and access to capital, the rate at which new uranium mines come on has been somewhat slowed," he said. 

The head of the world's third largest uranium miner also said the exciting outlook for the sector was not just the potential in China, but in other countries around the world. 

"In Japan and South Korea, they are all building new reactors, as is the US. There are many indicators suggesting that the future of domestic nuclear power is very promising," he said. 

ERA had one of the most prospective ore bodies in the world and had a significant find last year with Ranger 3 Deeps, which Mr Atkinson said would go towards meeting the increasing demand. 

"There has been a step change in the sector centred on the greenhouse gas issue," he said. 

"There has been a number of factors that has said nuclear is a safe, reliable and clean source of energy. There's going to be a sustained focus on uranium in the future."