The discovery was the result of a study by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is committed to understanding how uranium disappeared.
2.5 million tonnes of natural uranium has disappeared in Libya, in an area not controlled by the country’s government, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a UN agency.
The nuclear watchdog reported its findings to member states on Wednesday in a statement accessed by Reuters.
IAEA inspectors “found about 2.5 million tons of uranium missing,” the memo said.
According to the organization, there was a record of this material being stored at the site.
In a one-page document, the IAEA confirms that it will take the necessary steps to locate the missing material and understand how it could not be stored at the location in question.
The discovery is the result of a field investigation by UN inspectors for nuclear energy, which was postponed because safety requirements were not met at the time.
In 2003, Libya, still under the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi, abandoned its nuclear weapons program. The country is going through a period of political turmoil as it awaits elections to replace a UN-backed interim government in 2021. Suffrage should have taken place in December of that year.