PNC Exploration is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation of Japan, which is owned and directed by the Japanese government. They are active across the world, but especially in Australia and Canada with several Joint Ventures. Favourite partners read like a "who's who" of global uranium mining and include Cogema, Cameco, WMC and Uranerz. PNC also maintain active business interests in many aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, including high-level waste management and other parts of the cycle.

In Japan, they are more famous for their accidents and complete lack of safety culture. For example ⁽²⁾ :

• August 1997 - Rainwater is discovered seeping into a storage pit containing drums of high-level waste at the Tokaimura plant. A government investigation later shows that Donen (the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation) had cut £5 million from the budget for constructing and maintaining the pit.
• May 1998 - Donen is disbanded and replaced by Genden (Japan Atomic Power Company, now just "JNC"). However, most Donen staff and offices are retained by Genden.

They are involved in uranium exploration and have a long history across WA, SA and NT. Their most infamous involvement is at the medium-sized Mulga Rock deposits in central WA. In 1983, PNC developed a trial mine at the site and dug an exploration pit 30 metres deep and 200 metres long. Uranium ore was removed from this pit packed into 44 gallon drums and transported back to Japan for further treatment and testing.

During a review of their Australian activities in 1997 and again in 1998, PNC announced that they intend to wind down their exploration activities over the next 5 years ⁽¹⁾. Don't hold one's breath though - they are still applying for new exploration leases across SA with WMC (presumably hoping to find a new Roxby miracle), and are yet to sell their interests in Arnhem Land either.