Twenty tonnes of uranium hexafluoride belonging to a bankrupt Swiss company in Olten in central Switzerland have been sold at auction for CHF 17 million ($19.2 million).

The name of the sole bidder and new owner of the radioactive gas was not disclosed. The item in question is 20.8 tonnes of uranium hexafluoride stored in 14 cylinders on the site of the Tricastin nuclear power plant in France, near Avignon, the bankruptcy office for the canton of Solothurn said on Friday.

Uranium hexafluoride is a highly volatile, toxic, radioactive and corrosive compound. It is used in the uranium enrichment process. This gas is part of the bankruptcy estate of the Olten-based trading company Nuexco Exchange. The company was dissolved in 1996.