Uranium mining

Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50,000 tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account for 68% of world production. Other countries producing more than 1,000 tons per year included Namibia, Niger, Russia, Uzbekistan and China.^[2] Nearly all of the world's mined uranium is used to power nuclear power plants. Historically uranium was also used in applications such as uranium glass or ferrouranium but those applications have declined due to the radioactivity and toxicity of uranium and are nowadays mostly supplied with a plentiful cheap supply of depleted uranium which is also used in uranium ammunition. In addition to being cheaper, depleted uranium is also less radioactive due to a lower content of short-lived ²³⁴
U and ²³⁵
U than natural uranium.

Uranium is mined by

) from that feedstock.

Before 1789, when

Around 1850, uranium mining began in

In 1898,

In 1913, the

Atomic age

In 1922,

According to Richard Rhodes, referring to German uranium research, "Auer, the thorium specialists ... delivered the first ton of pure uranium oxide processed from Joachimsthal ores to the War Office in January 1940. In June 1940 ... Auer ordered sixty tons of refined uranium oxide from the Union Miniére in occupied Belgium."^[7]

While the Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan and the

The seventeen towns and mines under Wismut's control contributed 50 percent of the uranium used in the Soviet's first atomic bomb,

^{: 135–142, 151–157, 161–167, 173–176}

By 1975, 75% of global uranium ore production came from quartz-pebble conglomerates and sandstones located in the Elliot Lake area of Canada, Witwatersrand, and the Colorado Plateau.^[10]

In 1990, 55% of world production came from underground mines, but this shrank to 33% by 1999. From 2000, new Canadian mines again increased the proportion of underground mining, and with Olympic Dam it is now 37%. In situ leach (ISL, or ISR) mining has been steadily increasing its share of the total, mainly due to Kazakhstan.^[11]

In 2009, top producing mines included the

Deposit types

Many different types of uranium deposits have been discovered and mined. There are mainly three types of uranium deposits including unconformity-type deposits, namely paleoplacer deposits and sandstone-type, also known as roll front type deposits.^{[clarification needed]}

Uranium deposits are classified into 15 categories according to their geological setting and the type of rock in which they are found. This geological classification system is determined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).^[13]

Uranium is also contained in seawater but at present prices on the uranium market, costs would have to be lowered by a factor of 3–6 to make its recovery economical.^[14]

Uranium deposits in sedimentary rocks include those in sandstone (in Canada and the western US),^[15] Precambrian unconformities (in Canada),^[15] phosphate,^[15] Precambrian quartz-pebble conglomerate, collapse breccia pipes (see Arizona breccia pipe uranium mineralization), and

.

Sandstone uranium deposits are generally of two types. Roll-front type deposits occur at the boundary between the up dip and oxidized part of a sandstone body and the deeper down dip reduced part of a sandstone body. Peneconcordant sandstone uranium deposits, also called Colorado Plateau–type deposits, most often occur within generally oxidized sandstone bodies, often in localized reduced zones, such as in association with carbonized wood in the sandstone.

Precambrian quartz-pebble conglomerate-type uranium deposits occur only in rocks older than two billion years old. The conglomerates also contain pyrite. These deposits have been mined in the Blind River–Elliot Lake district of Ontario, Canada, and from the gold-bearing Witwatersrand conglomerates of South Africa.

Unconformity-type deposits make up about 33% of the World Outside Centrally Planned Economies Areas' (WOCA) uranium deposits.^[16]

Hydrothermal uranium deposits encompass the vein-type uranium ores. Vein-type hydrothermal uranium deposits represent epigenetic concentrations of uranium minerals that typically fill breccias, fractures, and shear zones.

Breccia

Breccia uranium deposits are found in rocks that have been broken due to tectonic fracturing, or weathering. Breccia uranium deposits are most common in India, Australia and the United States.[20] A large mass of breccia is called a breccia pipe or chimney and is composed of the rock forming an irregular and almost cylinder-like shape. The origin of breccia pipe is uncertain but it is thought that they form on intersections and faults.  When the formations are found solid in ground host rock called rock flour, it usually is often a site for copper or uranium mining. Copper Creek, Arizona, is home to approximately 500 mineralized breccia pipes and Cripple Creek, Colorado, also is a site that contains breccia pipe ore deposits that is associated with a volcanic pipe.

Olympic Dam mine, the world's largest uranium deposit, was discovered by Western Mining Corporation in 1975 and is owned by BHP.^[21]

Uranium prospecting is similar to other forms of mineral exploration with the exception of some specialized instruments for detecting the presence of radioactive isotopes.

The Geiger counter was the original radiation detector, recording the total count rate from all energy levels of radiation. Ionization chambers and Geiger counters were first adapted for field use in the 1930s. The first transportable Geiger–Müller counter (weighing 25 kg) was constructed at the University of British Columbia in 1932. H.V. Ellsworth of the GSC built a lighter weight, more practical unit in 1934. Subsequent models were the principal instruments used for uranium prospecting for many years, until geiger counters were replaced by scintillation counters.

The use of airborne detectors to prospect for radioactive minerals was first proposed by G. C. Ridland, a geophysicist working at

.

Airborne gamma-ray spectrometry is now the accepted leading technique for uranium prospecting with worldwide applications for geological mapping, mineral exploration & environmental monitoring. Airborne gamma-ray spectrometry used specifically for uranium measurement and prospecting must account for a number of factors like the distance between the source and the detector and the scattering of radiation through the minerals, surrounding earth and even in the air. In Australia, a Weathering Intensity Index has been developed to help prospectors based on the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) elevation and airborne gamma-ray spectrometry images.^[22]

A deposit of uranium, discovered by geophysical techniques, is evaluated and sampled to determine the amounts of uranium materials that are extractable at specified costs from the deposit.

From 2008 through at least 2024, the only four countries that have reported non-domestic uranium exploration and development expenses are: China, Japan, France, and Russia.[26]^: 205

The U.S. is investigating whether China is circumventing a ban on Russian uranium imports by exporting its uranium to the U.S. while importing enriched uranium from Russia. This inquiry follows a spike in Chinese uranium exports to the U.S. after the December 2023 ban, which aimed to cut off funding for Russia's war in Ukraine.^[27]

As with other types of

Open pit

Rössing open pit uranium mine

, Namibia

In open pit mining, overburden is removed by drilling and blasting to expose the ore body, which is then mined by blasting and excavation using loaders and dump trucks. Workers spend much time in enclosed cabins thus limiting exposure to radiation. Water is extensively used to suppress airborne dust levels. Groundwater is an issue in all types of mining, but in open pit mining, the usual way of dealing with it – i.e. when the target mineral is found below the natural water table – is to lower the water table by pumping off the water. The ground may settle considerably when groundwater is removed and may again move unpredictably when groundwater is allowed to rise again after mining is concluded. Land reclamation after mining takes different routes, depending on the amount of material removed. Due to the high energy density of uranium, it is often sufficient to fill in the former mine with the overburden, but in case of a mass deficit exceeding the height difference between the previous surface level and the natural water table, artificial lakes develop when groundwater removal ceases. If sulfites, sulfides or sulfates are present in the now-exposed rocks acid mine drainage can be a concern for those newly developing bodies of water. Mining companies are now required by law to establish a fund for future reclamation while mining is ongoing and those funds are usually deposited in such a way as to be unaffected by bankruptcy of the mining company.

If the uranium is too far below the surface for open pit mining, an underground mine might be used with tunnels and shafts dug to access and remove uranium ore.

Underground uranium mining is in principle no different from any other

where the ore is mined from the veins.

The stope, which is the workshop of the mine, is the excavation from which the ore is extracted. Three methods of stope mining are commonly used. In the "cut and fill" or "open stoping" method, the space remaining following removal of ore after blasting is filled with waste rock and cement. In the "shrinkage" method, only sufficient broken ore is removed via the chutes below to allow miners working from the top of the pile to drill and blast the next layer to be broken off, eventually leaving a large hole. The method known as "room and pillar" is used for thinner, flatter ore bodies. In this method the ore body is first divided into blocks by intersecting drives, removing ore while so doing, and then systematically removing the blocks, leaving enough ore for roof support.

The health effects discovered from

technology, a method of extraction that does not produce the same occupational hazards, or mine tailings, as conventional mining.

With regulations in place to ensure the use of high volume ventilation technology if any confined space uranium mining is occurring, occupational exposure and mining deaths can be largely eliminated.

Heap leaching

Heap leaching is an extraction process by which chemicals (usually sulfuric acid) are used to extract the economic element from ore which has been mined and placed in piles on the surface. Heap leaching is generally economically feasible only for oxide ore deposits. Oxidation of sulfide deposits occurs during the geological process called weathering. Therefore, oxide ore deposits are typically found close to the surface. If there are no other economic elements within the ore a mine might choose to extract the uranium using a leaching agent, usually a low molar sulfuric acid.

If the economic and geological conditions are right, the mining company will level large areas of land with a small gradient, layering it with thick plastic (usually

), sometimes with clay, silt or sand beneath the plastic liner. The extracted ore will typically be run through a crusher and placed in heaps atop the plastic. The leaching agent will then be sprayed on the ore for 30–90 days. As the leaching agent filters through the heap, the uranium will break its bonds with the oxide rock and enter the solution. The solution will then filter along the gradient into collecting pools which will then be pumped to on-site plants for further processing. Only some of the uranium (commonly about 70%) is actually extracted.

The uranium concentrations within the solution are very important for the efficient separation of pure uranium from the acid. As different heaps will yield different concentrations, the solution is pumped to a mixing plant that is carefully monitored. The properly balanced solution is then pumped into a processing plant where the uranium is separated from the sulfuric acid.

Heap leach is significantly cheaper than traditional milling processes. The low costs allow for lower grade ore to be economically feasible (given that it is the right type of ore body). US environmental law requires that the surrounding ground water is continually monitored for possible contamination. The mine will also have to have continued monitoring even after the shutdown of the mine. In the past mining companies would sometimes go bankrupt, leaving the responsibility of mine reclamation to the public. 21st century additions to US mining law require that companies set aside the money for reclamation before the beginning of the project. The money will be held by the public to insure adherence to environmental standards if the company were to ever go bankrupt.^[32]

In-situ leaching (ISL), also known as solution mining, or in-situ recovery (ISR) in North America, involves leaving the ore where it is in the ground, and recovering the minerals from it by dissolving them and pumping the pregnant solution to the surface where the minerals can be recovered. Consequently, there is little surface disturbance and no tailings or waste rock generated. However, the orebody needs to be permeable to the liquids used, and located so that they do not contaminate ground water away from the orebody.

Uranium ISL uses the native groundwater in the orebody which is fortified with a complexing agent and in most cases an oxidant. It is then pumped through the underground orebody to recover the minerals in it by leaching. Once the pregnant solution is returned to the surface, the uranium is recovered in much the same way as in any other uranium plant (mill).

In Australian ISL mines (Beverley, Four Mile and Honeymoon Mine) the oxidant used is hydrogen peroxide and the complexing agent sulfuric acid. Kazakh ISL mines generally do not employ an oxidant but use much higher acid concentrations in the circulating solutions. ISL mines in the USA use an alkali leach due to the presence of significant quantities of acid-consuming minerals such as gypsum and limestone in the host aquifers. Any more than a few percent carbonate minerals means that alkali leach must be used in preference to the more efficient acid leach.

The Australian government has published a best practice guide for in situ leach mining of uranium, which is being revised to take account of international differences.^[33]

The uranium concentration in sea water is low, approximately 3.3

compounds has occurred since the 1960s in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan, this research was halted due to low recovery efficiency.

At the Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI Takasaki Research Establishment), research and development has continued culminating in the production of adsorbent by irradiation of polymer fiber. Adsorbents have been synthesized that have a functional group (

is high, approximately tenfold greater in comparison to the conventional titanium oxide adsorbent.

One method of extracting uranium from seawater is using a uranium-specific nonwoven fabric as an adsorbent. The total amount of uranium recovered from three collection boxes containing 350 kg of fabric was >1 kg of yellowcake after 240 days of submersion in the ocean.^[37] The experiment by Seko et al. was repeated by Tamada et al. in 2006. They found that the cost varied from ¥15,000 to ¥88,000 depending on assumptions and "The lowest cost attainable now is ¥25,000 with 4g-U/kg-adsorbent used in the sea area of Okinawa, with 18 repetitionuses [sic]." With the May, 2008 exchange rate, this was about $240/kg-U.^[38]

In 2012,

In 2012 it was estimated that this fuel source could be extracted at 10 times the current price of uranium.[42] In 2014, with the advances made in the efficiency of seawater uranium extraction, it was suggested that it would be economically competitive to produce fuel for light water reactors from seawater if the process was implemented at large scale.^[43] Uranium extracted on an industrial scale from seawater would constantly be replenished by both river erosion of rocks and the natural process of uranium dissolved from the surface area of the ocean floor, both of which maintain the solubility equilibria of seawater concentration at a stable level.^[44] Some commentators have argued that this strengthens the case for nuclear power to be considered a renewable energy.^[45]

Uranium can be recovered as a by-product along with other co-products such as molybdenum, vanadium, nickel, zinc and petroleum products. Uranium is also often found in

also contains significant amounts of uranium and has been suggested as a source for uranium extraction.

Uranium occurs naturally in many rocks, and even in seawater. However, like other metals, it is seldom sufficiently concentrated to be economically recoverable.^[46] Like any resource, uranium cannot be mined at any desired concentration. No matter the technology, at some point it is too costly to mine lower grade ores. Mining companies usually consider concentrations greater than 0.075% (750 ppm) as ore, or rock economical to mine at current uranium market prices.^[47] There are around 40 trillion tons of uranium in Earth's crust, but most is distributed at trace concentration over its 3×10¹⁹ ton mass.^[48][49] Estimates of the amount concentrated into ores affordable to extract for under $130 per kg can be less than a millionth of that total.^[50]

Uranium grades^[51]

Source	Concentration
Very high-grade ore – 20% U	200,000 ppm U
High-grade ore – 2% U	20,000 ppm U
Low-grade ore – 0.1% U	1,000 ppm U
Very low-grade ore – 0.01% U	100 ppm U
Granite	4–5 ppm U
Sedimentary rock	2 ppm U
Earth's continental crust (av)	2.8 ppm U
Seawater	0.003 ppm U

Economically extractable reserves of uranium (0.01% ore or better)^[52]

Ore concentration	tonnes of uranium	Ore type
>1%	10000	vein deposits
0.2–1%	2 million	pegmatites, unconformity deposits
0.1–0.2%	80 million	fossil placers, sandstones
0.02–0.1%	100 million	lower grade fossil placers, sandstones
100–200 ppm	2 billion	volcanic deposits
The table assumes the fuel will be used in a LWR burner. Uranium becomes far more economical when used in a fast burner reactor such as the Integral Fast Reactor .

Uranium-235, the fissile isotope of uranium used in nuclear reactors, makes up about 0.7% of uranium from ore. It is the only naturally occurring isotope capable of directly generating nuclear power. While uranium-235 can be "bred" from ²³⁴
U, a natural decay product of ²³⁸
U present at 55

Due to the currently low price of uranium, the majority of commercial ]

Breeder reactor technology could allow the current reserves of uranium to provide power for humanity for billions of years, thus making nuclear power a sustainable energy.^[55][56]

Reserves are the most readily available resources.^[57] About 96% of the global uranium reserves are found in these ten countries: Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Brazil, Namibia, Uzbekistan, the United States, Niger, and Russia.^[58]

The known uranium resources represent a higher level of assured resources than is normal for most minerals. Further exploration and higher prices will certainly, on the basis of present geological knowledge, yield further resources as present ones are used up. There was very little uranium exploration between 1985 and 2005, so the significant increase in exploration effort that we are now seeing could readily double the known economic resources. On the basis of analogies with other metal minerals, a doubling of price from price levels in 2007 could be expected to create about a tenfold increase in measured resources, over time.^[59]

Known conventional resources are resources that are known to exist and easy to mine.^[57] In 2006, there were about 4 million tons of conventional resources.^[60] In 2011, this increased to 7 million tonnes. Exploration for uranium has increased: from 1981 to 2007, annual exploration expenditures grew modestly, from US$4 million to US$7 million. This increased to US$11 million in 2011.^[61]

The world's largest deposits of uranium are found in three countries. Australia has just over 30% of the world's reasonably assured resources and inferred resources of uranium – about 1.673 megatonnes (3.69×10^⁹ lb).^[46] Kazakhstan has about 12% of the world's reserves, or about 651 kilotonnes (1.4×10^⁹ lb).^[62] Canada has 485 kilotonnes (1,100×10^⁶ lb) of uranium, representing about 9%.^[46]

Undiscovered conventional resources are resources that are thought to exist but have not been mined.^[57] It will take a significant exploration and development effort to locate the remaining deposits and begin mining them. However, since the entire earth's geography has not been explored for uranium at this time, there is still the potential to discover exploitable resources.^[63] The OECD Redbook cites areas still open to exploration throughout the world. Many countries are conducting complete aeromagnetic gradiometer radiometric surveys to get an estimate the size of their undiscovered mineral resources. Combined with a gamma-ray survey, these methods can locate undiscovered uranium and thorium deposits.^[64] The U.S. Department of Energy conducted the first and only national uranium assessment in 1980 – the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program.^[65]

Secondary uranium resources are recovered from other sources such as nuclear weapons, inventories, reprocessing and re-enrichment. Since secondary resources have exceedingly low discovery costs and very low production costs, they have displaced a significant portion of primary production.^[66] In 2017, about 7% of uranium demand was met from secondary resources.^[67][68]

Due to reduction in nuclear weapons stockpiles, a large amount of former weapons uranium was released for use in civilian nuclear reactors. As a result, starting in 1990, a significant portion of uranium nuclear power requirements were supplied by former weapons uranium, rather than newly mined uranium. In 2002, mined uranium supplied only 54 percent of nuclear power requirements.^[69] But as the supply of former weapons uranium has been used up, mining has increased, so that in 2012, mining provided 95 percent of reactor requirements, and the OCED Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency projected that the gap in supply would be completely erased in 2013.^[70][71]

Inventories are kept by a variety of organizations – government, commercial and others.^[72][73]

The US DOE keeps inventories for security of supply to cover for emergencies where uranium is not available at any price.^[74]

Both the US and Russia have committed to recycle their nuclear weapons into fuel for electricity production. This program is known as the Megatons to Megawatts Program.^[75] Down blending 500 tonnes (1,100×10^³ lb) of Russian weapons high enriched uranium (HEU) will result in about 15 kilotonnes (33,000×10^³ lb) of low enriched uranium (LEU) over 20 years. This is equivalent to about 152 kilotonnes (340×10^⁶ lb) of natural U, or just over twice annual world demand. Since 2000, 30 tonnes (66×10^³ lb) of military HEU is displacing about 10.6 kilotonnes (23×10^⁶ lb) of uranium oxide mine production per year which represents some 13% of world reactor requirements.^[76] The Megatons to Megawatts program came to an end in 2013.^[75]

Plutonium recovered from nuclear weapons or other sources can be blended with uranium fuel to produce a mixed-oxide fuel. In June 2000, the US and Russia agreed to dispose of 34 kilotonnes (75×10^⁶ lb) each of weapons-grade plutonium by 2014. The US undertook to pursue a self-funded dual track program (immobilization and MOX). The G-7 nations provided US$1 billion to set up Russia's program. The latter was initially MOX specifically designed for VVER reactors, the Russian version of the Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), the high cost being because this was not part of Russia's fuel cycle policy. This MOX fuel for both countries is equivalent to about 12 kilotonnes (26×10^⁶ lb) of natural uranium.^[77] The U.S. also has commitments to dispose of 151 tonnes (330×10^³ lb) of non-waste HEU.^[78]

Nuclear reprocessing (or recycling) can increase the supply of uranium by separating the uranium from spent nuclear fuel. Spent nuclear fuel is primarily composed of uranium, with a typical concentration of around 96% by mass.^[79] The composition of reprocessed uranium depends on the time the fuel has been in the reactor, but it is mostly uranium-238, with about 1% uranium-235, 1% uranium-236 and smaller amounts of other isotopes including uranium-232.

Currently, there are eleven reprocessing plants in the world. Of these, two are large-scale commercially operated plants for the reprocessing of spent fuel elements from light water reactors with throughputs of more than 1 kilotonne (2.2×10^⁶ lb) of uranium per year. These are La Hague, France with a capacity of 1.6 kilotonnes (3.5×10^⁶ lb) per year and Sellafield, England at 1.2 kilotonnes (2.6×10^⁶ lb) uranium per year. The rest are small experimental plants.^[80] The two large-scale commercial reprocessing plants together can reprocess 2,800 tonnes of uranium waste annually.^[81] The United States had reprocessing plants in the past but banned reprocessing in the late 1970s due to the high costs and the risk of nuclear proliferation via plutonium.

The main problems with uranium reprocessing are the cost of mined uranium compared to the cost of reprocessing,^[82][83] At present, reprocessing and the use of plutonium as reactor fuel is far more expensive than using uranium fuel and disposing of the spent fuel directly – even if the fuel is only reprocessed once.^[84] Reprocessing is most useful as part of a nuclear fuel cycle using fast-neutron reactors since reprocessed uranium and reactor-grade plutonium both have isotopic compositions not optimal for use in today's thermal-neutron reactors.

Unconventional resources are occurrences that require novel technologies for their exploitation and/or use. Often unconventional resources occur in low-concentration. The exploitation of unconventional uranium requires additional research and development efforts for which there is no imminent economic need, given the large conventional resource base and the option of reprocessing spent fuel.^[85] Phosphates, seawater, uraniferous coal ash, and some type of oil shales are examples of unconventional uranium resources.

Uranium occurs at concentrations of 50 to 200 parts per million (ppm) in phosphate-laden earth or

There are 22 million tons of uranium in phosphate deposits. Recovery of uranium from phosphates is a mature technology;^[85] it has been used in Belgium and the United States, but high recovery costs limit the use of these resources, with estimated production costs in the range of US$60–100/kgU including capital investment, according to a 2003 OECD report for a new 100 tU/year project.^[87] Historical operating costs for the uranium recovery from phosphoric acid range from $48–$119/kg U₃O₈.^[88] In 2011, the average price paid for U₃O₈ in the United States was $122.66/kg.^[89]

Worldwide, approximately 400 wet-process

Seawater

Unconventional uranium resources include up to 4,000 megatonnes (8,800×10^⁹ lb) of uranium contained in sea water. Several technologies to extract uranium from sea water have been demonstrated at the laboratory scale. According to the OECD, uranium may be extracted from seawater for about US$300/kgU.[87]

In 2012,

Uraniferous coal ash

fly ash.^[96] As predicted by ORNL to cumulatively amount to 2.9 million tons over the 1937–2040 period, from the combustion of an estimated 637 billion tons of coal worldwide.^[97]

According to a study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the theoretical maximum energy potential (when used in breeder reactors) of trace uranium and thorium in coal actually exceeds the energy released by burning the coal itself.^[97] This is despite very low concentration of uranium in coal of only several parts per million average before combustion.

From 1965 to 1967 Union Carbide operated a mill in North Dakota, United States, burning uraniferous lignite and extracting uranium from the ash. The plant produced about 150 metric tons of U₃O₈ before shutting down.^[98]

An international consortium has set out to explore the commercial extraction of uranium from uraniferous coal ash from coal power stations located in Yunnan province, China.^[85] The first laboratory scale amount of yellowcake uranium recovered from uraniferous coal ash was announced in 2007.^[99] The three coal power stations at Xiaolongtang, Dalongtang and Kaiyuan have piled up their waste ash. Initial tests from the Xiaolongtang ash pile indicate that the material contains (160–180 parts per million uranium), suggesting a total of 2.085 kilotonnes (4.60×10^⁶ lb) U₃O₈ could be recovered from that ash pile alone.^[99]

Some oil shales contain uranium, which may be recovered as a byproduct. Between 1946 and 1952, a marine type of Dictyonema shale was used for uranium production in Sillamäe, Estonia, and between 1950 and 1989 alum shale was used in Sweden for the same purpose.^[100]

A breeder reactor produces more nuclear fuel than it consumes and thus can extend the uranium supply. It typically turns the dominant isotope in natural uranium, uranium-238, into fissile plutonium-239. This results in a hundredfold increase in the amount of energy to be produced per mass unit of uranium, because uranium-238, which comprises 99.3% of natural uranium, is not used in conventional reactors, which instead use uranium-235 (comprising 0.7% of natural uranium).^[101] In 1983, physicist Bernard Cohen proposed that the world supply of uranium is effectively inexhaustible, and could therefore be considered a form of renewable energy.^[56][55] He claims that

There are two types of breeders: fast breeders and thermal breeders. Efforts at commercializing breeder reactors have been largely unsuccessful, due to higher costs and complexity compared to LWR, as well as political opposition.[102] A few commercial breeder reactors exist. In 2016, the Russian

as needed. The

Fast breeder

Main article:

Fast breeder reactor

A fast breeder, in addition to consuming uranium-235, converts

Uranium turned out to be far more plentiful than anticipated, and the price of uranium declined rapidly (with an upward blip in the 1970s). This is why the United States halted their use in 1977,[105] and the UK abandoned the idea in 1994.^[106] Significant technical and materials problems were encountered with FBRs, and geological exploration showed that scarcity of uranium was not going to be a concern for some time. By the 1980s, due to both factors, it was clear that FBRs would not be commercially competitive with existing light water reactors. The economics of FBRs still depend on the value of the plutonium fuel which is bred, relative to the cost of fresh uranium.^[107]

At higher uranium prices breeder reactors may be economically justified. Many nations have ongoing breeder research programs. China, India, and Japan plan large scale use of breeder reactors during the coming decades. 300 reactor-years experience has been gained in operating them.^[108]

Fissile uranium can be produced from

.

Despite the thorium fuel cycle having a number of attractive features, development on a large scale can run into difficulties, mainly due to the complexity of fuel separation and reprocessing.^[109] Advocates for liquid core and

claim that these technologies negate the above-mentioned thorium's disadvantages present in solid-fueled reactors.

The first successful commercial reactor at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, New York, (Indian Point Unit 1) ran on thorium. The first core did not live up to expectations.^{[110][clarification needed]}

Uranium production is highly concentrated.^[26]: 191 The world's top uranium producers in 2017 were Kazakhstan (39% of world production), Canada (22%) and Australia (10%). Other major producers include Namibia (6.7%), Niger (6%), and Russia (5%).^[68] Uranium production in 2017 was 59,462 tonnes, 93% of the demand.^[67] The balance came from inventories held by utilities and other fuel cycle companies, inventories held by governments, used reactor fuel that has been reprocessed, recycled materials from military nuclear programs and uranium in depleted uranium stockpiles.^{[111][needs update]}

terawatt-hours

(TWh)

World annual commercial reactor-related uranium requirements amounted to around 60,100 tonnes as of January 2021.^[112]

As some countries are not able to supply their own needs of uranium economically, countries have resorted to importing uranium ore from elsewhere. For example, owners of U.S. nuclear power reactors bought 67 million pounds (30 kt) of natural uranium in 2006. Out of that 84%, or 56 million pounds (25 kt), were imported from foreign suppliers, according to the Energy Department.^[113]

Because of the improvements in gas centrifuge technology in the 2000s, replacing former gaseous diffusion plants, cheaper separative work units have enabled the economic production of more enriched uranium from a given amount of natural uranium, by re-enriching tails ultimately leaving a depleted uranium tail of lower enrichment. This has somewhat lowered the demand for natural uranium.^[114]

According to Cameco Corporation, the demand for uranium is directly linked to the amount of electricity generated by nuclear power plants. Currently, reactor capacity is growing slowly and reactors are being run more productively, with higher capacity factors and reactor power levels. Improved reactor performance translates into greater uranium consumption.^[115]

Nuclear power stations of 1000 megawatt electrical generation capacity require around 200 tonnes (440×10^³ lb) of natural uranium per year. For example, the United States has 103 operating reactors with an average generation capacity of 950 MWe demanded over 22 kilotonnes (49×10^⁶ lb) of natural uranium in 2005.^[116] As the number of nuclear power plants increases, so does the demand for uranium.

As nuclear power plants take a long time to build and refuelling is undertaken at sporadic, predictable intervals, uranium demand is rather predictable in the short term. It is also less dependent on short-term economic boom–bust cycles as nuclear power has one of strongest fixed costs to variable costs ratios (i.e. the

, which also led to the temporary shutdown of several German nuclear power plants.

Prices

Generally speaking, in the case of nuclear energy the cost of fuel has the lowest share in total energy costs of all fuel consuming energy forms (i.e. Fossil fuels, biomass and nuclear). Furthermore, given the immense energy density of nuclear fuel (particularly in the form of enriched uranium or high grade plutonium), it is easy to stockpile amounts of fuel material to last several years at constant consumption. Power plants that do not have

can have drastic effects on mining companies, prospection and the economic calculations as to whether a certain deposit is worthwhile for commercial purposes.

Since 1981 uranium prices and quantities in the US are reported by the Department of Energy.^[117][118] The import price dropped from 32.90 US$/lb-U₃O₈ in 1981 down to 12.55 in 1990 and to below 10 US$/lb-U₃O₈ in the year 2000. Prices paid for uranium during the 1970s were higher, 43 US$/lb-U₃O₈ is reported as the selling price for Australian uranium in 1978 by the Nuclear Information Centre. Uranium prices reached an all-time low in 2001, costing US$7/lb, but in April 2007 the price of Uranium on the spot market rose to US$113.00/lb,^[119] a high point of the uranium bubble of 2007. This was very close to the all time high (adjusted for inflation) in 1977.^[120]

Following the 2011

As of July 2014, the price of uranium concentrate remained near a five-year low, the uranium price having fallen more than 50% from the peak spot price in January 2011, reflecting the loss of Japanese demand following the 2011

Effect of price on mining and nuclear power plants

In general short term fluctuations in the price of uranium are of more concern to operators and owners of mines and potentially lucrative deposits than to power plant operators. Due to its high

Legality

Uranium mining is illegal in a number of jurisdictions. As uranium is often mined incidental to other minerals a ban in practice typically means that uranium is buried again at the mine after initial extraction.

Country/Territory	State / Province	Status	Notes
Australia	New South Wales	Illegal	banned in 1986. Prospecting is legal.
Australia	Victoria	Illegal	banned
Australia	South Australia	legal	One of the world's largest sources
Australia	Tasmania	legal	no active mines
Australia	Queensland	Illegal	banned
Australia	Northern Territory	legal	a long history of uranium mining
Australia	Western Australia	Illegal	ban lifted in 2008, reinstated in 2017
Indonesia	everywhere	legal	ban lifted
Greenland	everywhere	Illegal	banned in 2021
New Zealand	everywhere	Illegal	banned in 1996
United States of America	Virginia	Illegal	banned in 1982
Kyrgyzstan	everywhere	Illegal	banned in 2019
Kazakhstan	everywhere	legal	a major producer

In March 1951, the

^{: 131–135, 144–151, 157–161, 191–196}

In Europe a mixed situation exists. Considerable nuclear power capacities have been developed, notably in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. In many countries development of

The years 1976 and 1977 saw uranium mining become a major political issue in Australia, with the

The

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the help of China has built an extraction facility to obtain uranium yellowcake from uranium ore. According to Western officials with information regarding the extraction site, the process is conducted by the oil-rich kingdom to champion nuclear technology. However, Saudi Energy Minister denied having built a uranium ore facility and claimed that the extraction of minerals is a fundamental part of the kingdom's strategy to diversify its economy.[146]

Despite sanctions on Russia some countries still buy its uranium in 2022,^[147] and some argue the EU should stop.^[148] As of 2022^[update] S&P Global say non-Russian miners await more certainty before deciding whether to invest in new mines.^[149]

Uranium ore emits radon gas. The health effects of high exposure to radon are a particular problem in the mining of uranium; significant excess lung cancer deaths have been identified in epidemiological studies of uranium miners employed in the 1940s and 1950s.^{[150][151][152]}

The first major studies with radon and health occurred in the context of uranium mining, first in the

Safety standards requiring expensive ventilation were not widely implemented or policed during this period.[156] While radon exposure is the main source of lung cancer in non-smokers who aren't exposed to asbestos, there is evidence that the combination of smoking and radon exposure increases the risk above the combined risks of either harmful substance.^[157][158]

In studies of uranium miners, workers exposed to radon levels of 50 to 150 picocuries of radon per liter of air (2000–6000 Bq/m³) for about 10 years have shown an increased frequency of lung cancer.^[159] Statistically significant excesses in lung cancer deaths were present after cumulative exposures of less than 50 WLM.^[159] There is unexplained heterogeneity in these results (whose confidence intervals do not always overlap).^[160] The size of the radon-related increase in lung cancer risk varied by more than an order of magnitude between the different studies.^[161]

Since that time, ventilation and other measures have been used to reduce radon levels in most affected mines that continue to operate. In recent years, the average annual exposure of uranium miners has fallen to levels similar to the concentrations inhaled in some homes. This has reduced the risk of occupationally induced cancer from radon, although it still remains an issue both for those who are currently employed in affected mines and for those who have been employed in the past.^[161] The power to detect any excess risks in miners nowadays is likely to be small, exposures being much smaller than in the early years of mining.^[162] Coal mining in addition to other health risks can also expose miners to radon as uranium (and its decay product radon) are often found in and near coal deposits and can accumulate underground as radon is denser than air.^[163][164]

In the USA, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act provides compensation to sufferers of various health problems linked to radiation exposure, or to their surviving relatives. Uranium miners, uranium mill workers and uranium transport workers have been compensated under the scheme.

Despite efforts made in cleaning up uranium sites, significant problems stemming from the legacy of uranium development still exist today on the territory of the Navajo Nation and in the states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Hundreds of abandoned mines have not been cleaned up and present environmental and health risks in many communities.^[165] At the request of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in October 2007, and in consultation with the Navajo Nation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Indian Health Service (IHS), developed a coordinated Five-Year Plan to address uranium contamination.^[166] Similar interagency coordination efforts are beginning in the State of New Mexico as well. In 1978, Congress passed the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA), a measure designed to assist in the cleanup of 22 inactive ore-processing sites throughout the southwest. This also included constructing 19 disposal sites for the tailings, which contain a total of 40 million cubic yards of low-level radioactive material.^[167] The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there are 4000 mines with documented uranium production, and another 15,000 locations with uranium occurrences in 14 western states,^[168] most found in the Four Corners area and Wyoming.^[169]

The

Peak uranium

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Peak uranium is the point in time that the maximum global uranium production rate is reached. Predictions of peak uranium differ greatly. Pessimistic predictions of future high-grade uranium production operate on the thesis that either the peak has already occurred in the 1980s^[173] or that a second peak may occur sometime around 2035.^{[citation needed]} Optimistic predictions claim that the supply is far more than demand and do not predict peak uranium.

As of 2017^[update], identified uranium reserves recoverable at US$130/kg were 6.14 million tons (compared to 5.72 million tons in 2015). At the rate of consumption in 2017, these reserves are sufficient for slightly over 130 years of supply. The identified reserves as of 2017 recoverable at US$260/kg are 7.99 million tons (compared to 7.64 million tons in 2015).^[68]

The expected amount of usable uranium for nuclear power that is recoverable depends greatly on how it is used. The main factor is the nuclear technology:

Fast breeder reactors instead consume closer to 99% of uranium fuel. Another factor is the ability to extract uranium from seawater. About 4.5 billion tons of uranium are available from seawater at about 10 times the current price of uranium with current extraction technology, which is about a thousand times the known uranium reserves.^[174] The Earth's crust contains approximately 65 trillion tons of uranium, of which about 32 thousand tons flow into oceans per year via rivers, which are themselves fed via geological cycles of erosion, subduction and uplift.^[55]

The ability to extract uranium from seawater economically would therefore make uranium a renewable resource in practice.

Uranium can also be bred from thorium (which is itself 3–4 times as abundant as uranium) in certain breeder reactors, although there are currently no commercially practical thorium reactors in the world and their development would require substantial financial investment which is not justified given the current low prices of natural uranium.^[175]

Thirteen countries have hit peak and exhausted their economically recoverable uranium resources at current prices according to the Energy Watch Group.^[50]

In a similar manner to every other natural metal resource, for every tenfold increase in the cost per kilogram of uranium, there is a three-hundredfold increase in available lower quality ores that would then become economical.^[52] The theory could be observed in practice during the uranium bubble of 2007 when an unprecedented price hike led to investments in the development of uranium mining of lower quality deposits, which mostly became stranded assets after uranium prices returned to a lower level.

Uranium supply

Main article: Uranium market

There are around 40 trillion tons of uranium in Earth's crust, but most is distributed at low parts per million trace concentration over its 3×10¹⁹ ton mass.^[48][49] Estimates of the amount concentrated into ores affordable to extract for under $130/kg can be less than a millionth of that total.^[50]

One highly criticized

Olympic Dam is energy used in the mining of uranium, when that mine is predominantly a copper mine and uranium is produced only as a co-product, along with gold and other metals.^[176] The report by Jan Willem Storm van Leeuwen also assumes that all enrichment is done in the older and more energy intensive gaseous diffusion technology, whereas the less energy intensive gas centrifuge

technology has produced the majority of the world's enriched uranium now for a number of decades.

In the early days of the nuclear industry, uranium was thought to be very scarce, so a

MIT in 2003, and updated in 2009, stated that:^[178]

Most commentators conclude that a half century of unimpeded growth is possible, especially since resources costing several hundred dollars per kilogram (not estimated in the Red Book) would also be economically usable ... We believe that the world-wide supply of uranium ore is sufficient to fuel the deployment of 1000 reactors over the next half century.

Production

According to Robert Vance of the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency, the world production rate of uranium has already reached its peak in 1980, amounting to 69,683 tonnes (150×10^⁶ lb) of U₃O₈ from 22 countries. However, this is not due to lack of production capacity. Historically, uranium mines and mills around the world have operated at about 76% of total production capacity, varying within a range of 57% and 89%. The low production rates have been largely attributable to excess capacity. Slower growth of nuclear power and competition from secondary supply significantly reduced demand for freshly mined uranium until very recently. Secondary supplies include military and commercial inventories, enriched uranium tails, reprocessed uranium and mixed oxide fuel.[173]

According to data from the International Atomic Energy Agency, world production of mined uranium has peaked twice in the past: once, circa 1960 in response to stockpiling for military use, and again in 1980, in response to stockpiling for use in commercial nuclear power. Up until about 1990, the mined uranium production was in excess of consumption by power plants. But since 1990, consumption by power plants has outstripped the uranium being mined; the deficit being made up by liquidation of the military (through decommissioning of nuclear weapons) and civilian stockpiles. Uranium mining has increased since the mid-1990s, but is still less than the consumption by power plants.^[179]

Primary sources

Various agencies have tried to estimate how long uranium primary resources will last, assuming a

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), are enough to last for "at least a century" at current consumption rates.^[181][70] According to the World Nuclear Association, yet another industry group, assuming the world's current rate of consumption at 66,500 tonnes of uranium per year and the world's present measured resources of uranium (4.7–5.5 Mt)^[181] are enough to last for some 70–80 years.^[62]

Predictions

There have been numerous predictions of peak uranium in the past. In 1943,

US Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, distributed the press release "Known US Uranium Reserves Won't Meet Demand". It was recommended that the US not depend on foreign imports of uranium.^[182]

Pessimistic predictions

Many analysts predicted a uranium peak and exhaustion of uranium reserves in the past or the near future. Edward Steidle, Dean of the School of Mineral Industries at

Pennsylvania State College, predicted in 1952 that supplies of fissionable elements were too small to support commercial-scale energy production.^[185] Michael Meacher, the former environment minister of the UK (1997–2003), reports that peak uranium happened in 1981. He also predicts a major shortage of uranium sooner than 2013 accompanied with hoarding and its value pushed up to the levels of precious metals.^[186] M. C. Day projected in 1975 that uranium reserves could run out as soon as 1989, but, more optimistically, would be exhausted by 2015.^[184] Jan Willem Storm van Leeuwen, an independent analyst with Ceedata Consulting, contends that supplies of the high-grade uranium ore required to fuel nuclear power generation will, at current levels of consumption, last to about 2034. Afterwards, he expects the cost of energy to extract the uranium will exceed the price the electric power provided.^[187] The Energy Watch Group has calculated that, even with steep uranium prices, uranium production will have reached its peak by 2035 and that it will only be possible to satisfy the fuel demand of nuclear plants until then.^[188]

Various agencies have tried to estimate how long these resources will last. The European Commission said in 2001 that at the current level of uranium consumption, known uranium resources would last 42 years. When added to military and secondary sources, the resources could be stretched to 72 years. Yet this rate of usage assumes that nuclear power continues to provide only a fraction of the world's energy supply. If electric capacity were increased six-fold, then the 72-year supply would last just 12 years.

IAEA, the world's present measured resources of uranium, economically recoverable at a price of US$130/kg, are enough to last for 100 years at current consumption.^[70] According to the Australian Uranium Association, another industry group, assuming the world's current rate of consumption at 66,500 tonnes of uranium per year and the world's present measured resources of uranium (4.7 Mt) are enough to last for 70 years.^[62]

Optimistic predictions

All the following references claim that the supply is far more than demand. Therefore, they do not predict peak uranium. In his 1956 paper,

plutonium economy never materialized. Without it, uranium is used up in a once-through process and will peak and run out much sooner.^{[189][unreliable source?}

] However, at present, it is generally found to be cheaper to mine new uranium out of the ground than to use reprocessed uranium, and therefore the use of reprocessed uranium is limited to only a few nations.

The OECD estimates that with the world nuclear electricity generating rates of 2002, with LWR, once-through fuel cycle, there are enough conventional resources to last 85 years using known resources and 270 years using known and as yet undiscovered resources. With breeders, this is extended to 8,500 years.[190]

If one is willing to pay $300/kg for uranium, there is a vast quantity available in the ocean.^[70] It is worth noting that since fuel cost only amounts to a small fraction of nuclear energy total cost per kWh, and raw uranium price also constitutes a small fraction of total fuel costs, such an increase on uranium prices would not involve a very significant increase in the total cost per kWh produced.

In 1983, physicist

fast breeder reactors, fueled by naturally replenished uranium extracted from seawater, could supply energy at least as long as the sun's expected remaining lifespan of five billion years.^[56]

While uranium is a finite mineral resource within the earth, the hydrogen in the sun is finite too – thus, if the resource of nuclear fuel can last over such time scales, as Cohen contends, then nuclear energy is every bit as sustainable as solar power or any other source of energy, in terms of sustainability over the time scale of life surviving on this planet. His paper assumes extraction of uranium from seawater at the rate of 16 kilotonnes (35×10^⁶ lb) per year of uranium.[56] The current demand for uranium is near 70 kilotonnes (150×10^⁶ lb) per year;^{[citation needed]} however, the use of breeder reactors means that uranium would be used at least 60 times more efficiently than today.

James Hopf, a nuclear engineer writing for American Energy Independence in 2004, believes that there is several hundred years' supply of recoverable uranium even for standard reactors. For breeder reactors, "it is essentially infinite".^[191]

The

IAEA estimates that using only known reserves at the current rate of demand and assuming a once-through nuclear cycle that there is enough uranium for at least 100 years. However, if all primary known reserves, secondary reserves, undiscovered and unconventional sources of uranium are used, uranium will be depleted in 47,000 years.^[70] Kenneth S. Deffeyes estimates that if one can accept ore one tenth as rich then the supply of available uranium increases 300 times.^[52] His paper shows that uranium concentration in ores is log-normal distributed. There is relatively little high-grade uranium and a large supply of very low grade uranium. Ernest Moniz, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the former United States Secretary of Energy, testified in 2009 that an abundance of uranium had put into question plans to reprocess spent nuclear fuel. The reprocessing plans dated from decades previous, when uranium was thought to be scarce. But now, "roughly speaking, we've got uranium coming out of our ears, for a long, long time".^[192]

Possible effects and consequences

As uranium production declines, uranium prices would be expected to increase. However, the price of uranium makes up only 9% of the cost of running a nuclear power plant, much lower than the cost of coal in a coal-fired power plant (77%), or the cost of natural gas in a gas-fired power plant (93%).^[193][194]

Uranium is different from conventional energy resources, such as oil and coal, in several key aspects. Those differences limit the effects of short-term uranium shortages, but most have no bearing on the eventual depletion. Some key features are:

• The uranium market is diverse, and no country has a monopoly influence on its prices.
• Thanks to the extremely high energy density of uranium, stockpiling of several years' worth of fuel is feasible.
• Significant secondary supplies of already mined uranium exist, including decommissioned nuclear weapons, depleted uranium tails suitable for reenrichment, and existing stockpiles.
• Vast amounts of uranium, roughly 800 times the known reserves of mined uranium, are contained in extremely dilute concentrations in seawater.
• Introduction of
  fast neutron reactors would increase the uranium use efficiency by about 100 times.^[195]

Substitutes

An alternative to uranium is thorium, which is three times more common than uranium. Fast breeder reactors are not needed. Compared to conventional uranium reactors, thorium reactors using the thorium fuel cycle may produce about 40 times the amount of energy per unit of mass.^[196] However, creating the technology, infrastructure and know-how needed for a thorium-fuel economy is uneconomical at current and predicted uranium prices.

See also

• Botanical prospecting for uranium
• Energy development
• Energy security
• Isotopes of uranium
• List of uranium projects
• Nuclear fuel cycle
• Uranium metallurgy
• Uranium mining in France
• Uranium tile
• Uranium in the environment
• Uranium mining debate
• World energy supply and consumption
• Nuclear fuel cycle in France

References

Further reading

Books

• Herring, J.: Uranium and Thorium Resource Assessment, Encyclopedia of Energy, Boston University, Boston, 2004,
  ISBN 0-12-176480-X
  .

Articles

• Deffeyes, Kenneth; MacGregor, Ian (August 1978). Uranium distribution in mined deposits and in the earth's crust (Report).
  OCLC 6395443
  .
• Power Struggle for Uranium of Nepal: A Travel Note (2024).[1]^[2]

External links

• Health Impacts for Uranium Mine and Mill Residents – Science Issues.
• Uranium mining left a legacy of death.
• Paterson-Beedle, M.; Macaskie, Lynne E.; Readman, J.E.; Hriljac, J.A. (May 2009). "Biorecovery of Uranium from Minewaters into Pure Mineral Product at the Expense of Plant Wastes". Advanced Materials Research. 71–73: 621–624.
  S2CID 136720757
  .
• World Uranium Mining (giving production statistics) Archived 2018-12-26 at the Wayback Machine, World Nuclear Association, July 2006
• In Situ Leaching Method^[usurped] at Uranium SA Website (South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy)
• Evaluation of Cost of Seawater Uranium Recovery and Technical Problems toward Implementation
• Watch Uranium, a 1990 documentary on the risks of uranium mining Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
• World Supply of Uranium Archived 2013-02-12 at the Wayback Machine — World Nuclear Association, March 2007
• The Guardian (22 Jan. 2008): Awards shine spotlight on big business green record
• Extracting a disaster The Guardian, 2008
• Mudd, Gavin M.; Diesendorf, Mark (1 April 2008). "Sustainability of Uranium Mining and Milling: Toward Quantifying Resources and Eco-Efficiency". Environmental Science & Technology. 42 (7): 2624–2630.
  PMID 18505007
  .
• Uranium glows ever hotter (Investors Chronicle, UK)

1. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.12354.18886. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help
   )
2. ^ "Power struggle for natural uranium of Himalaya near China border – International Research Publications". 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2024-11-16.