Uranium production
Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together accoun ...
is carried out in about 13 countries around the world, in 2017 producing a cumulative total of 59,462 tonnes of uranium (tU). The international producers were Kazakhstan (39%), Canada (22%), Australia (10%), Namibia (7.1%), Niger (5.8%), Russian Federation (4.9%), Uzbekistan (4.0%), China (3.2%), United States (1.6%), Ukraine (0.9%), India (0.7%), South Africa (0.5%) and Pakistan (0.1%). Since 2009 the in-situ leach (ISL) operations of Kazakhstan have been producing the largest share of world uranium.
The largest conventional uranium mines are
Cigar Lake and
McArthur River (Canada); Ranger and Olympic Dam (Australia); Krasnokamensk (Russia) and Rossing (Namibia). The largest uranium producers are
Cameco,
Rio Tinto,
Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...
,
KazAtomProm and
ARMZ-TVEL.
The production methods employed are conventional underground and open cast (50%) and
in-situ leaching (50%). About 50 uranium production centers are operational.
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]
Viable projects
Potentially viable projects
Non-viable projects
Prospective projects and decommissioned mines
Notes
See also
* List of countries by uranium reserves
Uranium reserves are reserves of recoverable uranium, regardless of isotope, based on a set market price. The list given here is based on ''Uranium 2020: Resources, Production and Demand'', a joint report by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and th ...
* Uranium market
* Uranium ore deposits
* Mining
* Uranium
* List of countries by uranium production
References
Uranium 2007: Resources, Production and Demand
(Red Book) (2008) OECD-NEA and IAEA
External links
World Distribution of Uranium Deposits Database (UDEPO)-IAEA
World Nuclear Association > Public Information Service > country papers
Quellen radioaktiver Strahlung, weltweit - Google Maps
(deutsch)
{{Uranium mining
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