The World's Uranium Supply
Where are the world’s uranium mines?
DID YOU KNOW… Currently, over half of the world’s uranium production takes place from mines in Canada and Australia
A total of 81 countries are known to have been taking part in uranium exploration activities, with total exploration expenditures of USD 13,400 million between 1945 and 2003. Worldwide exploration expenditures reached a peak in the late-1970s due to rapid growth in nuclear power as well as military needs, after which there was a steady decline due to slower growth in nuclear power, the Three Mile Island accident, and the excess supply of uranium in large inventories. Ever since the late 1990s, there has been a slow rebound that has continued into 2006.
(Information courtesy of: www.uic.com.au, Uranium Information Centre Ltd, Melbourne Australia)
Uranium does not occur in identical forms and in similar environments, but rather is found in a wide variety of geological environments and in a range of minerals. Thus, each site introduces separate extraction problems, and distinct technological challenges. The decision to operate uranium mines and carry out ore extraction processes is affected not only by the location and size of the deposit, but also the geology, available technology and manpower, and past experiences with processing deposits of a similar type.
CANADA’S URANIUM RESOURCES
(Picture courtesy of: www.uic.com.au, Uranium Information Centre Ltd, Melbourne Australia)
Canada’s uranium mines are located in northern Saskatchewan. The McArthur River mine (operated by Cameco) is the world’s largest uranium mine, and began production at the end of 1999. Its ores are milled at Key Lake, and Rabbit Lake but both are being mined out. Key Lake once contributed 15% of world uranium production. The McClean Lake mine is operated by Areva Resources, and started production in mid 1999. Cluff Lake is currently closed and is being decommissioned.
Uranium mining is currently supported in Saskatchewan by the Provincial Government. Although there was a previous policy of the New Democratic Party in the early 1990s to phase out uranium mining, the government saw the economic importance of uranium mining for the province, and that the environmental hazards of mining could be minimized. Both McClean Lake and McArthur River mines have environmental certification, and the government has made effort to study the safety, environmental and socio-economic impact of future mining projects.
Currently, two new mine projects are underway in Northern Saskatchewan: The Cigar Lake mine will be a 450 m deep underground mine which will use ground freezing methods and high-pressure water jets to extract the ore. The ore will be processed at Areva Resources’ McClean Lake mill located 70 km northeast of the mine. The hope is to begin production in 2008 for an expected 30-40 years. The Midwest mine (managed by Areva Resources) will most likely be an open pit mine, and the ore will be milled at McClean Lake 15km away.
For more information about mines managed by Areva Resources, please go to: www.arevaresources.com
For more information about mines managed by Cameco, please go to www.cameco.com
AUSTRALIA’s URANIUM RESOURCES
(Picture courtesy of: www.uic.com.au, Uranium Information Centre Ltd, Melbourne Australia)
The Ranger mine which opened in 1981 had an initial production rate of approximately 3300 t/yr of uranium oxide but this has been expanded to 5500 t/yr. The mine is owned by Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA), and their products are exported to Japan, South Korea, France, Spain, Sweden, UK, Canada & USA. The Ranger mine and the nearby Nabarlek mine (now closed) are located in the Northern Territory on aboriginal land in the Alligator Rivers area which is very close to the Kakadu National Park. Thus, the aboriginal people receive royalties on sales of uranium from the mines in the Northern Territories. For more information about the rehabilitation of the Nabarlek mine, please click here.
During 1988 the Olympic Dam project was started by Western Mining Corporation (now BHP Billiton). The large underground mine is located in central South Australia and produces uranium in addition to copper and gold. The annual production for uranium oxide has grown from 1800 to 4600 tonnes, with exports to USA, Canada, Sweden, UK, Belgium, France, Finland, South Korea and Japan.
In 1996, three other uranium mining projects were started: Jabiluka, NT will be an extension of the Ranger operation it is still waiting for Aboriginal approval. Beverley, SA began operating in 2000 and is Australia’s first in situ leach (ISL) mine. Honeymoon, SA was approved by the government to begin operation of its ISL mine in November 2001, but is currently reassessing the ore reserves and it not functional yet.
EXPORTING URANIUM FROM AUSTRALIA
Australia’s uranium is exported around the world solely for the purpose of electrical power generation, and there are safety regulations that ensure that none are used to produce nuclear weapons. Australia is involved in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regarding itself as a non-nuclear weapons country.
Although most of America’s uranium is from Canada, Australia is still a major source. For Australia, Japan and South Korea are important customers because of their increasing demand for nuclear power. Australia remains a preferred supplier because of its low cost uranium reserves as well as its political and economic stability.
Australia has 38% of the world’s lowest-cost uranium resources (under US$ 40/kg U). The figure shows worldwide recoverable resources of Uranium in the high-cost category of up to US$ 130/kg U.
(Source: “Forty years of uranium resources, production and demand in perspective, NEA News 2006 - No. 24.1)
URANIUM MINES IN THE USA
In the 1950s, the USA took part in many uranium mining activities which were funded by federal subsidies. Currently, only a few mines are under operations, producing approximately 1000tU/yr. The steady decline in mines and uranium production in USA is a result of much of uranium being imported from abroad.
Cameco manages the Smith Ranch-Highland mine (Wyoming), the largest operating uranium production facility in the country, and the Crow Butte mine (Nebraska). Mining at these sites uses the in situ leach (ISL) process for extraction. In 2004, Uranium Resources, Inc. began operating its Vasquez ISL mine located in southern Texas.
The Smith Ranch-Highland mine, Wyoming (top) and the Crow Butte mine, Nebraska (bottom) (Photo courtesy of: Cameco Corporation, www.cameco.com)