Milling Uranium production and resources Uranium history
Simplified flow chart of uranium ore processing from Uranium • In 1789, Martin Klaproth, a German chemist, isolated
mining to the production of concentrate. These processes Country
2016
resources (tU)* an oxide of uranium while analyzing pitchblende
2017/18
are commonly known as milling and the product – production (tU) Pocket Guide
<US$130/kg samples from silver mines in Bohemia.
uranium oxide concentrate – is the raw material for
making nuclear fuel. Australia 6315 1,174,000 • For over 100 years uranium was mainly used as a
colorant for ceramic glazes and for tinting in early
Brazil 44 155,100 photography. Uranium was produced in Bohemia,
Open pit Underground Cornwall (UK), Portugal and Colorado and total
mining mining
Canada 14,039 357,500 production amounted to about 300-400 tonnes.
Crushing
China 1616 120,000 • The discovery of radium in 1898 by Marie Curie led
& grinding
to the construction of a number of radium extraction
Czech Republic 138 1300 plants processing uranium ore (radium is a decay
product of uranium).
Leaching
India 385 Not available
• Prized for its use in cancer therapy, radium reached a
price of 750,000 gold francs per gram in 1906 (US$10
Kazakhstan 24,575 285,600
Tailings disposal Separate solids million). It is estimated that 754 grams were produced
Recycle Malawi 0 8200 worldwide between 1898 and 1928. Uranium itself was
barren liquor treated simply as a waste material.
In-situ Extract U
© World Nuclear Association, August 2017. Cover image: Rossing Uranium Ltd Namibia 3507 248,200 • With the discovery of nuclear fission in 1939, the
leach mining in liquor uranium industry entered a new era. On 2 December
Uranium, from
Niger 3479 325,000 1942, the first controlled nuclear chain reaction was
achieved in Chicago. Although nuclear fission was
Pakistan 45 Not available
Mine to Mill
Precipitate Recycle first used for military purposes, the emergence of civil
uranium barren liquor nuclear power reactors in the 1950s demonstrated the
Romania 50 3100
enormous potential of nuclear fission for supplying
Russia 3004 216,500 electricity.
Separate solids
• From a small beginning in 1951, when four lightbulbs
South Africa 490 175,300 were lit with nuclear electricity, the nuclear power
industry now supplies about 11.5% of world electricity.
Drying Ukraine 1005 84,800
• Between the mid-1940s and the late-1980s, uranium
USA 1125 207,400 supply exceeded reactor requirements. However, the
Uranium oxide concentrate, U3O8 gap between requirements and production since 1990
(yellowcake) contains approximately 85% Uzbekistan 2404 59,400 has been filled by secondary supplies, mostly from
uranium by weight stockpiles including military inventory. Going forward,
Other 0 277,500 the gap will increasingly be filled by higher primary
production, as secondary supplies diminish.
World Nuclear Association Total 62,221 3,698,900
Tower House +44 (0)20 7451 1520
10 Southampton Street [Link] *OECD/NEA Reasonably Assured Resources category
London WC2E 7HA UK info@[Link] Sources: World Nuclear Association & OECD/NEA [Link]
Top uranium mines in 2015-2016 Uranium output by producer* World uranium production, 2016
% of world 2016 production
Production (tU) Company
Mine Country Main owner Mine type production Actual (tU) World share (%)
2015 2016 2015 2016 Kazatomprom 12,986 21
McArthur River Canada Cameco Conventional 7354 6945 12 11 Cameco 10,438 17
Cigar Lake Canada Cameco Conventional 4345 6666 7 11 Areva 8433 14
Tortkuduk / Muyunkum Kazakhstan Areva ISL 4109 4017 7 6 ARMZ-Uranium One 7913 13
BHP Billiton 3233 5
By-product
Olympic Dam Australia BHP Billiton 3179 3233 5 5 CNNC/CGN 2672 4
(copper)
Inkai Kazakhstan Cameco ISL 2234 2291 4 4 Rio Tinto Uranium 2440 4
Navoi Mining 2404 4
Somair Niger Areva Conventional 2509 2164 4 4
Energy Asia 2308 4
Budenovskoye 2 Kazakhstan Uranium One/Kazatomprom ISL 2061 2081 3 3
Sopamin 1200 2
South Inkai Kazakhstan Uranium One/Kazatomprom ISL 2055 2056 3 3
Paladin Energy 1310 2
Central Mynkuduk Kazakhstan Kazatomprom ISL 1847 2010 3 3 General Atomics/
1088 2
Ranger Australia Rio Tinto/ERA Conventional 1700 1994 3 3 Quasar
39% Kazakhstan 5% Others
Sumitomo 1004 2
Total from top mines 31,760 33,457 51 54 22% Canada 5% Russia
Sub-total 57,428 92
13% All Africa 4% Uzbekistan
World total 62,221 100
Mineralogy and ore grade Mining methods 10% Australia 2% USA
*based on ownership share
• Uraninite is the most common primary uranium • Open pit: used to mine relatively shallow deposits.
mineral; others of economic interest include coffinite Economics depend on the ratio of ore to waste, higher Processing and extraction Mining method, 2016
and brannerite. The most common form of uraninite grade ores having lower ratios.
is pitchblende, which is sometimes associated with • Crushing and grinding: breaks down the ore to fine 0 10 20 30 40 50
• Underground: used to mine deposits too deep
colourful secondary uranium minerals derived from particles.
for open pit mining. For mining to be viable, these
weathering. deposits must be comparatively high grade. 48%
• Leaching: acid or alkali dissolves the uranium, and
the uranium-bearing solution is separated from the In-situ leach
• The average abundance of uranium in the Earth’s • In-situ leach: this method is applicable only to
crust is 2.7 parts per million, making it more common leached solids.
sandstone-hosted uranium deposits located below
than tin. 46%
the water table in a confined aquifer. The uranium is • Extraction: ion exchange or solvent extraction methods
dissolved in acid or alkali injected into and recovered Conventional
• The concentration of uranium needed to form an are used to separate the dissolved uranium.
from the aquifer by means of wells. The geology
economic mineral deposit varies widely depending on • Precipitation and drying: uranium is precipitated from
remains undisturbed. 6%
its geological setting and physical location. Average ore solution using one of several chemicals. Dewatering,
By-product
grades at operating uranium mines range from 0.03% U • By-product: uranium often occurs in association with filtration and drying complete the process. The final
to as high as 24% U, but are most frequently less than other minerals such as gold (South Africa), phosphates product is sometimes known as yellowcake, although
1% U. Lower uranium grades are viable as by-product. (USA and elsewhere) and copper (Australia). it is typically khaki in colour.