List of countries by uranium reserves

Last updated December 29, 2024

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 the International Atomic Energy Agency.^[1]

Figures are given in metric tonnes. The reserves figures denote identified resources as of 1 January 2015, consisting of reasonably assured resources (RAR) plus inferred resources recoverable at a cost range of below US$260/kg U. The list also includes cumulative historical production figures.

The amount of ultimately recoverable uranium depends strongly on what one would be willing to pay for it. Uranium is a widely distributed metal with large low-grade deposits that are not currently considered profitable. As of 2015, 646,900 tonnes of reserves are recoverable at US$40 per kilogram of uranium, while 7,641,600 tonnes of reserves are recoverable at $260 per kilogram.^[2] Moreover, much of Canada, Greenland, Siberia and Antarctica are currently unexplored due to permafrost and may hold substantial undiscovered reserves. Australia is estimated to have the largest reserves, followed by Kazakhstan, Canada and Russia.

Country	Continent	Reserves as of 2019 (tonnes)	Historical production to 2014
Algeria	Africa	19,500	0
Argentina	South America	39,800	2,582
Australia	Australia	2,049,400	194,646
Belgium	Europe	0	686
Botswana	Africa	87,200	0
Brazil	South America	276,800	4,172
Bulgaria	Europe	0	16,364
Canada	North America	873,000	483,957
Central African Republic	Africa	32,000	0
Chad	Africa	2,400	0
Chile	South America	1,400	0
China	Asia	269,700	39,849^[3]^[4]
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	2,700	25,600^[3]
Czech Republic	Europe	119,200	111,765^[3]
Egypt	Africa	1,900	0
Finland	Europe	1,200	30
France	Europe	0	76,006
Gabon	Africa	5,800	25,403
Germany	Europe	7,000	219,686
Greece	Europe	7,000	0
Denmark ( Greenland)	North America	114,000	0
Hungary	Europe	13,500	21,067
India	Asia	325,000^[5]	3000
Indonesia	Asia	8,400	0
Iran	Asia	7,500	0
Italy	Europe	6,100	0
Japan	Asia	6,600	84
Jordan	Asia	52,500	0
Kazakhstan	Asia	969,200	244,707
Madagascar	Africa	0	785
Malawi	Africa	14,300	4,217
Mali	Africa	8,900	0
Mauritania	Africa	24,500	0
Mexico	North America	5,000	49
Mongolia	Asia	143,500	535
Namibia	Africa	504,200	120,418
Niger	Africa	439,400	132,017
Pakistan	Asia	0	1,439^[3]
Paraguay	South America	3,600
Peru	South America	33,400	0
Poland	Europe	144,000^[6]	650
Portugal	Europe	7,000	3,720
Romania	Europe	6,600	18,899^[3]
Russia	Asia/Europe	661,900	158,844
Senegal	Africa	1,100
Slovakia	Europe	15,500	211
Slovenia	Europe	9,200	382
Somalia	Africa	7,600	0
South Africa	Africa	447,700	159,510
Spain	Europe	28,500	8,028
Sweden	Europe	9,600	200
Tanzania	Africa	58,200	0
Turkey	Asia/Europe	13,600	0
Ukraine	Europe	186,900	129,804
United States	North America	101,900	373,075
Uzbekistan	Asia	132,300	127,591^[3]
Vietnam	Asia	3,900	0
Zambia	Africa	31,000	86
Zimbabwe	Africa	1,400	0
Total		8,070,400	2,818,415

Notes: Historical production for the Czech Republic includes 102,241 tonnes of uranium produced in former Czechoslovakia from 1946 through the end of 1992. Historical production for Germany includes 213,380 tonnes produced in the German Democratic Republic from 1946 through the end of 1992. Historical production for the Soviet Union includes the former Soviet Socialist Republics of Estonia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, but excludes Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Historical production for the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan is since 1992 only.

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A non-renewable resource is a natural resource that cannot be readily replaced by natural means at a pace quick enough to keep up with consumption. An example is carbon-based fossil fuels. The original organic matter, with the aid of heat and pressure, becomes a fuel such as oil or gas. Earth minerals and metal ores, fossil fuels and groundwater in certain aquifers are all considered non-renewable resources, though individual elements are always conserved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uranium market</span> Commodity market

The uranium market, like all commodity markets, has a history of volatility, moving with the standard forces of supply and demand as well as geopolitical pressures. It has also evolved particularities of its own in response to the unique nature and use of uranium.

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. 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.

National Atomic Company Kazatomprom Joint Stock Company (Kazatomprom) (Kazakh: Қазатомөнеркәсіп, romanized: Qazatomónerkásip) is the world’s largest producer and seller of natural uranium, providing over 40% of global primary uranium supply in 2019 from its operations in Kazakhstan. Kazatomprom's uranium is used for the generation of nuclear power around the world.

Uranium mining in the United States produced 224,331 pounds (101.8 tonnes) of U₃O₈ in 2023, 15% of the 2018 production of 1,447,945 pounds (656.8 tonnes) of U₃O₈. The 2023 production represents 0.4% of the uranium fuel requirements of the US's nuclear power reactors for the year. Production came from five in-situ leaching plants, four in Wyoming (Nichols Ranch ISR Project, Lance Project, Lost Creek Project, and Smith Ranch-Highland Operation) and one in Nebraska (Crowe Butte Operation); and from the White Mesa conventional mill in Utah.

NMMC is the largest Uzbek industrial enterprise, is involved in the mining industry, and is one of the top ten largest gold producers in the world. The company's most important gold ore deposits are located in the Kyzyl Kum Desert.

Nuclear power is the fifth-largest source of electricity in India after coal, hydro, solar and wind. As of November 2024, India has 24 nuclear reactors in operation in 8 nuclear power plants, with a total installed capacity of 8,180 MW. Nuclear power produced a total of 48 TWh in 2023, contributing around 3% of total power generation in India. 11 more reactors are under construction with a combined generation capacity of 8,700 MW.

Energy in Kazakhstan describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Kazakhstan and the politics of Kazakhstan related to energy.

Uranium mining in New Mexico was a significant industry from the early 1950s until the early 1980s. Although New Mexico has the second largest identified uranium ore reserves of any state in the United States, no uranium ore has been mined in New Mexico since 1998.

The total cultivable area in India was reported as 155,369,076 hectares as of 2020, and is shrinking due to over-farming, increased livestock grazing, deforestation, urban growth, and severe weather events. India has a total water surface area of 314,070 km².

Atomredmetzoloto, JSC,, the Mining Division of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, is a Russian uranium producer internally ranked sixth in the world in terms of uranium production and second in terms of in-situ uranium reserves.

Radioactive ores were first extracted in South Australia at Radium Hill in 1906 and Mount Painter in 1911. 2,000 tons of ore were treated to recover radium for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of uranium were also produced for use in ceramic glazes.

Canada is the world's second-largest producer of uranium, behind Kazakhstan. In 2009, 20% of the world's primary uranium production came from mines in Canada. 14.5% of the world production came from one mine, McArthur River. Currently, the only producing area in Canada is northern Saskatchewan, although other areas have had active mines in the past.

Namibia has one of the richest uranium mineral reserves in the world. There are currently two large operating mines in the Erongo Region and various exploration projects planned to advance to production in the next few years.

The world's largest producer of uranium is Kazakhstan, which in 2019 produced 43% of the world's mining output. Canada was the next largest producer with a 13% share, followed by Australia with 12%. Uranium has been mined in every continent except Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Dam mine</span> Poly-metallic underground mine in South Australia

The Olympic Dam mine is a large poly-metallic underground mine located in South Australia, 550 km (340 mi) NNW of Adelaide. It is the fourth largest copper deposit and the largest known single deposit of uranium in the world. Copper is the largest contributor to total revenue, accounting for approximately 70% of the mine's revenue, with the remaining 25% from uranium, and around 5% from silver and gold. BHP has owned and operated the mine since 2005. The mine was previously owned by Western Mining Corporation. Since the 1970s environmentalists, traditional owners and others have campaigned against the mine, largely on the basis of its contribution to the nuclear cycle and its use of underground water.

Thorium is found in small amounts in most rocks and soils. Soil commonly contains an average of around 6 parts per million (ppm) of thorium. Thorium occurs in several minerals including thorite (ThSiO₄), thorianite (ThO₂ + UO₂) and monazite. Thorianite is a rare mineral and may contain up to about 12% thorium oxide. Monazite contains 2.5% thorium, allanite has 0.1 to 2% thorium and zircon can have up to 0.4% thorium. Thorium-containing minerals occur on all continents. Thorium is several times more abundant in Earth's crust than all isotopes of uranium combined and thorium-232 is several hundred times more abundant than uranium-235.

The Republic of Kazakhstan, once a republic of the Soviet Union, was a primary venue for Soviet nuclear weapon testing from 1949 until 1989. Following the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991, Kazakhstan became the fourth-largest nuclear power in the world and hosted a considerably large weapon support infrastructure due to its reliance on the Soviet nuclear program as a means to develop its own local economy. Besides the nuclear program, Kazakhstan was also a prominent site of Soviet programs of biological and chemical weapons.

References

↑ Uranium 2020: Resources, Production and Demand (PDF). OECD Publishing. 2020. doi:10.1787/d82388ab-en. ISBN 978-92-64-26844-9. S2CID 241721777.
↑ Uranium 2016: Resources, Production and Demand (PDF). OECD Publishing. 2016. doi:10.1787/uranium-2016-en. ISBN 978-92-64-26844-9.
1 2 3 4 5 6 estimate
↑ "China's Nuclear Fuel Cycle - World Nuclear Association".
↑ "ATOMIC MINERALS DIRECTORATE FOR EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH (AMD)" (PDF).
↑ Strupczewski, Andrzej (2009). "Program rozwoju energetyki jądrowej w Polsce a zaopatrzenie w paliwa rozszczepialne z zasobów krajowych" [Nuclear power development program in Poland vs. supply of fissile fuels from domestic resources](PDF). Polityka Energetyczna (in Polish). 12 (2/2). Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences [ pl ]: 565–575. ISSN 1429-6675. OCLC 68757889.

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[ur_2020-1] Uranium 2020: Resources, Production and Demand (PDF). OECD Publishing. 2020. doi:10.1787/d82388ab-en. ISBN 978-92-64-26844-9. S2CID 241721777.

[ur_2016-2] Uranium 2016: Resources, Production and Demand (PDF). OECD Publishing. 2016. doi:10.1787/uranium-2016-en. ISBN 978-92-64-26844-9.

[est-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 estimate

[4] "China's Nuclear Fuel Cycle - World Nuclear Association".

[5] "ATOMIC MINERALS DIRECTORATE FOR EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH (AMD)" (PDF).

[6] Strupczewski, Andrzej (2009). "Program rozwoju energetyki jądrowej w Polsce a zaopatrzenie w paliwa rozszczepialne z zasobów krajowych" [Nuclear power development program in Poland vs. supply of fissile fuels from domestic resources](PDF). Polityka Energetyczna (in Polish). 12 (2/2). Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences [ pl ]: 565–575. ISSN 1429-6675. OCLC 68757889.

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v t e Lists of countries and territories by industrial output rankings
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v t e Uranium mining
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Lists	List of uranium projects List of countries by uranium production List of countries by uranium reserves List of inquiries into uranium mining in Australia
Opposition	Thomas Banyacya Kevin Buzzacott Katsumi Furitsu Jim Green Jacqui Katona Scott Ludlam Yvonne Margarula JoAnn Tall Sun Xiaodi Floyd Red Crow Westerman List of Nuclear-Free Future Award recipients World Uranium Hearing
Other articles	Uranium in the environment Uranium market Uranium mining debate Peak uranium Botanical prospecting for uranium Nuclear power in the United States Church Rock uranium mill spill Sequoyah Fuels Corporation Anti-nuclear movement in the United States Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act The Return of Navajo Boy Nuclear labor issues International Uranium Film Festival History of the anti-nuclear movement The Navajo People and Uranium Mining Hibakusha 1974 Elliot Lake miners strike Yellowcake boomtown

List of countries by uranium reserves

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References