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 account for 68% of world production. Other countries producing more than 1,000 tons per year included Namibia, Niger, Russia, Uzbekistan, the United States, 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 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.
The McArthur River Uranium Mine, in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, is the world's largest high-grade uranium deposit.
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.
Uranium mining in Wyoming was formerly a much larger industry than it is today. Wyoming once had many operating uranium mines, and still has the largest known uranium ore reserves of any state in the U.S. At the end of 2008, the state had estimated reserves dependent on price: 539 million pounds of uranium oxide at $50 per pound, and 1,227 million pounds at $100 per pound.
In-situ leaching (ISL), also called in-situ recovery (ISR) or solution mining, is a mining process used to recover minerals such as copper and uranium through boreholes drilled into a deposit, in situ. In situ leach works by artificially dissolving minerals occurring naturally in a solid state. For recovery of material occurring naturally in solution, see: Brine mining.
Madawaska Mine (previously known as Faraday Mine) is a decommissioned underground uranium mine in Faraday, near the town of Bancroft, Ontario, which produced 9 million pounds (4,082 tonnes) of U3O8 concentrate, at an average ore grade of 0.1074%, during its two periods of production.
Faraday is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Hastings County adjacent to the town of Bancroft.
The Cigar Lake Mine is a large high-grade underground uranium mine, located in the uranium-rich Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan, Canada, at the south-west corner of Waterbury Lake. The deposit, discovered in 1981, is second in size of high-grade deposits only to the nearby McArthur River mine. Other deposits, such as Olympic Dam in Australia, contain more uranium but at lower grades.
Crow Butte is a uranium mining operation located four miles (6 km) southeast of the city of Crawford in Dawes County, Nebraska, United States. Cameco Corporation owns and operates Crow Butte through its wholly owned subsidiary, Crow Butte Resources, Inc.
Uranium production is an important part of the African economy, with Niger, Namibia and South Africa creating up to 18% of the world's annual production. Many African countries produce uranium or have untapped uranium ore deposits.
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.
The Yeelirrie uranium project is a uranium deposit located approximately 70 km southwest of Wiluna, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The name Yeelirrie is taken from the local sheep station.
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.
SOMAIR is a national mining company of Niger in the mining area of its northern zone. Established in 1968, it started uranium mining at the Arlit deposit in 1971, mining 0.30 - 0.35% ore down to depth of 60 metres (200 ft) depth. By 1981, the company was producing 2100 tU/yr and by 2006 it was producing 1565 tU at the Tamou deposit. The production peaked to 3065 tU in 2012. The resources, according to the Red Book, are assessed at 23,170 tU, as of 2010, at 42,200 tU of 0.25%U grade recoverable conventionally, and 5500 tU of 0.07%U grade from heap leaching. SOMAIR is one of two national mining companies in Niger, the other being COMINAK in the nearby Akokan.
The Imouraren mine is a large mine located in the northern part of Niger in Agadez Region, about 80 km (50 mi) south of Arlit. Imouraren represents one of the largest uranium reserves in Niger having estimated reserves of 109.1 million tonnes of ore grading 0.06% uranium. It is the site of a uranium mining project involving French company Areva and SOPaMin. The U3O8 ore grade at nearby SOMAIR is 14,000 tons at 0.3%, COMINAK is 29,000 t at 0.4% and Imouraren 120,000t at 0.15%.
The successor of multiple historical Canadian mining and energy companies, EWL Management Limited was an Alberta based corporation that owned five decommissioned mines in Ontario, including three former uranium mines.
Bicroft Mine is a decommissioned underground uranium mine, located in Cardiff, near Bancroft, Ontario, Canada.
Dyno Mine is a decommissioned underground uranium mine located at Cardiff, near Farrel Lake, approximately 30km southwest of Bancroft, Ontario. It operated from 1958 to 1960.
Greyhawk Mine is a decommissioned underground uranium mine located in Faraday Township near Bancroft, Ontario. It operated from 1954 to 1959 and from 1976 to 1982. The mine produced 80,247 tons of uranium ore, of which 0.069% was U3O8 worth $834,899.
Uranium mining around Bancroft, Ontario, was conducted at four sites, beginning in the early 1950s and concluding by 1982. Bancroft was one of two major uranium-producing areas in Ontario, and one of seven in Canada, all located along the edge of the Canadian Shield. In the context of mining, the "Bancroft area" includes Haliburton, Hastings, and Renfrew counties, and all areas between Minden and Lake Clear. Activity in the mid-1950s was described by engineer A. S. Bayne in a 1977 report as the "greatest uranium prospecting rush in the world".
