Process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground
2021 uranium mining by nation[1]Schematic diagram of stages from uranium mining to energy 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 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.[2] 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.
Uranium is mined by in-situ leaching (57% of world production) or by conventional underground or open-pit mining of ores (43% of production). During in-situ mining, a leaching solution is pumped down drill holes into the uranium ore deposit where it dissolves the ore minerals. The uranium-rich fluid is then pumped back to the surface and processed to extract the uranium compounds from solution. In conventional mining, ores are processed by grinding the ore materials to a uniform particle size and then treating the ore to extract the uranium by chemical leaching.[3] The milling process commonly yields dry powder-form material consisting of natural uranium, "yellowcake", which is nowadays commonly sold on the uranium market as U3O8. While some nuclear power plants – most notably heavy water reactors like the CANDU – can operate with natural uranium (usually in the form of uranium dioxide), the vast majority of commercial nuclear power plants and many research reactors require uranium enrichment, which raises the content of 235 U from the natural 0.72% to 3–5% (for use in light water reactors) or even higher, depending on the application. Enrichment requires conversion of the yellowcake into uranium hexafluoride and production of the fuel (again usually uranium dioxide, but sometimes uranium carbide, uranium hydride or uranium nitride) from that feedstock.
^"World Uranium Mining Production". World Nuclear Association. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
^"World Uranium Mining Production". London: World Nuclear Association. May 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
^"Uranium and thorium". Canberra: Geoscience Australia. October 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
Uraniummining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada...
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to further develop uranium production up to 2010; an increase in ore mining to 4,300 t of uranium in 2010 was envisioned. Mining was being developed...
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largest producer in the world of uranium in 2018. Close to 30 percent of the country's investment has been made in the mining field in recent years. In 2008...
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carries out analyses for the mining industry, for forensic purposes and for research. Australia hosts 33% of the world's uranium deposits and is the world's...
rock 21%; coal 4%; mineral fuels (including coal) – 13% and petroleum 8%; uranium 18%; and platinum 69.4%. As of 2005, strategic minerals and key producers...
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limestone, salt, silver, tin, and uranium. In 2006, Niger was the world’s fourth-ranked producer of uranium. A new mining code was adopted in August 2006...
which melts at approximately 2880 °C. Originally raw uranium ore was extracted by traditional mining and this is still the case in many mines. It is first...
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