U.S. Uranium Output Jumps, but Still Lags Canada, Other Nations

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S. uranium production is bouncing back. Higher prices drove domestic production in 2022 about 10 times higher than in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Nonetheless, last year's uranium output remained near historic lows, despite operations resuming at the U.S.'s only conventional uranium mill. Industrial Info is tracking more than $5 billion worth of active and planned uranium-related projects in the U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry. Canada, which accounted for 27% of foreign uranium purchased by U.S. in 2022, accounts for more than $14 billion worth.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 parent companies for active and planned uranium projects in the U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry, by total investment value.

Altogether, five U.S. facilities produced uranium concentrate in 2022. Energy Fuels Incorporated's (Lakewood, Colorado) White Mesa Mill in Blanding, Utah, the sole operating conventional uranium mill in the nation, accounted for 84% of the output, with the remainder produced at in situ recovery facilities. (The in situ process does not extract ore from the ground, but uses chemicals to extract the mineral resources.) White Mesa only produced uranium in the last three months of 2022, as it only does so when contracts or conditions warrant, according to the EIA.

In 2021, White Mesa ignored uranium concentrate production to focus on ramping up its rare earth carbonate output. But Energy Fuels is considering a proposed, three-phase expansion through 2027 that would boost the facility's processing of monazite from 4,000 to 15,000 tons per year. Uranium would be extracted as a by-product from the monazite. Additions would include a new plant (in this case, called a "separation stage circuit") and a crack-and-leach facility. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project and Plant databases can read detailed project reports on Phase I, Phase II and Phase III, and learn more from a plant profile.

Ucore Rare Metals Incorporated (Halifax, Nova Scotia) is proposing a restart and expansion of the Ross Adams Mine near Ketchikan, Alaska, which has been closed since 1971. Ucore aims to produce up to 270,000 tons per year of rare earth concentrate, which would be shipped to its proposed rare earth oxide separation plant to extract, among other by-products, 11 million pounds of uranium over an 11-year mine life. Subscribers can read detailed reports on Ucore's planned mine and separation plant.

Canada Still the Top Provider to U.S.
About 95% of the uranium purchased by U.S. nuclear power plant operators in 2022 originated in other countries, according to the EIA, where it is more abundant and cheaper to produce. Canada, which has large, high-quality uranium reserves, accounted for 27% of uranium purchased last year, more than any other country. And it's not just the U.S. that benefits from Canada's abundance: Earlier this year, Ukraine signed a 12-year deal with Canadian miner Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) to buy enough uranium to power all of its nuclear reactors. For more information, see February 10, 2023, article - Cameco's Ukraine, Westinghouse Deals Point to Strong Uranium Outlook.

Cameco restarted operations at its McArthur River Uranium Mine and Key Lake Uranium Mill in Pinehouse, Saskatchewan, late last year, after closing in January 2018 due to weak conditions in the global uranium market. Production at the two facilities--in which Key Lake mills and packages ore produced at McArthur River--stood at 2 million pounds per year of uranium concentrate at the end of 2022 and 3.4 million pounds produced in the first quarter of 2023. Cameco expects to produce 15 million pounds per year starting in 2024.

To accommodate this growth, Cameco is continuing to perform upgrades and ramp-ups at its McArthur River and Key Lake facilities through fourth-quarter 2024. Subscribers can read detailed project reports on the ongoing work at McArthur River and Key Lake.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and planned uranium-related projects in the U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry, and can click here for a full list of reports for those in Canada.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).