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Uranium Isanaturallyoccurring,Verydense,Metallic Definition Andcharacteristics Deposits Definition, Mineralogyand Proportion Ofu-235Tobetween 3And5percent

Uranium Isanaturallyoccurring,Verydense,Metallic Definition Andcharacteristics Deposits Definition, Mineralogyand Proportion Ofu-235Tobetween 3And5percent

MineralsUK Mineral profile Centre f or sust ainable mineral development charged ionsanddoesnoteasilyfitintothecrystalstruc of about3ppm(partspermillion).Itformslarge,highly element withanaverageabundanceintheEarth’s crust isanaturallyoccurring,verydense,metallic Definition andcharacteristics deposits Definition, mineralogyand proportion ofU-235tobetween 3and5percent. but allmodernplantsrequireenrichmenttoincreasethe designs ofpowerstationuseduraniuminitsnaturalstate, for theoperationofnuclearpowerstations.Mostearly uranium-235 (U-235;about0.7percent).U-235isrequired abundant are uranium-238 (U-238; about 99.3 per cent) and Uranium occursasseveralisotopes,ofwhichthemost used toturnaturbineandgenerateelectricity. power stationstoconvertwaterintosteam,whichisthen The energyreleasedinnuclearfissionisused with furtheratomsofuraniumachainreactioncanoccur. tity ofenergy, plusmoreneutrons.Iftheseneutronscollide (typically strontiumandxenon)releasingalargequan process theatombreaksapartforming‘daughterproducts’ an extraneutronitwillundergonuclearfission.Inthis If anatomofuraniumisstruckby, andmanagestoabsorb, ultimately formingthestableelementlead. through alongseriesofalphaandbetaparticleemissions, Uranium isnaturallyradioactive.Itspontaneouslydecays of uraniumthataresufficientforeconomicextraction. is thesecharacteristicsthatoftenresultinconcentrations it convertstoaninsolubleform,U therefore verymobile.However, underreducing conditions soluble form,U Under oxidizingconditionsuraniumexistsinahighly of thefirsttoenterliquidonmelting. last elementstocrystallisefromcoolingmagmasandone Accordingly, asanincompatibleelement,itisamongst the ture ofcommonsilicatemineralssuchasfeldsparormica. BGS ©NERC2010. Allrightsreserved. contained inthisreportarevested inNERC. Unless otherwisestated,copyright ofmaterials 6+ (anionwithapositivechargeof6),andis 4+ , andisprecipitated.It

Uranium - - Table 1 shown inTable 2. uranium-bearing mineralsfoundinworkabledepositsare grade towarranteconomicextraction.Themostcommon but mostofthesedonotoccurindepositssufficient Uranium isknowntooccurinover200differentminerals, Mineralogy Other physicalpropertiesaresummarisedinTable 1. Courtesy: Mineral InformationInstitute(www.mii.org) Figure 1 Electrical resistivity Mineral Hardness Boiling point Melting point Density at298K Atomic weight Atomic number Symbol Selected propertiesofuranium. Uranium ore. 28 x10 6 3927 1132 19 050 238.03 92 U -8

Ohm m Moh’s scale °C °C kg/m March 2010 3

2 Uranium Table 2 Table 3 3 2 1 Sedimentary-hosted –mineralisationcontainedwithinasedimentary rock. Hydrothermal –hotfluids Magmatic –related to magma,moltenrockandfluidoriginating deepwithinorbelowtheEarth’s crust. Black shale Lignite Metamorphic Metasomatite Surficial related Volcanic &caldera Collapse breccia Phosphorite Intrusive glomerates -pebble con Vein complex Hematite breccia Sandstone-hosted Unconformity-related Deposit type Brannerite Coffinite Pitchblende Uraninite Name Uranophane Tyuyamunite Carnotite The mostcommonuraniummineralsfoundineconomicdeposits. Summary ofuraniumdeposit types. variety ofuraninite) Uranium oxide(amassive Uranium oxide Group ofminerals Uranium titanate Uranium silicate Uranyl silicate Uranyl vanadate Uranyl vanadate - content Rocks ofmarineoriginwithhigh organic adjacent clayandsandstone Associated withcoalifiedplantdetritusor melting. Oftenremobilisedbyfluids Concentration byprocessessuchaspartial magma caused bythenearbyemplacementof Alteration ofmineralswithinarock,often ate Sometimes cementedwithcalciumcarbon Unconsolidated near-surface sediments. related sediments(e.g.rhyoliteortrachyte) Associated withfelsiclava,ashfieldsand surrounding brecciapipes Concentrated inthematrixandfractures Associated withsedimentaryphosphates bilisation ofamagma Associated withthecrystallisationorremo oxidisation tookplace Ancient sedimentarydepositsburiedbefore spaces orstockworks Cavities suchascracks,fissures,pore rock Funnel orpipe-shapeddepositsofbroken Oxidising-reducing conditionsinsandstones sedimentary basins Associated withunconformitiesinancient Brief description K (UCaCe)(TiFe U(SiO UO UO Formula CaH Ca(UO 2 (UO 2 2

2 (SiO 4 2 2 ) ) 0.9 ) 2 2 (VO (VO (OH) 4 ) 2 (UO 4 4 ) ) 2+ 2 0.4 2 ·3(H ·6(H )O 2 )·5(H 6 2 2 O) O) 2 O) - - 400 to4000 200 000 5000 to Typical grade (ppm U) Less than1000 Less than1000 500 to2000 500 to2000 500 to1000 200 to5000 2500 to10000 60 to500 60 to500 130 to1000 250 to10000 300 to500 deposits Hydrothermal orsedimentary-hosted hosted deposits Magmatic, hydrothermalorsedimentary- hosted Magmatic Most common depositional environment Sandstone-hosted deposits Sandstone-hosted deposits deposits Hydrothermal orsedimentary-hosted Sandstone-hosted deposits

3 deposits 1 , hydrothermal www.MineralsUK.com Inkai, Kazakhstan Beverley, Australia; Australia ; Ranger, McArthur River, Examples (closed) Schaenzel, France (closed) Koldjat, Kazakhstan Australia (closed) Mary Kathleen, Ingulkii, Ukraine deposit Australia ; Yeelirre Langer Heinrich, jiashan), China Xiangshan (Zou (closed) Arizona 1,USA khstan (closed) Melovoe, Kaza Rössing, Namibia South Africa Hartebeestfontein, Lianshanguan, China tralia Olympic Dam,Aus 2 orsedimentary- - - - 3 Uranium marginal marineorigin.Lacustrine Mineralisation isbelievedtooccurwherehot,oxidising, ated, whereastheoverlyingyoungerrocksmaynotbe. rocks areusuallyreduced,deformed,faultedorbrecci to majorunconformities These areformedasaresultofgeologicalchangesclose Unconformity-related deposits Major depositclasses features oftheseareshowninTable 3. (IAEA, 2009a),butnotalloftheseareactivelyworked.Key into 14majorcategoriesbasedongeologicalsetting variety ofgeologicalenvironments.Theycanbegrouped Uranium depositsarefoundthroughouttheworldina Deposits 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 ash orgraniteplutons)eithercloseby, interbeddedwith,or The sourceofuraniumisusuallyigneousrocks(volcanic may alsohostmineralisation. stones thatarepoorlysortedandusuallyoffluvial tained inpermeable,medium-tocoarse-grained,sand The mostsignificantdepositsinthiscategoryarecon Sandstone-hosted deposits is atRangerinNorthernTerritory, Australia. major unconformity-relateddepositcurrentlybeingmined of depositintheAthabascaBasin,Saskatchewan.Another both ofitscurrentlyoperatingminesareworkingthistype Canada istheworld’s largestproducerofuranium,and arsenides. nickel-cobalt of quantities significant contain also Canada, Lake, Cigar as such deposits, Some oxides. uranium minor other and coffinite with together uraninite, or pitchblende of consists mineralisation Typically,the U. ppm 000 200 reach locally can they although U, ppm 5000 commonly high, relatively be to tend grades older.Deposit or 1600 typically are rocks where basins sedimentary ancient in found be to tends deposit of category This specific sub-type(WNA,2009;NEA/OECD,2006). or immediatelyabovetheunconformity, depending onthe formity. Depositscanbefoundimmediatelybelow, across, rocks andencounterreducingconditionsbelowtheuncon metal-bearing fluidsmigratethroughoverlyingporous An unconformityiswhereonerockformation isoverlainbyanotherthatnotthenextingeologicalsuccession. A grabenisformedwhere tectonicextensioncausesblocksof crusttosubsidebetween nearparallelfaultlines. A brecciaisafragmented, rockdepositconsistingofangular pieces,i.e.pieceswhichare notroundedbywater. Aeolian –depositedbywind Lacustrine –associatedwithlakes Fluvial –associatedwithrivers Volcaniclastic sediments areparticlesofavolcanicorigin, transportedanddepositedby afluid. 4 . Belowtheunconformity 6 oraeolian 7 sandstones 5 or

Ma Ma - - - - such ascarnotite,tyuyamuniteanduranophane. coffinite, butclosetotherollfrontothermineralsoccur oxidised partofthedepositusuallycontainsuraniniteor grades aregenerallyintherange400–4000ppmU.The The hostsandstonescanbeofalmostanyageanddeposit Tectonic/lithologic —adjacenttopermeablefaultzones. cur alongformerwatercourses; Basal channel—elongatedorribbon-likebodiesthatoc sediments; Tabular —irregular, elongatedlenseswithinreduced stone bedding; Rollfront —crescent-shapedbodiesthatcrosscutsand OECD, 2006): There arefourmaintypesofsandstonedeposits(NEA/ sium mineralssuchaschlorite). by organicmatter, sulphides,hydrocarbonsorferromagne where itisdepositedunderreducingconditions(caused oxidising fluidstransporttheuraniumintosandstone, overlying thehostsandstones.Mineralisationoccurswhen type. TheOlympicDamdepositistowardsthelatterend phorus) tothepolymetallic‘iron-oxide--’ (IOCG) monometallic ‘Kiruna’type(mostlyironwithsomephos Mineralisation inthesedepositsvarieswidely, fromthe and possiblyalsoshallowhydrothermalprocesses. presence ofnearbygraniticorvolcaniclastic the formationofgrabens areas whereextensionaltectonicshavecausedriftingand cias generallyoccurwithinrelativelystablecontinental world’s largesturaniumdepositsandisofthistype.Brec The OlympicDamdepositinSouthAustraliaisoneofthe Hematite breccia . and Australia in worked are deposits channel basal and USA, the and Republic Czech Niger,, in worked are deposits Tabular China. and USA the Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, in deposits type rollfront in operating mines are there Currently deposits. unconformity-related than less be to tends production grade, lower their to due but, deposit of type common most the probably are These 8 complexdeposits 9 . Mineralisationoccursduetothe www.MineralsUK.com 10 sediments - - - - - 4 Uranium (spaces between rock particles) or stockworks (multiple is formed in cracks, bedding planes, fissures, pore spaces This is a collective term for any deposit of uranium that Vein deposits coffinite andbranneritearealsopresent. gold andsilver. Thechiefuraniummineralisuraninite,but U, butitismadeeconomicbytheco-productionofcopper, is beingmined.Thegradeofthisdeposit300–500ppm several countries,currentlyonlyOlympicDaminAustralia Although itisbelievedtherearedepositsofthistypein and rareearthelementsarepresent. of thiscontinuumwhereiron,copper, gold,uranium, 16 15 14 13 12 11 uraninite. 130 –1000ppmU.Themineralisationcomprisesmostly its tendtobelargeinvolumebutoflowgrade,typically in Canada,butthishasnowbeendepleted.Thesedepos South Africa.TherewasasignificantdepositatElliotLake All currentlyworkeddepositsofthistypearelocatedin than about2200Ma. deposits ofthistypehavebeenidentifiedinrocksyounger uranium beforeoxidationcouldtakeplace.However, no that rapidbasinfillingbyriverscouldhaveisolatedthe in itsinsolubleform.Alternatively, ithasbeensuggested fluvial environmentandburiedwhiletheuraniumremained Eroded particlesfromthesourcerockweredepositedina Ma, whentheatmospherewaslessoxidizingthantoday. These depositsarebelievedtohaveformedbefore2200 Quartz-pebble conglomerates worked thesedepositsinthepast. Republic andKazakhstan.Manyothercountrieshavealso are exploitedinRussia,Romania,,China,Czech nerite and,locally, coffiniteinshearzones. Vein deposits reported. Oremineralsaremostlyuraninite,butalsobran < 1000 ppmU,althoughhighergradeshavealsobeen highly variable.Mostdepositshavegradesintherange The agesofthehostrock,andgradesuranium,are occurs chiefly through hydrothermal or geothermal activity. igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary rocks. Mineralisation intersecting cracks). These deposits can be located within Halite –nativesalt Calcrete –calciumand magnesiumcarbonates Felsic –rockscontaininglightcolouredsilicate mineralssuchasquartzandfeldspar Mafic –darkcolouredrockscontainingiron- andmagnesium-bearingminerals,withvirtually no felsicmineralssuchasquartzorfeldspar. A calderaisalargecraterformedbyvolcanic explosionorthecollapseofavolcanocone Anatectic rocksarehightemperaturemetamorphic rockswheremagmaisregenerated. - - typically intherange200to5000ppmUbutdeposits fluorine orquartz(NEA/OECD,2006).Depositgradesare and oftenassociatedwithmolybdenum,othersulphides, mal-related. Oremineralsareprincipallypitchblende (WNA, 2009)andmaybeeithermagmatic-orhydrother Mineralisation istypicallyrelatedtofaultsorshearzones complexes andinterleavedsediments(NEA/OECD,2006). magmatic activityinPrecambrianshields(olderthan542 Deposits ofthistypeareconfinedtoareastectono- Metasomatite Australia is another example of this type of deposit. calcrete-hosted carnotite. The Yeelirrie deposit in Western range from 500 ppm to 1000 ppm and the main mineral is which opened in Namibia in early 2007. Here deposit grades The only mine working this type of deposit is Langer Heinrich, nels andinplayalakesediments(NEA/OECD,2006). occur invalley-fillsedimentsalong Tertiary drainagechan ferric oxideorhalite ing minerals,mostcommonlycalcrete uranium-rich granitesandoccurswithsecondarycement soils. Mineralisationisassociatedwithdeeplyweathered 65 Maold),near-surface concentrationsinsediments or This groupofdepositsareTertiary toRecentinage(up Surficial type ofdepositisalsoworkedinChina. located withintheStreltsovskcalderainRussiabutthis tend tobesmallinsize.Themostsignificantdepositsare canic caldera Deposits ofthistypearelocatedwithin,ornearto,avol Volcanic/caldera related zircon or pyrochlore, making extraction more difficult. deposits the uranium is bound in refractory minerals such as mineralisation comprising mostly uraninite. In some of these Grades are typically between 60 and 500 ppm U, with the currently working this type of deposit is Rössing in Namibia. a magma to crystallise) (NEA/OECD, 2006). The only mine fluids) and pegmatites (formed from the very last part of carbonatites (high carbonate rock derived from magmatic granites or anatectic This is a collective term for deposits associated with Deposits relatedtointrusiverocks 12 whichisfilledbymafic 11 16 rocks. It includes alkaline intrusions, (WNA,2009).Thesedepositscan www.MineralsUK.com 15 13 butalsogypsum, tofelsic 14 volcanic - - - - 5 Uranium depend onthetypeofdeposit. extracted: themethodchosenineachcasewilllargely There arefourmainmethodsbywhichuraniumoreis Extraction PROCESSING EXTRACTION METHODSAND in Ukraine(IAEA,2009a). ppm. Allthreecurrentlyworkeddepositsofthistypeare and depositgradesareusuallyintherange500to2000 2006). Oremineralsaretypicallyuraniniteorbrannerite Ma) andarerelatedtoalkalimetasomatism 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. lowing methodisused: largest uraniummineatMcArthurRiverinCanadathefol risk ofexposuretooperators.Forexample,attheworld’s controlled methodshavebeendevelopedtominimisethe radon gasandradioactivity, meanthatunique,remote- with high-gradeoresinenclosedspaces,asaresultof underground is carried out, but the hazards involved extracted byopen-pit.Thereareseveralwaysinwhich This methodisusediftheorebodytoodeeptobe In 2008,42%ofuraniumorewasminedfromunderground. Underground mined byopen-pitmethods. Australia; Rössing,Namibia;McCleanLake,Canada)are Some oftheworld’s largesturaniumdeposits(Ranger, large trucksfortransporttothecrushingandmillingplant. in benches.Hydraulicexcavatorsloadthebrokenoreinto surface mineorquarryandinvolvesdrillingblasting surface). Thisextractionmethodissimilartoanyother from openpits(lessthan200mdepthandtothe Approximately 20%ofalluraniumoreminedin2008was Open-pit 17 Alkali metasomatism involvestheintroductionofsodium,calcium orpotassiumintothe rocks it toafineslurry, are alsocarriedoutunderground. The firststagesofprocessing theore,whichreducing system thatremovesittotheprocessingcircuit. The orefallsdowntoaremote-controlledloading raisebore machine. and raisedupwardthroughtheorebodytowards A rotatingreamingheadisattachedonthelowerlevel raisebore machinelocatedontheupperlevel. A pilotholeisdrilledthroughtheoredepositbya levels aboveandbelowtheorebody. A shaftissunktotherequireddepth,withhorizontal 17 (NEA/OECD, - any contaminationofsurroundingaquifers. movement ofgroundwaterisintotheminedareatoavoid small amountofthefluidisremovedtoensurethatany solution, thefluidisre-injectedintoaclosedcircuit.A surface. Aftertheuraniumhasbeenremovedfrom solution andtheuranium-bearingfluidispumpedto along withanoxidant.Theuraniumisdissolvedintothe the orebodyfromagridofwells(knownaswellfield) calcium intheorebody)oracidsolutionisinjectedinto In thismethodeitheranalkaline(ifthereissignificant no wastetailingsareproduced. ated. Consequentlythereislesssurfacedisturbanceand rock isrelativelyundisturbedandnolargecavitiesarecre ore bodiessuchassandstone-hosteddeposits.Thehost leaching. Thistechnologyisonlysuitableforpermeable In 2008,28%ofuraniumminingwascarriedoutbyin-situ In-situ leaching Lake inCanadaandAkoutaNiger. Other undergrounduraniumminesarelocatedatRabbit filtering, ispumpedtoasolvent extractionprocess. from thedepletedsolids(known astailings)and,after from theore.Theuraniuminsolutionisthenseparated tanks whereacidisusedtodissolvetheuraniumminerals with waterintoaslurry. Theslurryispumpedintoleaching first crushedandgroundtoafinepowderthenmixed The oreextractedbyopenpitorundergroundminingis Processing through anacidleachtoremoveanyremaininguranium. acid leaching.Thecopperconcentrateisalsoprocessed in thetailingsfromflotationcellsandisrecoveredby move copper. Approximately80%oftheuranium remains It isthentreatedinacoppersulphideflotationplanttore ground beforebeingtransportedtothesurfaceformilling. The oreatOlympicDamisextractedandcrushedunder Australia. tions. MostofthiswasattheOlympicDammineinSouth by-product orco-productofcoppergoldminingopera In 2008,10%ofuraniumminedwasrecoveredasa Co-product orby-product use thistechnology. ley inSouthAustralia,althoughseveralsmallerminesalso The largestminingoperationusingthismethodisatBever www.MineralsUK.com - - - - - 6 Uranium separate system. 3. Copper(orother metal)concentratesaretreated ina continues throughtheprocess fromstage(4)ofFigure fluid mentionedabove(containing thedissolveduranium) If uraniumisextractedasaby-product theacidleach continues fromstage(6)ofFigure3. oxide. Ifthesolventextractionmethodisusedprocess dried to give hydrated uranium peroxide instead of uranium ion exchangesystemtheuraniumslurryisdewateredand extraction dependingonthesalinityoffluid.With removed, usingeitheranionexchangesystemorsolvent bearing fluidispumpedtothesurfaceanduranium because thereisnocrushingandgrinding.Theuranium- With thein-situleachingmethodprocessisdifferent (U roasted inacalciner(furnace)toproduceuraniumoxide The yellowcakeisputthroughacentrifugeandfinally known as‘yellowcake’becauseofitsbrightyellowcolour. a uraniumcompound(ammoniumdiuranate),whichisalso monia inaprecipitationtankresultstheof elements containedintheore.Thefurtheradditionofam to selectivelyremoveuraniumfromtheacidandanyother In thesolventextractioncircuitvariouschemicalsareused 3 O 8 ), (Figure3). - Source: SouthAustraliaChamberofMines&Energy. Figure 2 enabling them to passmoreeasilythroughthe poresinthe mass andfaster movementratesthanU-238 molecules, phragms. ItreliesonU-235molecules havingasmaller ride gasthroughaseriesofporous membranesordia Gaseous diffusionforcespressurised uraniumhexafluo laboratory, but only two are operated on a commercial scale. Several methods of enrichment have been demonstrated in a Enrichment and Argentina(IAEA,2009b). located inRussia(x2),Canada,China,France,UK,USA, operating thisconversionprocesscommercially. Theseare solid belowthistemperature.Currentlythereare8plants hexafluoride isagasabove57ºC,butconvertsdirectlyto uranium hexafluoride.Atatmosphericpressure refined touraniumdioxideandthenconvertedagas, The enrichmentprocessrequirestheuraniumtobefirst Conversion and 5%ofuranium-235. uranium. Reactorfuelrodsusuallycontainbetween3% fuel thatisenrichedinuranium-235relativetonatural before beingmadeintofuelrods.Mostreactorsalsoneed For useinpowerstations,U The fuelcycle The in-situleachmethodofuraniumextraction. 3 O 8 www.MineralsUK.com hastobefurtherrefined - - 7 Uranium ‘’ or‘uraniumtails’(which is nottobe ment becomes depletedinthisisotopeandis knownas The uraniumfromwhichU-235 isextractedduringenrich Netherlands, Pakistan,andthe UK(IAEA,2009b) ing, locatedinRussia(x4),China (x 2),Germany, Japan, plants. Thereare11commercialcentrifugeplantsoperat gradually replacingthegenerallyoldergaseousdiffusion is moreeconomiconasmallerscalethandiffusionand The processisrepeated10to20times.Thistechnology that ofU-235increasestowardsthecentre(WNA,2009). tion isincreasedtowardsthecylinder’s outeredgewhile cause U-238hasagreatermassthanU-235,itsconcentra containing arotorthatisspunat50,000to70,000rpm.Be hexafluoride gasisfedintoaseriesofvacuumtubes,each The othermethodusesaseriesofcentrifuges.Uranium this process(IAEA,2009b). only theUSAandFrancehavecommercialplantsusing countries haveoperatedtheseplantsinthepast,currently 3–4% U-235isobtained(WNA,2009).Althoughseveral repeated manytimesthroughacascadeuntilgaswith is thereforeslightlyenrichedinU-235.Theprocess membrane. Thegasthatpassesthroughthemembrane Figure 3 Simplified uraniumextractionprocess. - - - - to shieldtheradiation, wheretheyarecooled forseveral heat. Theyare placed underatleast3metres ofwater they arestillveryradioactive and continuetogenerate When spentfuelassembliesare removedfromreactors Spent fuel plants in18countriesaroundtheworld(IAEA,2009b). reactor. Therearecurrently40commercialfuelfabrication arranged inafuelassemblyreadyforintroductioninto conium metaltubestoformfuelrods.Severalrodsare 1400ºC) toformceramicpellets.Theseareencasedinzir is thenpressedandbakedathightemperatures(over reconverted toproducesolidenricheduraniumoxide.This In thenextstageenricheduraniumhexafluoridegasis Fuel fabrication tails assay)(vanEeden,2005). tion ofU-235remaininginthedepletedtails(knownas enrichment. ThemoreSWUsused,thelowerpropor the quantityofeffortrequiredtomeetaspecifiedlevel SWUs (SeparativeWork Units), whichareameasureof tive proportionofU-238.Enrichmentservicesaresoldin by mining).Thisdepleteduraniumcontainsahigherrela confused with‘’,thewasterockslurrygenerated www.MineralsUK.com - - - 8 Uranium and secondly to reduce the volume of material treated as additional 25 converted into new fuel for power plants and generate an are to recover unused uranium and , which can be The principal reasons for reprocessing spent Reprocessing described as‘closed’. use asfuel.Wherethisprocesshappensthefuelcycleis processed torecovertheuraniumandplutoniumforfuture fuel rodsas‘waste’,increasinglythismaterialisbeingre potential resource.Althoughmanycountriestreatspent with plutoniumandU-238,assuchrepresentsa years. ThespentfuelstillcontainssomeU-235,together ity. LowLevelWaste comprisespaper, clothing, filters, and, assuch,containsonlysmall quantitiesofradioactiv nuclear powerstationsisclassified as‘LowLevel Waste’ be notedthat90 percentofthewastegenerated from the enrichmentandfissionprocess. However, itshould potentially dangerouswastethat isgeneratedduring sensitive issueisthequestionofwhattodowith One ofthereasonsnuclearpowerissuchapolitically Waste ‘Processing ofUsedNuclearFuel’(WNA,2009). given intheWorld NuclearAssociation’s InformationPaper not otherpurposes.Furtherdetailsoftheseprocessesare plutonium can only be used as a fuel for and and/or otherfissionproducts.Asaconsequence,the ing spentfuelbynotisolatingplutoniumfromtheuranium intention ofreducingtheproliferationriskfromreprocess of recyclingnuclearwaste,arebeingdeveloped,withthe Several variationsofthePUREXprocess,orothermethods cial scale.(IAEA,2009b). UK, FranceandoneinRussiaareoperatingonacommer India, JapanandtheUSA,althoughonlyplantsin world, locatedintheUK(x2),FranceRussia Waste. Currentlythereare9reprocessing plantsinthe proximately 3%ofthetotal,isthentreatedasHighLevel mixed-oxide (orMOX)fuel.Theremainingmaterial,ap to afuelfabricationplantwhereitisincorporatedinto re-enrichment, whiletheplutoniumcanbereturneddirect returned tothefuelcycleataconversionplantprior by solventextraction(WNA,2009).Theuraniumisthen and chemicallyseparatingtheuraniumplutonium dissolving thefuelelementsinconcentratednitricacid cal methodknownasthe‘PUREX’process.Thisinvolves All commercialreprocessingplantsuseahydrometallurgi less radioactive than the spent fuel (WNA, 2009). ‘waste’. In addition the waste after reprocessing is much

per cent of energy from the original uranium, ------Currently HighLevelWaste isstored pendingfinaldis power plant(WNA,2009). those occurringwhenthespentfuelwasremovedfrom after 40–50yearsthelevelsareonlyonethousandthof this wastereducessignificantlyduringstorage,suchthat both shieldingandcooling.Theheatradioactivityof High levelwasteishighlyradioactiveandhot,requiring or thewasteremainingafterreprocessingspentfuel. electricity generation.Thisiseitherthespentfuelitself, cent ofthetotalradioactivityproducedinprocess is categorisedasHighLevelWaste, whichcontains95 per Of greatestconcernisthe3 percentofnuclearwastethat long-term storageorburialinrepositories. rial requiresshieldingandisoftenencasedinconcretefor cladding, resinsandchemicalsludge.Someofthismate volume ofnuclearwasteandismadeupmetalfuel Intermediate LevelWaste comprises7 percentofthetotal constructed repositories. etc andcanbesafelycompressedburiedinspecially tional powerstations. electricity, inthe same wayfossilfuelsareusedinconven The steamisthenusedtoturn turbines,whichgenerate um-235 asaheatsourceforconverting waterintosteam. Most nuclearpowerstations use thefissionofurani Electricity and militaryordnance. used forthepropulsionofships,research,desalination uranium inthemodernworld.Amuchsmalleramountis The productionofelectricityrepresentsthemainusefor Specification andUses material forreprocessingandreuse(WNA,2009). possibility offuturegenerationswishingtoretrievethe case ofspentfuel,considerationisalsobeinggiventothe research intopotentiallocationsforrepositories.Inthe political reasons.Manyothercountriesarecarryingout Mountain, Nevadabuttheprocesshasnowstalledfor Olkiluoto, Finland).TheUSAhadselectedasiteatYucca with bothcountriesselectingsites(Osthammar, Sweden; furthest advancedwiththedevelopmentofrepositories, able tolocalpublicopinion.SwedenandFinlandarethe is theidentificationofasuitablelocationthataccept in ageologicallystablelocation.However, themajorissue non-corrosive , and buried deep underground insoluble materialsuchasborosilicateglass,encasedin disposal wherebythewastewillbeimmobilisedinan posal. Thefavouredoptioninvolves‘multiplebarrier’ www.MineralsUK.com - - - - - 9 Uranium stations togenerateelectricity, futuredemand will depend As over95 percentofuraniumisusedinnuclearpower option into their ‘low carbon’ energy mix. ity and as a consequence many nations are including this not release during the generation of electric One significant advantage of nuclear power is that it does uranium-235 is 3 million times more concentrated than coal. In other words, as an energy source, weight for weight, 2.8 x 10 joules of energy during , compared with only kilogram of uranium-235 produces approximately 8.2 x 10 concentration of energy generated by nuclear fission. One The main contrast with fossil fuels, such as coal, lies in the 18 known as ‘Candu’, which were developed in Canada. ‘’ type in the UK and the pressurised water reactors, use of uranium in its natural state. These include the older being uranium-238. Only a few nuclear power stations make proximately 0.7 As mentioned in section 1.1, contains ap they ‘burn’uranium). classed asthermalreactors,or‘burner’reactors(because Most nuclearpowerstationscurrentlyoperatingare Thermal reactors the nearfuture. of theiroperatinglifeandareexpectedtobeshutdownin number ofcurrentlyoperatingreactorsarenearingtheend the World NuclearAssociation (WNA, 2009).However, a Russia, 24inSouthAfricaand20Ukraine),accordingto many as327are‘proposed’(including120inChina,37 (including 37inChina,23Indiaand13Japan)as A further142reactorsarelistedas‘onorderorplanned’ a further53underconstruction(20oftheseareinChina). operating togenerateelectricityaroundtheworld,with 4. AsofFebruary2010therewere436nuclearreactors nuclear powertogenerateelectricity, asshowninFigure Individual countriesvarywidelyintheirdependenceon had increasedto2719TWhin2007. the quantityofelectricityproducedfromnuclearpower but thendroppedslightlyto13.8 percentin2007,while of electricity-generationshareremainedsimilaruntil2004 increased fromtwo percentto16cent.Theproportion tion ofelectricityproducedbynuclear-fission methods 2000 TWhby1990.Overthesameperiodpropor increased sharplyfromlessthan200TWh quantity ofworldelectricityproducedfromnuclearsources on thenumberofoperatingnuclearpowerstations.The TWh =Terra Watt hour, 1TWh=x1012Watt hours 7 joules derived from burning 1 kilogram of coal.

per cent of uranium-235 with 99.3 18 in1971toover

per cent - - 13

- is alargermoleculeithastocollidewithfastmoving nium-238 ratherthanuranium-235.Becauseuranium-238 These reactorsaredesignedtocausefissioninura Fast breederreactors permeable toneutrons. because zirconiumisacorrosion-resistantmaterialthat cally containedinzirconiumalloytubestoformafuelrod chain reactionattherequiredlevel.Theuraniumistypi -absorbing material,suchasboron,tokeepthe water orcarbondioxidegas,andcontrolrodsmadeofa reaction. Thesereactorsalsoneedacoolant,usually atoms toabsorbthemandthuscontinuethefissionchain to slow down the speed of to enable uranium-235 All thermalreactorsusewaterorgraphiteasa‘moderator’ highly enrichedmaterialneededforweapons. or lowenricheduranium,todistinguishitfromthemore cent ofuranium-235.ThisfuelissometimesknownasLEU, has beenenrichedtocontainbetween3 percentand5 tors andAdvancedGasCooledReactors,useuraniumthat The newerdesigns,suchasthePressurisedWater Reac in Japan,withseveralothers under constructionoron The firstofthe‘generationIII’ designsisnowoperational Advanced designs power plants. have thebestproductionrecordofallRussia’s nuclear has beensupplyingelectricitysince1980andissaidto size. However, onepowerstationatBeloyarskinRussia in operation,manyofwhichare‘experimental’orsmall thermal reactorsandcurrentlyonlyafewplantsremains However thesereactorsaremoreexpensivetobuildthen plutonium ‘burned’.Thusthereactor‘breeds’morefuel. plutonium isproducedthanthequantityofuraniumand the heatproducedinreactor. Furthermore, muchmore this plutoniumundergoesspontaneousfission,addingto uranium-238, isthattheprocesscreatesplutonium.Partof other thanthefacttheyusemuchmoreabundant The maintechnicaladvantageoffastbreederreactors, problems inthedesignofsuchreactors. mal conductivity. Howeverthiscausesadditionaltechnical Instead, liquidsodiumisusedbecauseithasahighther water orcarbondioxideareinsufficienttoactascoolants. reactors), butthehighlevelsofheatproducedmeansthat without amoderator(whichslowstheneutronsinthermal tron reactor’issometimesused.Thesereactorsarebuilt neutrons beforefissionoccurs,hencetheterm‘fastneu www.MineralsUK.com - - - - - 10 Uranium ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ designs, overthepreviousplantsare: order. Theadvantagesofthesethirdgenerationreactor 19 power. Source: BGS(2010),IAEA(2009c)&WNA(2010). Figure 4 weapons proliferation. with improvedsecurityagainstbothterroristattackand demands inasafe,cleanandmorecost-effectiveway aims ofthesenewdesignsaretomeetincreasedenergy believe representthefutureshapeofnuclearenergy. The 2003 theselectionofsixnewreactordesignswhichthey rea, SouthAfrica,SwitzerlandandtheUK),announcedin USA, Argentina,Brazil,Canada,France,Japan,SouthKo The GenerationIVInternationalForum(consistingofthe ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ 10000 12000 14000 MWe =Mega wattsofelectricity Tonnes U 2000 4000 6000 8000 Higher fuelburn-upandthereforelesswaste. Operating livesarelonger, typically60years; upsets; easier tooperateandlessvulnerableoperational A simplerandmoreruggeddesign,thatmakesthem construction time; Standardised design,whichreducescapitalcostand function; intervention toavoidaccidentsintheeventofamal inherent safetyfeatures,whichrequirenooperational Better safetyfeatures.Manyincorporate‘passive’or 0 76 Mine productionanduranium requirementsbycountry withpercentage ofelectricityproducedfromnuclear 73 56 54 47 Mi 42 ne ne 42 Produc 39 39 ti on on 37 2008 36 33 32 30 28 Fu 25 - el el <1 - Re 20 9 >2 em quir 00 18 2 000 0 were underconstruction(WNA,2009);morethanhalfof 400 nuclear-powered submarineshadbeeneither builtor weeks atatime.BytheendofColdWar morethan maintaining 20–25knotsandremainingsubmergedfor from slowunderwatervesselstowarshipscapableof USA in1955.Thismarkedthetransitionofsubmarines The firstnuclear-powered submarinewaslaunchedbythe Nuclear-powered ships Other uses 2020. until operational be to likely not are designs IV generation These possible. is plutonium this separating without reprocessing where from and high is burn-up where reactor the of core the within production plutonium having by designs reactor fast the in dressed MWe 1500 to 150 between outputs power with reactors, water light current for 330°C to compared 850°C, to 510°C of range the in are temperatures Operating salt. fluoride or sodium muth, lead-bis to or water light from considerably vary designs these in reactor. fast a as built be can other one and reactors’ ‘fast are three designs, these Of these havesincebeenscrapped. 18 ent 17 s 15 2010 13 6 5 19 4 . Non-proliferation concerns are ad are concerns Non-proliferation . 4 % % El 3 trit ec ic 2 2 www.MineralsUK.com y 200 2 8 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 - - Percentage of Electricity Produced using Nuclear Power 11 Uranium is progressivelydepletedasfissionproductsbuildup. fitted witha‘burnablepoison’,suchasgadolinium,which power fromasmallvolumeoffuel.Inaddition,theyare some maybeasmuch90%)togivealargeamountof uranium (generallyaround20–40%uranium-235,although pressurised waterreactors,whichrunonhighlyenriched The reactorsusedformarinepropulsionaremostly icebreakers. ficult thattheyarebeyondthecapabilitiesofconventional the RussianArcticwhereoperatingconditionsaresodif Nuclear propulsionhasproventobeparticularlyusefulin — 11oftheUSA’s aircraftcarriersarepropelledthisway. Surface vesselsmayalsobepoweredbynuclearreactors be usedinnuclear warheads.Nouraniumused inpower highly enricheduranium(HEU -over90%uranium-235)can Uranium haslongbeenasensitive politicaltopicbecause Weapons around theworld. plant projectshavebeenproposedorarebeingdeveloped water resources,severalnuclearpowereddesalination to safedrinkingwaterand,withincreasingpressureon one fifthoftheworld’s populationdoesnothaveaccess in somepressurisedwaterreactorplants.Anestimated desalination takesplacealongsideelectricitygeneration In afewcountries,suchasKazakhstan,IndiaandJapan, or ‘reverseosmosis’,isaveryenergyintensiveprocess. Desalination, whetherbythe‘multistageflash’process Desalination cancer) andinsomeindustrialprocessing. topes formedicalapplications(e.g.thetreatmentof at atomiclevel.Theyarealsousedtoproduceradioiso able forstudyingthestructureanddynamicsofmaterials Research reactorsareusedtocreateneutronbeamssuit low-enriched uraniumfuels. 90% enriched)butgraduallythisisbeingreplacedwith about 20%uranium-235,althoughsomeusefuelupto Traditionally theyhaveusedhighlyenricheduranium(often tion, andaregenerallyofsimpledesignsmallsize. civil andcommercialreactorsnotusedforpowergenera countries aroundtheworld.Theycompriseawiderangeof There arecurrentlyaround250researchreactorsin56 Research need refuellingfor10yearsormore(WNA,2009). reactors onshipshavealongcorelife,andmanydonot ficiency fromareductioningadolinium.Asresultnuclear products iseffectivelycancelledoutbytheincreasedef The reducedefficiencycausedbythebuildupoffission - - - - - weapons since 1970 and would have to dismantle them be Pakistan and Israel, because they have developed nuclear There are three states that are outside the NPT: India, ity, but have made the decision not to pursue such weapons. and France. Many other nations have the technical capabil nuclear weapons before 1967: the USA, Russia, China, UK have signed the NPT, including the 5 nations who obtained Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). A large number of states erated a system of safeguards since 1970 under the Nuclear To prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, the IAEA has op ated bytheInternationalAtomicEnergyAuthority(IAEA). in ahighlycontrolledmanner, withinthesafeguardsoper rods foruseincivilpowerstations.Thisisbeingmanaged with depleteduraniumandthenconvertedintofreshfuel Russia haveseensomequantitiesofmilitaryHEUdiluted Reductions inweaponsrecentyearsbytheUSAand to HEUwithfurtherenrichment. mum of5%uranium-235).However, LEUcanbeconverted either naturalorlowenricheduranium(LEU-atamaxi stations iscapableofuseinaweaponbecauseitcontains economically recoverable. shows thecurrentlyknownresources bycountrythatare sub-economic depositstobecome recoverable.Table 4 gree ofgeologicalevaluation. Increasesinpricemaycause costs ofextractionandmarket prices,aswellthede market conditions.Therefore, thesefiguresdependonthe amount thatiseconomicallyrecoverableunderprevailing to existwithincertainlimitsofconfidenceandalsothe Measured resourcesofuraniumaretheamountknown World resources under theNPTisoftendifficultandpoliticallysensitive. The workoftheIAEAinattemptingtoenforcesafeguards tion ofobligationsundertheNPT. entirely transparentregardingitsactivities,incontraven ties isforpeacefulpurposes;however, Iran hasnotbeen tory oftheTreaty andinsiststhatitsconstructionoffacili fuel. tors andhaverecommencedreprocessingofspentnuclear closed in2007,theysubsequentlyexpelledIAEAinspec to bedifficultand,althoughtheirnuclearfacilitieswere in October2006andMay2009.Negotiationshaveproved is believedtohavetestednuclearweaponsunderground draw fromtheNPTand,despitesubsequentnegotiations, In April2003,NorthKoreabecamethefirstnationwith ments were agreed with India in 2008 (WNA, 2009). fore they would be allowed to sign the NPT. Special arrange

Another countrycausingconcernisIran.Itasigna www.MineralsUK.com ------12 Uranium Source: BGSWorld MineralStatisticsDatabase. Table 5 to US$130/KgU).Source:NEA&IAEA(2007). (Reasonably AssuredResourcesplusInferredResources, Table 4 Kazakhstan Canada Country Germany Pakistan (est) Romania India (est) public Czech Re Brazil South Africa China (est) Ukraine (est) USA Uzbekistan Niger Russia Namibia Australia World total World total Others Mongolia China India Uzbekistan Jordan Ukraine Niger Namibia Brazil USA Canada South Africa Russian Fed. Kazakhstan Australia - Mine productionofuraniumby country(tonnes,metalcontent). Known recoverableresourcesofuranium2007. 2004 U) Resources (tonnes 11599 40432 3719 2035 3273 3280 3159 9010 230 435 300 752 750 800 878 5 469 000 1 243 000 90 77 45 546 000 817 000 210 000 111 000 112 000 200 000 274 000 275 000 278 000 342 000 423 000 435 000 62 000 68 000 73 000 2005 41741 11627 1034 2629 3093 3431 2855 9516 4357 750 800 230 420 110 674 80 45 90 Total % ofWorld 2006 100 10 15 23 39113 1 1 1 2 2 4 5 5 5 6 8 8 4 1579 2270 3431 3262 2782 7606 5279 9862 383 800 177 190 542 750 65 45 90 2007 be Uz Source: BGSWorld MineralStatistics Database. Figure 5 41361 5. 6637 9475 1744 2320 3153 3413 2879 8603 270 322 299 525 712 846 Ru 3% ki 8. 41 45 77 Nige st 6. 0% ssi an an 8% U Nam a 3. 1. kra U Uranium mineproductionbycountry2008.

9. r

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Canada Canada 20 .5 2004 to2008 % change 129.1% Ka % -14.4% -33.3% -13.0% -22.4% -48.1% 17.8% 10.0% 71.0% 14.9% 38.2% -8.6% -6.0% 0.0% 2.5% 0.0% 7.3% 19. za 8.8%

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13 Uranium mines openinrecent years,andhavemoreprospect fourth spot.Boththesecountries haveseennewuranium ing countryintheworldandNamibia movingintothe overtaking Australiatobecome thesecondlargestproduc compared to2007.Theseincreases resultedinKazakhstan increases intheproduction NamibiaandKazakhstan recorded since1989andthiswaslargelyduetosignificant The annualuraniumoutputin2008wasthehighest (Figure 5,Table 5). just over19 percenteachfromKazakhstanandAustralia tonnes in2008,with20 percentcomingfromCanadaand Mine productionofprimaryuraniumwasnearly44,000 World production Sources: Boytsov, etal(2010),BGSandindividualcompanywebsites. Table 7 Source: World NuclearAssociationandBGS Table 6 Paladin Energy Uranium One Navoi BHP Billiton ARMZ Kazatomprom Areva Cameco Company Akdala McClean Lake Akouta Rabbit Lake Arlit Krazbokamensk Olympic Dam Rössing Ranger McArthur River Mine Top producinguraniumcompanies,basedon2008output. Top 10producinguraniummines,basedon2008output Namibia Australia Canada Country Kazakhstan Canada Niger Canada Niger Russia Australia Total Langer Heinrich(Namibia) Akdala (Kazakhstan) Various inUzbekistan Olympic Dam(Australia) Karatau (Kazakhstan) Krazbokamensk and Dalamatovskoe (Russia), Inkai andKharassan(Kazakhstan) (Canada) Arlit andAkouta(Niger),McCleanLake Smith Ranch-Highland(USA) McArthur RiverandRabbitLake(Canada), Ranger (Australia),Rössing(Namibia) Main Operations Tinto) Rössing (Rio ERA (RioTinto) Cameco Main Owner Total Uranium One Areva Areva/Onarem Cameco Areva/Onarem ARMZ BHP Billiton - In-situ leach Open-pit Underground Underground Open-pit Underground By-product Open-pit Open-pit Underground Type new mineswhich areexpectedtoopeninthe nearfuture dent. However, inSouthAustralia therearetwopossible delayed duetoremediationwork followingafloodinginci The openingoftheCigarLake mineinCanadahasbeen which causedseriousdamage tothemainhoistingshaft. duced attheOlympicDammine asaresultofanaccident Lake minehasnowclosedandinAustraliaoutputwasre to havedeclinedfurtherin2009.InCanada,theMcClean declined in2008comparedwith2007,andareexpected In contrast,mineproductioninbothCanadaandAustralia producing countryintheworld. increased outputfurtherin2009andbecomethelargest medium-term. Inparticular, Kazakhstanisbelievedtohave sites whichmaycommenceproductioninthenearto production (tU) Total attributable 37608 6655 7989 1115 2338 3344 3687 5225 6307 Production (tU) 948 27436 1034 1249 1289 1368 1743 3050 3344 3449 4527 6383 www.MineralsUK.com % ofWorld % ofWorld 15.1 18.2 85.5 11.9 14.3 2.2 2.5 5.3 7.6 8.4 62.4 10.3 14.5 2.4 2.8 2.9 3.1 4.0 6.9 7.6 7.8 - - 14 Uranium (in tonnesmetalcontent).Source:BGSWorld MineralStatisticsandWorld NuclearAssociation. Figure 6 their actual fuel requirements, it does reveal the significant the sizeofreactors,andtherefore doesnotindicate operating intheworld.Whilst thisgraphdoesnotshow (tonnes metalcontent)withthe growthofnuclearreactors Figure 6comparesthelevelof mineproductionofuranium in theattributedproduction. therefore thefiguresin Table 7 reflecttheseshareholdings Table 7.Manyminesareoperated as‘jointventures’and 6, andthetopproducingcompaniesin2008areshown The top10producingminesin2008areshownTable open inthenearfuture,thisshortfallisreducing. However, withmanynewminesopening,orplanningto stockpiles, andconvertingex-militarymaterialsintofuel. by reprocessingnuclearfuel,drawingdownfromexisting 2010. Theshortfallofsupplyinrecentyearshasbeenmet which areexpectedtobemorethan68 000tonnesin currently not sufficient to meet world reactor requirements, Despite recentincreases,primaryproductionofuraniumis may nowleadtoprospectstherebeingdeveloped. and achangeinStategovernmentforWestern Australia

10 15 Numb20 er of 25 Nuclea30 r Reacto35 rs 40 45 50 55 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1954 Number ofoperationalnuclearreactorsintheworldcompared tomineproductionofuranium 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 Ye 1980 ar

for reprocessing. However, due tothepoliticalsensitivi actors. Thereisalsoasubstantial tradeinspentfuelrods uranium dioxideandfuelrods readyforuseinnuclearre traded formsincludeuranium hexafluoride,lowenriched Uranium istradedchieflyas U diverted intoweapons. that uraniumisusedforcivilianenergypurposesandnot Treaty (NPT).Thepurposeofthese measuresistoensure ance withtheconditionsofNuclearNon-Proliferation inspections ofnuclearfacilities,inordertoensurecompli also carriesoutauditsofthetradeinuranium,alongwith be used.TheInternationalAtomicEnergyAgency(IAEA) their exports,andthepurposesforwhichuraniumwill of nuclearweapons.Exportingcountriescloselymonitor sociated safeguardsaimedatrestrictingthedevelopment mineral commodityduetopoliticalsensitivitiesandas The marketingofuraniumisquiteunlikethatanyother World Trade which wasmostlikelyformilitaryuse. production ofuraniuminthelate1950sandearly1960s, 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 3 www.MineralsUK.com O 1998 8 (yellowcake),butother 2000 2002

2004 2006 0 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000 2008 5000 - - - - Uranium Production (Tonnes Metal Content) 15 Uranium other alternatives. other or fuel spent reprocessing by alleviated partly only is This stations. power nuclear their fuel to uranium of imports on dependent strongly are Japan), and France USA, (the requirements largest the with countries three the including nations, industrialised Many Uzbekistan. and Namibia Niger, Kazakhstan, Australia, are these — production all virtually export therefore and stations power nuclear any have not do countries five 5), (Table 2005 in uranium produced that countries 17 the Of figures forallcountries. reported andthereforeitisnotpossibletogiveaccurate ties, itisbelievedthatinternationaltradeincompletely Source: Averages. compared to2010). Figure 7 plants, thuspreventingBrazilfromdivertinganymaterial the IAEAnottobuilditsownconversionorenrichment cient uranium to supply its own needs, but has agreed with NPT. Forexample,Brazilhashistoricallyproducedsuffi is stillmovedaroundtheworldasaconsequenceof Even wheremineproductionisuseddomestically, uranium US$ per pound 100. 120. 140. 160. 180. 20 40 60 80 0. .0 .0 .0 .0 00 00 00 00 00 00 0 0 0 0 Historical spotpriceforuranium yellowcake(Realprice isadjustedfor changesinthevalueofmoney, 1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984 Nom 1986 -

inal inal 1988 supply resultedinasignificantincreasepricesthrough mine productionlevelsandconcernsovercontinuityof for uraniumelectricitygenerationismuchhigherthan US$20 per poundbytheendof2004.However, demand 2004 spotmarketpriceswereverylow, risingto amere negotiating pricesforlong-termcontracts.From1988to for severalyearsandthisisfrequentlyreferredtowhen contracts, however, aspotmarkethasbeeninexistence More than80 percentofuraniumissoldunderlong-term Prices in Finland. rods inGermanyandthenusednuclearpowerreactors Canada orFrance,enrichedinRussia,fabricatedintofuel could bepurchasedfromCanadaorAustralia,convertedin in thesupplychain.Forexample,uraniumasyellowcake In someinstances,manydifferentcountriesareinvolved imported asfuelrodsfortheirtwonuclearpowerstations. yellowcake forconversionandenrichment,isthenre- into weapons.Brazilianuraniumisthereforeexportedas e ic pr 1990

1992 R eal eal 1994 e ic pr 1996

1998 www.MineralsUK.com 2000

2002

2004

2006

2008 - 16 Uranium primary uraniummines,but,withplanstobuildnewpower fuel. Mostlargeproducersarenowraisingoutputfrom option withaconsequentincreaseindemandforuranium caused manycountriestore-examinethenuclearpower emissions, whichareimplicatedinclimatechange,have Ongoing internationaleffortstoreducecarbondioxide proximately US$45 perpound. although itthenrecoveredslightlytoendtheyearatap price reachedathree-yearlowofaroundUS$42 perpound second partof2007andthroughout2008.In2009the but thispeakwasfollowedbyasharpdropduringthe price reachedahighofUS$138 perpoundinJune2007; out 2005to2007,spurredonbyspeculativeactivity. The oil and natural gas) and also the renewable sources of of sources renewable the also and gas) natural and oil (coal, fuels fossil involving technologies established well- include These electricity. generate to stations power nuclear using to alternatives are there However, Source: IEA,2009. Figure 8 contains aproportionofuraniumalongwithplutonium. to useamixedoxidefuel(knownasMOX)butthisalso ferent amountsofuranium.Someplantscanbedesigned require differentdegreesofenrichment,andthususedif power stations.Differentdesignsofnuclearreactors There arenoalternativestouraniumasafuelinnuclear Alternative technologies strong. stations, particularlyinChinaandIndia,demandremains Nu 13.8 cl ea % World electricitygeneration,2007. r 15.6 Hy dr 20.9% % Ga o s Ot he r r 2.6% Re ne wabl 5.6% Oi es l 41.5% Co al - - may notbeentirelynegligible. capture theenergyandthereforetheirlifecycleemissions the constructionofplantandequipmentrequiredto electricity, somecarbondioxidewillbereleased during the atmosphere.However, aswithanyothersourceof because theydonotdirectlyreleasecarbondioxideinto They areregardedastheenvironmentallyfriendlyoption is usedbecausethesesourcesarenotfiniteinquantity. comes fromsomeformof‘renewable’source.Thisterm Currently lessthan20 percentoftheworld’s electricity Renewable energysources quantities ofcarbondioxide. for electricityorotherformsofpower, theyallemitlarge coal, areknowntoexist.Whentheyburned,whether finite, althoughmanyyearsofreserves,particularly coal, oilornaturalgasforfuel.Resourcesoftheseare Nearly 70 percentofworldelectricitygenerationuses Fossil fuels tides. and waves biomass, solar,geothermal, wind, hydro, power: required during thenight. mittent (likewind)andalternative sourcesofpowerare much smallerthanhydroorwind energy. Itisalsointer electricity generatedthisway isgrowing,althoughstill Solar energytechnologyisimproving andthequantityof available toprovideadditionalpoweronlesswindydays. potential forexpansionbutalternativesstillneedtobe Wind EnergyAssociation,2010).Thereisconsiderable with morethan38 000MWaddedin2009alone(World ity aroundtheworldisnearly160 000MW(megawatts), size ofwindturbinesinrecentyears.Theinstalledcapac There hasbeensignificantgrowthinboththenumberand problems suchasstormdamageandriskstoshipping. available butisnotwidelyusedatpresentduetopractical power technology, usingthemotionofwaves,isalso the greaterpotentialforgeneratingelectricity. Wave tides togeneratepower. Clearlythehigher thetidalrange Tidal electricitygenerationusestheriseandfallofoceanic flows ofrivers. flooded behindlargedamsandthedisruptiontonatural consequences, inparticularrelatingtotheareasthatare ate moreelectricitythisway, butthereareenvironmental electricity. Inmanycountriesthereispotentialtogener of fallingwaterandusingittoturnturbinesgenerate hydroelectricity, whichistheharnessingofenergy The mostcommonlyusedrenewableenergysourceis www.MineralsUK.com - - - 17 Uranium example incountriessuchasIcelandorNewZealand. potential wheretherehasbeenrecentvolcanicactivity, for turn electricitygeneratingturbines.Thishasthegreatest Earth bybringinghotundergroundsteamtothesurface Geothermal powersystemsharnessthenaturalheatof combustion. during released is and years of millions for away locked been has that carbon represent fuels fossil contrast, In extra. add not does and atmosphere the to/from dioxide carbon current of recirculation the in results It burned). are fuels fossil as way same the (in stations power in fuel as burn to crops of growing the is Biomass 1. occurs inthreelocations:- In Scotlandthemostimportant uraniummineralisation granite, withanaveragecontentof30ppmU. England batholith,whichisahighheatproduction(HHP) The sourcerockfortheseoccurrencesisthesouth-west ppm atLutton,onthemarginofDartmoorgranite. fied upto440ppmUatStColumbMajorand1330 west England,carriedoutinthe1960sand1970s,identi colouring stainedglass.Subsequentexplorationinsouth- hundred tonnesofuranium,whichwasmostlyusedfor Total productionfromtheregiononlyamountedtoafew mine near Camborne and at St Austell Consols. were produced at Wheal Owles mine at St Just, East Pool near St Ives. Very small quantities, at most a few tonnes, as a by-product of tin and copper mining at Wheal Trenwith, the South Terras mine, near St Austell in Cornwall, and also was some uranium extraction at the end of the 19 association with lead--cobalt-nickel mineralisation. There mineralisation occurs within the main tin-copper veins and in In south-west England, pitchblende-hydrocarbon-sulphide ic mineralisationatseverallocalitiesintheUK(Figure9). 1968 to1982.Theseinvestigationsidentifiedsub-econom 1945 and1951,between19571960againfrom Scotland. Explorationforuraniumwasconductedbetween are widespreadinsouth-westEnglandandnorthern Kingdom, minoroccurrencesofuraniummineralisation Although uraniumisnotcurrentlyminedintheUnited Known occurrences Focus onBritain and Caithness; the MiddleDevonianlacustrine basinoftheOrkneys in low-grade,phosphaticand carbonaceous horizonsin th century at - - horizons oftheCarboniferousLimestoneexhibitpatchy White LeavedOakShalesintheMalvernArea.Thelower elly seriesaroundtheHarlechDomeinWales andthe in ablackshalememberoftheupperCambrianDolg Elsewhere, low-gradeoccurrenceshavebeenidentified of 1000ppmUwerefound,togetherwith5.5%lead. company consortiumin1971–1972whenmaximumvalues on Orkney. ThefaultwasdrilledbytheBGSand amining Devonian sedimentsatMillofCairston,nearStromness Uranium-lead mineralisationoccursinafaultbreccia intersection. The maximumvaluefoundwas850ppmUwithina15m m squaregridwith41percussionholestodepthsof80m. The Ousdaleareawasdrilledintheearly1970sona130 3. 2. Cooled design (AGR), builtbetween1976and 1988.Only but morerecentpowerstations areoftheAdvancedGas design, whichwereconstructed between1956and1976, The earlynuclearpowerstations wereoftheMagnox electricity demandin2008. at 10locations.Thesesitesgenerated13 percentofUK continues tobegeneratedbynuclearpower19reactors now intheprocessofbeingdecommissioned.Electricity ferent locationsaroundthecountry, butmanyoftheseare In totaltherehavebeen62reactorsconstructedat19dif power stationwascommissionedatCalderHallin1956. into atomicenergybeganin1946andthefirstcivilian Britain hasalonghistoryofnuclearinstallations.Research Figure 10. ation isoutlinedinTable 8andthelocationsareshownon by variousprivatisationsinrecentyears.Thecurrentsitu The structureofthenuclearindustryhasbeencomplicated Uranium consumption be economictomine. uranium. However, noneoftheseoccurrences arelikelyto Brampton inDevonhavealsoindicatedthepresenceof rian blackshalesinSouthWales, Gloucestershireandat concentrations upto120ppmU.BoreholesintoNamu of theDerbyshireDomewerewidelyfoundtocontain horizons oftheNamurianMillstoneGritinvicinity and atGrassington,Yorkshire. Blackshalesofthebasal enhanced radioactivityintheCastletonareaofDerbyshire at Dalbeattie. in veinsmarginaltotheCaledonianCriffelgranodiorite Caithness; nian HelmsdalegraniteatOusdaleontheeastcoastof in DevonianarkosicbrecciasmarginaltotheCaledo www.MineralsUK.com - - - - - 18 Uranium OS topography©CrownCopyright. Allrightsreserved.100017897/2010. Figure 9 Locations ofprincipalknownuraniumoccurrencesinBritain. Wheal Trenwith St Ives St ColumbMajor Wheal Owle Camborne St Just ! ! s Dome Harlech ! Terras South ! ! Stromness ! Dalbeati ! ! St AustellConsol ! ! ! Lutton e ! ! Ousdal Bampton ! Houstry ofDunn ! Malvern e

! Grassington ! s Castleton Derbyshir Dome e www.MineralsUK.com 19 Uranium

Location Company No of Type of Reactors Current Status Date Started Date Ceased Scheduled to Reactors Cease Windscale NDA / Ltd 3 Magnox & AGR C&M Preparations 1947 1957/1981 - Berkeley NDA / Magnox South 2 Magnox C&M Preparations 1962 1989 - Hunsterton A NDA / Magnox North 2 Magnox C&M Preparations 1964 1989 - Harwell NDA / RSR Ltd 5 Various Decommissioning 1946 1990 - Trawsfynydd NDA / Magnox North 2 Magnox C&M Preparations 1965 1991 - NDA / DSR Ltd 3 FBR Decommissioning 1950’s 1994 - NDA / RSR Ltd 8 Various Decommissioning 1958 1995 - Hinckley Point A NDA / Magnox South 2 Magnox C&M Preparations 1965 2000 - Bradwell NDA / Magnox South 2 Magnox C&M Preparations 1962 2002 - Calder Hall NDA / 4 Magnox C&M Preparations 1956 2003 - Chapelcross NDA / Magnox North 4 Magnox Defuelling 1959 2004 - Dungeness A NDA / Magnox South 2 Magnox Defuelling 1965 2006 - Sizewell A NDA / Magnox South 2 Magnox Defuelling 1966 2006 - Oldbury NDA / Magnox North 2 Magnox Operating 1967 - 2010 Wylfa NDA / Magnox North 2 Magnox Operating 1971 - 2010 Culham NDA / JET 2 Fusion Research Operating 1983 - Not known Heysham 1 BE 2 AGR Operating 1983 - 2014 Hartlepool BE 2 AGR Operating 1983 - 2014 Hunterston B BE 2 AGR Operating 1976 - 2016 Hinckley Point B BE 2 AGR Operating 1976 - 2016 Dungeness B BE 2 AGR Operating 1983 - 2018 Heysham 2 BE 2 AGR Operating 1988 - 2023 Torness BE 2 AGR Operating 1988 - 2023

www.MineralsUK.com Sizewell B BE 1 PWR Operating 1995 - 2035 Companies - NDA = Authority, RSR Ltd = Research Sites Restoration Ltd (subsidiary of UKAEA), DSR Ltd = Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (subsidiary of UKAEA), BE = (now part of EDF Energy), JET = Joint European Torus (operated by UKAEA under a contract from EURATOM), UKAEA = UK Atomic Energy Authority Types - FBR = Fast , AGR = Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor, PWR = Pressurised Water Reactor Current Status - C&M Preparations = Care and Maintenance preparations, i.e. removal of waste, demolition of auxiliary buildings, securing of reactor buildings.

Table 8 Nuclear reactors in Britain Source: Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and British Energy 20 Uranium OS topography©CrownCopyright. Allrightsreserved.100017897/2010. Figure 10 Ke De Op # X # X % " ! " G co er y ing ating mm Re Fa AG MA Re PWR AG MA Po st te se se R R GN GN Locations andstatusofnuclear reactorsandrelated facilities inBritain. is br nt ar ar Nu si ia OX OX ee ch ch l l oni Ne de /oth /oth cl ea r w ng ng er er Nu r Nu Fa cl ear ci cl ielit

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le am el po l ol www.MineralsUK.com G X " " Brad Du G ! ng " we Si en ll ze es we s ll 21 Uranium Government issued a white paper ‘Meeting the Energy Chal In January 2008, following a consultation exercise, the UK in . all, oftheseotherfacilitiesareconcentratedatSellafield reprocessing andwastetreatment.Alargenumber, butnot including conversion,enrichment,fuelfabrication, the countryisself-sufficientinallothernuclearfacilities Uranium isimportedtoBritain(mostlyfromAustralia)but Dounreay inScotlandbutthisclosed1994. built. AnexperimentalFastBreederReactorwasbuiltat at Sizewellin1995.FurtherPWRswereplannedbutnever one PressurisedWater Reactor(PWR)wasbuiltinBritain, magazine, 19February 2010,p.20. Uranium Production.Articlepublished inMiningJournal Boytsov, A.,Basov, V. andPutivtseva,N.2010. World References References and Further Reading 2011 (DECC,2009b). formal planningapplicationsareexpectedduring2010or new nuclearpowerstations(DECC,2010b)andthefirst Several companieshaveexpressedinterestinbuilding tions tocoverthecostofeventualdecommissioning. throughout theoperationofanynewnuclearpowersta legislation whichwillensurethatmoneyisputaside The OfficeforNuclearDevelopmenthasalsoputinplace power stations(DECC,2009a). quently consideredtobe‘notsuitable’fornewnuclear Atkins LtdonbehalfoftheGovernment,butweresubse identified duringan‘AlternativeSiteStudy’carriedoutby existing nuclearfacilities.Threeadditionalsiteswere 2009a). Most,butnotall,ofthesesitesareadjacentto new nuclearpowerstationsbytheendof2025’(DECC, considered as‘potentiallysuitableforthedeploymentof remaining tensitesareshownonFigure10andthese to concernsovercoastalerosionandfloodingrisks.The ness) wassubsequentlyremovedfromconsiderationdue ‘Strategic SitingAssessment’,butoneofthese(Dunge A totalof11siteswerenominatedin2009aspartthe power stations (DECC, 2010a). actions required to facilitate the development of these new Development Forum were established to focus efforts on the ing this, the Office for Nuclear Development and the Nuclear includes the building of new nuclear power stations. Follow be part of a low-carbon energy mix in the UK and that this which they set out the conclusion that nuclear power should lenge – a White Paper on Nuclear Power’ (BERR, 2008) in

- - - - - Department ofEnergyandClimateChange(DECC).2009b. introduction/ https://www.energynpsconsultation.decc.gov.uk/nuclear/ Draft NationalPolicyStatementforNuclearEnergy. Department ofEnergyandClimateChange(DECC).2009a. aspx energy_mix/nuclear/white_paper_08/white_paper_08. mix/nuclear/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/ gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_ of EnergyandClimateChange(DECC)at:http://www.decc. Paper onNuclearPower. Available fromtheDepartment (BERR). 2008.MeetingtheEnergyChallenge–aWhite Department forBusinessEnterpriseandRegulatoryReform com Production 2004–2008.Available from:www.mineralsUK. British GeologicalSurvey(BGS).2010.World Mineral http://www.british-energy.com/ British Energy. 2010.OurNuclearPowerStations. Statistics 2009. Available from: International EnergyAgency(IEA). 2009.KeyWorld Energy from: http://www.iaea.org Nuclear ShareinElectricityGeneration in2008.Available International AtomicEnergyAuthority (IAEA).2009c. iaea.org available (followingregistration)at:http://www-nfcis. Nuclear FuelCycleInformationSystem.Web pages International AtomicEnergyAuthority(IAEA).2009b. iaea.org available (followingregistration)at:http://www-nfcis. World DistributionofUraniumDeposits.Web pages International AtomicEnergyAuthority(IAEA).2009a. energy_mix/nuclear/office/office.aspx decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/ Office forNuclearDevelopmentwebpages.http://www. Department ofEnergyandClimateChange(DECC).2010b. nuclear/new/new.aspx uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/ 2010a. NewNuclearwebpages.http://www.decc.gov. Department ofEnergyandClimateChange(DECC). nuclear/new/programme/programme.aspx uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/energy_mix/ New Nuclear:IndicativeTimeline. http://www.decc.gov. www.MineralsUK.com www.iea.org

22 Uranium Paris, France Production andDemand(‘TheRedBook’).OECDPublishing, Energy Agency(IAEA).2008.Uranium2007:Resources, Nuclear EnergyAgency(NEA)andInternationalAtomic Publishing, Paris,France in Perspective.‘TheRedBookRetrospective’.OECD Forty Years ofUraniumResources,ProductionandDemand Economic Co-operation&Development(OECD).2006. Nuclear EnergyAgency(NEA)andOrganisationfor http://www.nda.gov.uk/ Nuclear DecommissioningAuthority. 2010.Our sites. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/info.html Information papers,availableonlineat: World NuclearAssociation(WNA). 2009.WNA sep022005.html at: http://www.kitco.com/weekly/paulvaneeden/ van EedenWeekly Column,2September2005.Available Van Eeden,P. 2005.Uranium:ataleoftails.Kitco–Paul

World EnergyCouncil International EnergyAgency ERA (Energy Resources Australia) Cameco of Trade andIndustry) Britain: aGuide(BritishGeologicalSurveyandDepartment Exploration forMetalliferousandRelatedMineralsin Colman, TB&CooperDC(SecondEdition)2000– (Mineralogical SocietyofAmerica) Mineralogy, GeochemistryandtheEnvironment Burns, PeterC&Finch,Robert(Editors)1999–Uranium: Further Reading http://www.wwindea.org/home/index.php Report 2009.Available from: World WindEnergyAssociation.2010.World WindEnergy from: http://www.world-nuclear.org Power ReactorsandUraniumRequirements.Available World NuclearAssociation(WNA).2010.World Nuclear

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www.energyres.com.au www.worldenergy.org www.cameco.com www.iea.org This commodity profile was produced by the British Geological Survey (2010).

It was compiled by Teresa Brown and Gus Gunn with the assistance of Debbie Rayner.

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