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- Uranium is a relatively common metal that is approximately
as common as tin or zinc. It is a constituent of most rocks and even of the sea.
- This is a chart of typical concentrations. Note that when uranium is at low levels in rock or sands,
it needs to be in a form which is easily separated to be called an “ore.”
|
Very
high-grade ore (Canada) - 20% U |
200,000 ppm U |
|
High-grade
ore - 2% U, |
20,000 ppm U |
|
Low-grade
ore - 0.1% U, |
1,000 ppm U |
|
Very
low-grade ore (Namibia) - 0.01% U |
100 ppm U |
|
Granite |
4-5 ppm U |
|
Sedimentary
rock |
2 ppm U |
|
Earth's continental
crust (av) |
2.8 ppm U |
|
Seawater |
0.003 ppm U |
- An orebody is an occurrence of mineralisation from which the metal is economically recoverable. At present
neither the oceans nor any granites are orebodies. Costs and prices change may change the measured resource figures significantly.
Any predictions of the future availability of uranium, which are based on current cost and price data and current geological
knowledge are likely to be conservative. Our knowledge of geology is such that we can be confident that identified resources
of metal minerals are a small fraction of what is there.
- There was very little uranium exploration between 1985 and 2005. The significant increase in exploration
effort now could double the known economic resources. In the two years 2005-06 the world's known uranium resources
increased 15% (17% in the cost category to $80/kgU).
- A doubling of price from present levels could be expected to create about a tenfold increase in measured
resources, over time, due both to increased exploration and the reclassification of resources regarding what is economically
recoverable.
- Uranium ore, the mineral fuel used in conventional nuclear power plants, is a nonrenewable resource present
in limited amounts in sedimentary rock in the Earth’s crust.
- Substantial deposits of uranium are found in Australia
(25.7%), Africa (24%), and North America (21.9%)[figures as of 2001]. In terms of individual
countries, the known recoverable resources of uranium, as of 2007, is:
|
|
tonnes U |
percentage of world |
|
Australia |
1,243,000 |
23% |
|
Kazakhstan |
817,000 |
15% |
|
Russia |
546,000 |
10% |
|
South Africa |
435,000 |
8% |
|
Canada |
423,000 |
8% |
|
USA |
342,000 |
6% |
|
Brazil |
278,000 |
5% |
|
Namibia |
275,000 |
5% |
|
Niger |
274,000 |
5% |
|
Ukraine |
200,000 |
4% |
|
Jordan |
112,000 |
2% |
|
Uzbekistan |
111,000 |
2% |
|
India |
73,000 |
1% |
|
China |
68,000 |
1% |
|
Mongolia |
62,000 |
1% |
|
other |
210,000 |
4% |
|
World total |
5,469,000 |
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- In the United States, uranium is mostly found in Wyoming, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.
- Current world usage of uranium is about 65,000 tU/yr.
- The world's present measured resources of uranium (5.5 Mt) are enough to last for over 80 years.
This represents a higher level of assured resources than is normal for most minerals.
- Further exploration and higher prices will certainly, on the basis of present geological knowledge, yield
further resources as present ones are used up. The adjusted figure is over 200 years' supply at today's rate of consumption.
This still ignores the technological factor (e.g. fast breeder reactor). It also omits unconventional resources such as phosphate/phosphorite
deposits (22 Mt U recoverable as by-product) and seawater (up to 4000 Mt), which would be uneconomic to extract in the foreseeable
future.
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