U.S. Nuclear Fuel Cycle - 2021

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Exploration, Mining, Marketing, & Acquisitions

WNA reported in May, 2021 on the U.S. Nuclear Fuel Cycle. In an extensive new discussion, they have indicated:

• The U.S. currently has nuclear fuel production capacity insufficient for domestic needs. A new enrichment plant is licensed to expand.
• Almost all the uranium used in U.S. commercial reactors is imported. After reaching a peak in 1980, domestic mining now accounts for about 5% of the fuel used in US reactors.
• Between 1977 and 2005, government policy did not allow reprocessing of used fuel for commercial reactors.

Uranium Resources and Mining

The U.S. ranks 15th in the world for known uranium resources in the category up to $130/kgU ($50/lb U₃O₈), with 47,200 tU (reasonably assured resources, 2017), about 1% of world total. In the 1950s, the U.S. had a great deal of uranium mining, promoted by federal subsidies. Peak production since 1970 was 16,800 tU in 1980, when there were over 250 mines in operation. This abruptly dropped to 50 in 1984 when 5,700 tU was produced, and then there was a steady decline to 2003, by which time there were only two small operations producing a total of under 1000 tU/yr, or about 5% of the uranium consumed by U.S. nuclear plants. So, for the first step in the nuclear fuel cycle, the U.S. must rely on imports of uranium from countries such as Canada and Australia, or downblended weapons-grade uranium from Russia (see section on Military surplus and other government stocks ).

As the price of uranium has increased from historic lows, there was a revival in exploration and plans to reopen old mines, especially in-situ recovery mining operations. Exploration expenditure increased over 2007-08 to $50.3 million, but has dropped since. A number of companies announced plans to refurbish and restart mines in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. There are now operating mines in Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, Utah, and Wyoming (see US Nuclear Fuel Cycle Appendix 1: US Uranium Mining and Exploration).

Most US production has been from New Mexico and Wyoming. Some 40% of resources are in New Mexico and amenable to ISL recovery. Resources on the western Colorado Plateau require conventional mining and milling, as does high-grade breccia pipe mineralization in northwest Arizona. Smaller resources are in Utah, Nebraska and Texas. Production potential is about 50% underground mining, 26% open pit and 24% in situ leach (ISL).

Uranium was produced from one mill (White Mesa, Utah) and five ISL operations in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, Rosita became a sixth ISL production site before being shut down, and a total of ten underground mines (four more than during 2007) produced uranium. Production has remained at about the same level since 2006, with an increase in 2013 and 2014 but dropping back thereafter.1 Over 2014 to 2019 production came from six ISL operations and two or three underground mines.

In mid-2009, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a generic environmental impact statement (EIS) on ISL (or in situ recovery, ISR) mining in the western U.S.. This will streamline but not eliminate the requirement for a supplementary EIS for each new mine. The NRC expects 17 applications for ISL facilities in the next couple of years, with each taking two years to process, including public participation. Details of U.S. uranium mining are in US Nuclear Fuel Cycle Appendix 1: US Uranium Mining and Exploration.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA’s) Uranium Marketing Annual Report for 2019 said that 21,927 tonnes of U₃O₈ (equivalent) was purchased by US utilities in in 2019, and 20,009 tonnes of this was from foreign sources (91%). Only 1906 tonnes of U.S. origin U₃O₈ (equivalent) was delivered in 2019, 9% of the total.

Of the 20,009 tonnes purchased from foreign sources,

Canada provided 4615 t (23%),
Kazakhstan 3,975 t (20%),
Australia 3,858 t (19%),
Russia 3,342 t (17%),
Uzbekistan 1981 t (10%),
Namibia 1112 t (6%),
Niger 453 t (2%).

Other sources provided about 680 t (3%). During 2019, about 22% was purchased under spot contracts and the balance under long-term contracts or other arrangements, the overall weighted average price being $35.59/lb U₃O₈ ($92.50/kgU). Total US commercial inventory decreased to 57,668 t U₃O₈ equivalent (48,900 tU), 89% of this held by utilities.

In July 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce launched a Section 232 investigation* into whether the U.S.'s reliance on uranium imports poses a threat to national security. Prior to that, the U.S. Department of the Interior determined uranium to be a critical mineral. In July 2019, the petition was rejected, [but additional action by Congress and President Biden are showing support for the U.S. uranium mining industry (more) and Nuclear Power in general (more)]

* Under Section 232 of Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (as amended), investigations may be carried out to determine the effects of imports on the U.S. national security and give the President the ability to address any threats to national security by restricting imports through tariffs.

Conversion from Yellowcake (U₃O₈) to UF₆

The large Honeywell Metropolis Works plant (MTW) in southern Illinois converts uranium oxide, U3O8, to uranium hexafluoride, UF6. It is the only conversion plant in the U.S. The facility was built in the 1950s under government contract to meet military conversion requirements, and began providing UF6 for civilian use in the late 1960s. Original nameplate capacity was up to 15,000 tU/yr, but this was reduced to 7000 tU/yr in 2017 in light of global demand.

In November 2017 Honeywell announced that it was idling production at the plant, owing to global oversupply and a decrease in demand. The company stated that it did not expect demand to increase before 2020. In March 2020, the NRC renewed MTW's operating license for an additional 40 years to March 2060. In April 2021 it was announced that the plant was to restart in 2023 following upgrade work. ConverDyn, a partnership between affiliates of Honeywell and General Atomics, is the exclusive agent for conversion sales from Honeywell-MTW.

Enrichment to 5% ²³⁵U

Three uranium enrichment plants – at Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky; and Portsmouth, Ohio – were built by the federal government in the 1940s and 1950s for defense purposes and operated for about 25 years. From 1969 to 1992, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessor agencies sold some of the plants’ enrichment services commercially under full-cost recovery contracts that required utility customers to pay for the plants’ future decommissioning. These fees were collected once, and then further fees were levied from 1992 for decommissioning.

The U.S. currently has one operating enrichment plant owned by Urenco, with a capacity of 4.9 million SWU per year, compared with U.S. requirements of about 15 million SWU/yr, and world total of 55.7 million SWU expected in 2020. Enrichment is typically up to 5% ²³⁵U. 

The U.S. nuclear industry has asked the DOE to provide a source of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU, up to 20% ²³⁵U) for advanced reactors. Eleven developers of such reactors estimated in 2020 that they would need a total of about 2000 tonnes of HALEU above 10% enriched by 2035. Annual requirements grow progressively to 500 tU in that period. If the U.S. cannot provide this from DOE stocks of new production, Urenco USA is eager to do so. 

[Read on for extensive discussions on:

Urenco USA (formerly National Enrichment Facility)
USEC and Paducah old plant
USEC/Centrus and Russian HEU
USEC/Centrus American Centrifuge Plant
Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility
Global Laser Enrichment: Paducah & Wilmington

Russian proposal
Defense enrichment needs

Decommissioning of old enrichment plants
Deconversion

Uranium fuel fabrication
MOX fuel fabrication

Military surplus and other government stocks

Plutonium disposition

Using enrichment tails

Reprocessing used fuel

Decommissioning reactors

Used fuel and nuclear waste

Yucca Mountain and federal responsibility from 1987

Storage at nuclear plants, waste fees and damages

Managing the stand-off, new approaches

Other initiatives for used fuel

Orano NUHOMS for Waste Control Specialists, TX

Holtec Hi-Store CISF for Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance, NM

Military HLW and WIPP

Low-level waste

Notes & references

[For additional industrial perspectives on uranium exploration, see (here)]

[For additional perspectives on the fuel cycle, see (here)]