Energy Education - Uranium

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

Uranium is the 92nd element on the periodic table, and is the heaviest naturally occurring element on Earth. It is known for being an abundant source of concentrated energy, with the largest energy density of any of the world's fuels used for the generation of electricity. Uranium is found relatively commonly on the Earth, with an abundance of 2.8 parts per million in the crust. This makes it more common than gold, as common as tin, and less common than copper. 99.3% of the uranium found on Earth is Uranium-238 which is "fertile", while the rest (0.7%) is Uranium-235, a "fissile" fuel. Therefore only a very small amount of the uranium found naturally can be used in a nuclear fission process unless it undergoes an enrichment process, which increases the concentration of Uranium-235, or the Uranium-238 is "bred" from its fertile form into a fissile isotope of plutonium. Read more about breeding here.

Uranium as a Fuel
For more information visit: uranium mining, uranium enrichment, nuclear chain reaction and nuclear fuel cycle. Uranium makes for an excellent nuclear fuel, and is used as the primary fuel in nuclear reactors all over the world. In this section, uranium's fuel cycle will be briefly explored. Visit the pages above for more information.