World Uranium Mining Production
World Nuclear Association Updated July 2022
- About two-thirds of the world’s production of uranium from mines is from Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia.
- An increasing amount of uranium, now over 60%, is produced by in situ leaching.
In 2021 Kazakhstan produced the largest share of uranium from mines (45% of world supply), followed by Namibia (12%) and Canada (10%).
Production from mines (tonnes U)
Country | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Kazakhstan | 21,317 | 22,451 | 23,127 | 23,607 | 24,689 | 23,321 | 21,705 | 22,808 | 19,477 | 21,819 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | 6991 | 6350 | 5001 | 5654 | 6315 | 5882 | 6517 | 6613 | 6203 | 4192 |
Namibia | 4495 | 4323 | 3255 | 2993 | 3654 | 4224 | 5525 | 5476 | 5413 | 5753 |
Canada | 8999 | 9331 | 9134 | 13,325 | 14,039 | 13,116 | 7001 | 6938 | 3885 | 4693 |
Uzbekistan (est.) | 2400 | 2400 | 2400 | 2385 | 3325 | 3400 | 3450 | 3500 | 3500 | 3500 |
Niger | 4667 | 4518 | 4057 | 4116 | 3479 | 3449 | 2911 | 2983 | 2991 | 2248 |
Russia | 2872 | 3135 | 2990 | 3055 | 3004 | 2917 | 2904 | 2911 | 2846 | 2635 |
China (est.) | 1500 | 1500 | 1500 | 1616 | 1616 | 1692 | 1885 | 1885 | 1885 | 1885 |
Ukraine | 960 | 922 | 926 | 1200 | 808 | 707 | 790 | 800 | 744 | 455 |
India (est.) | 385 | 385 | 385 | 385 | 385 | 421 | 423 | 308 | 400 | 615 |
South Africa (est.) | 465 | 531 | 573 | 393 | 490 | 308 | 346 | 346 | 250 | 385 |
Iran (est.) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 40 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 71 |
Pakistan (est.) | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
Brazil | 326 | 192 | 55 | 40 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 29 |
USA | 1596 | 1792 | 1919 | 1256 | 1125 | 940 | 582 | 58 | 6 | 8 |
Czech Republic | 228 | 215 | 193 | 155 | 138 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Romania | 90 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
France | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Germany | 50 | 27 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Malawi | 1101 | 1132 | 369 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total world | 58,493 | 59,331 | 56,041 | 60,304 | 63,207 | 60,514 | 54,154 | 54,742 | 47,731 | 48,332 |
tonnes U3O8 | 68,974 | 69,966 | 66,087 | 71,113 | 74,357 | 71,361 | 63,861 | 64,554 | 56,287 | 56,995 |
% of world demand | 94% | 91% | 85% | 98% | 96% | 93% | 80% | 81% | 74% | 77% |
* Data from the World Nuclear Association. NB: the figures in this table are liable to change as new data becomes available. Totals may not sum exactly due to rounding.
Mining methods have been changing. In 1990, 55% of world production came from underground mines, but this shrunk dramatically to 1999, with 33% then. From 2000 the new Canadian mines increased it again. In situ leach (ISL, also called in situ recovery, ISR) mining has been steadily increasing its share of the total, mainly due to Kazakhstan, and in 2021 accounted for over 60% of production:
Method | tonnes U | % |
In situ leach (ISL) | 32,088 | 66% |
Underground & open pit (except Olympic Dam) | 13,937 | 29% |
By-product | 2307 | 5% |
Conventional mines have a mill where the ore is crushed, ground and then leached with sulfuric acid to dissolve the uranium oxides. At the mill of a conventional mine, or the treatment plant of an ISL operation, the uranium then separated by ion exchange before being dried and packed, usually as U3O8. Some mills and ISL operations (especially in the USA) use carbonate leaching instead of sulfuric acid, depending on the orebody. Where uranium is recovered as a by-product, e.g. of copper or phosphate, the treatment process is likely to be more complex.
During the 1990s the uranium production industry was consolidated by takeovers, mergers and closures, but this has diversified again with Kazakhstan’s multinational ownership structure. Over half of uranium mine production is from state-owned mining companies, some of which prioritise secure supply over market considerations. In 2021, the top 10 companies by production contributed about 90% of the world’s uranium production:
Company | tonnes U | % of world total |
Kazatomprom | 11,858 | 25 |
Orano | 4541 | 9 |
Uranium One | 4514 | 9 |
Cameco | 4397 | 9 |
CGN | 4112 | 9 |
Navoi Mining | 3500 | 7 |
CNNC | 3562 | 7 |
ARMZ | 2635 | 5 |
General Atomics/Quasar | 2241 | 5 |
BHP | 1922 | 4 |
Energy Asia | 900 | 2 |
Sopamin | 809 | 2 |
VostGok | 455 | 1 |
Other | 2886 | 6 |
Total | 48,332 | 100 |
The largest-producing uranium mines in 2021
Mine | Country | Main owner | Type | Production (tonnes U) | % of world |
Cigar Lake | Canada | Cameco/Orano | underground | 4693 | 10 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Inkai 1-3 | Kazakhstan | Kazaktomprom/Cameco | ISL | 3449 | 7 |
Husab | Namibia | Swakop Uranium (CGN) | open pit | 3309 | 7 |
Karatau (Budenovskoye 2) | Kazakhstan | Uranium One/Kazatomprom | ISL | 2561 | 5 |
Rössing | Namibia | CNNC | open pit | 2444 | 5 |
Four Mile | Australia | Quasar | ISL | 2241 | 5 |
SOMAIR | Niger | Orano | open pit | 1996 | 4 |
Olympic Dam | Australia | BHP Billiton | by-product/underground | 1922 | 4 |
Central Mynkuduk | Kazakhstan | Ortalyk | ISL | 1579 | 3 |
Kharasan 1 | Kazakhstan | Kazatomprom/Uranium One | ISL | 1579 | 3 |
Top 10 total | 25,773 | 53% |
Note 1: SMCC, a joint venture between Kazatomprom and Uranium One, reported combined production of 2321 tU in 2021 at its two mines, South Inkai 4 and Akdala.
Note 2: KATCO, a joint venture between Kazatomprom and Orano, reported combined production of 2840 tU in 2021 across its two mines, Moinkum and Tortkuduk.
World uranium production and reactor requirements (tonnes U)
Sources: OECD-NEA/IAEA, World Nuclear Association
Uranium resources by country in 2019
tonnes U | percentage of world | |
Australia | 1,692,700 | 28% |
---|---|---|
Kazakhstan | 906,800 | 15% |
Canada | 564,900 | 9% |
Russia | 486,000 | 8% |
Namibia | 448,300 | 7% |
South Africa | 320,900 | 5% |
Brazil | 276,800 | 5% |
Niger | 276,400 | 4% |
China | 248,900 | 4% |
Mongolia | 143,500 | 2% |
Uzbekistan | 132,300 | 2% |
Ukraine | 108,700 | 2% |
Botswana | 87,200 | 1% |
Tanzania | 58,200 | 1% |
Jordan | 52,500 | 1% |
USA | 47,900 | 1% |
Other | 295,800 | 5% |
World total | 6,147,800 |
Identified resources recoverable (reasonably assured resources plus inferred resources), to $130/kg U, 1/1/19, from OECD NEA & IAEA, Uranium 2020: Resources, Production and Demand (‘Red Book’). The total recoverable identified resources to $260/kg U is 8.070 million tonnes U.