Uranium is a chemically reactive radioactive, steel-gray, metallic element and is the main fuel used in nuclear reactors. Uranium is the heaviest of all the natural elements. Its atomic symbol is U and its atomic number is 92. Traces of uranium have been found in archeological artifacts dating back to 79 AD. Uranium was discovered in pitchblende by German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth, in 1789. Klaproth named it uranium after the recently discovered planet Uranus. French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel discovered the radioactive properties of uranium in 1896 when he produced an image on a photographic plate covered with a light-absorbing substance. Following Becquerel’s experiments, investigations of radioactivity led to the discovery of radium and to new concepts of atomic organization.

The principal use for uranium is fuel in nuclear power plants. Demand for uranium concentrates is directly linked to the level of electricity generated by nuclear power plants. Uranium ores are widely distributed throughout the world and are primarily found in Canada, DRC (formerly Zaire), and the US. Uranium is obtained from primary mine production and secondary sources. Two Canadian companies are the primary producers of uranium from deposits in the Athabasca Basin of northern Saskatchewan. Specifically, the companies Cameco accounted for 19% of global mine production in 2000 and Cogema Resources accounted for 15% of world production. Secondary sources of uranium include excess inventories from utilities and other fuel cycle participants, used reactor fuel, and dismantled Russian nuclear weapons.

Prices – The average price of delivered uranium in 2002 rose by +2.1% to .36 per pound from .15 in 2001. The 2001 price of .15 was a record low for the data series that goes back to 1981. The price of delivered uranium in 2002 of .36 was roughly one-third of the price of per pound and above seen in the 1980s through 1986 when the price started falling.

Supply – World production of uranium oxide (U308) concentrate in 2001 rose +9.0% to a 10-year high of 47,395 short tons from 43,475 short tons in 2000. The world’s two largest uranium producers are Canada with 16,270 short tons of production in 2001, representing 34% of world production, and Australia with 10,035 short tons of production in 2001, representing 21% of world production. Smaller producers include Niger (with 8.0% of world production), Namibia (6.1%), the US (2.8%), South Africa (2.4%), the Ukraine (2.2%), China (1.4%), the Czech Republic and Slovakia (1.3%), and France (0.4%).

US uranium production in 2001 fell 30% to a record low of 1,315 short tons from 1,890 short tons in 2000. US production reached a peak of 21,850 short tons in 1980 and production has fallen steadily since then to the record low in 2001.

Trade – US imports of uranium in 2001 rose +13% to a record high of 52.7 million pounds from 46.7 million pounds in 2000. The US is being forced to import more uranium as domestic production steadily declines. US exports of uranium rose +31% in 2001 to 15.4 million pounds from 11.7 million pounds in 2000.