Uranium Mining and Nuclear Reactor Market Assessment

Check Out These Key Topics!

Largest Users of Nuclear Power
Uranium Market Driving Forces
Worldwide Uranium Market Forecasts
Worldwide Trends
Uranium Mining Regional Analysis
Nuclear Reactor Technology
Fuel Storage
Nuclear Waste Disposal
Nuclear Energy Research
Safeguards to Prevent Nuclear Proliferation
Nuclear Materials
Uranium From Mines
Support for Nuclear Energy
Uranium Enrichment
Where the world's uranium lies
Iran

The US, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and South Korea are the largest users of nuclear power. China, India, and Southeast Asia are among regions likely to initiate more rapid adoption of nuclear reactors. Nuclear power is moving to next generation systems that promise to be more efficient and safer than initial systems. Table ES-1 illustrates nuclear reactors, number and MWe 2005-2013

Russia has experimented with several lead-cooled reactor designs. It has used lead-bismuth cooling for 40 years in reactors for its Alfa class submarines. Pb-208 (54% of naturally-occurring lead) is transparent to neutrons.

A significant new Russian design is the Brest fast neutron reactor, of 300 MWe with lead as the primary coolant, at 540°C, and supercritical steam generators. It is inherently safe and uses a U+Pu nitride fuel.

Uranium market driving forces relate to the need for clean energy that is competitive with the higher priced oil products used to generate electricity. Clean energy has become a priority as pollutants cause health difficulties worldwide.

Domestically, the United States has 100 nuclear reactors supplying more than 20% of the nation’s electricity. Enrichment capacity complements raw material uranium. USEC seeks to provide enrichment capacity.

Nuclear power supplies a sixth of world electricity demand. A period of little new construction is ending and the market is at the threshold of significant expansion globally. There are multiple drivers for this upsurge in interest.

Over half of the world's production of uranium from mines is in Canada and Australia.

After a decade of falling mine production to 1993, output has generally risen and comprises 60% of demand for power generation.

During the 1990s, the uranium production industry was consolidated by takeovers, mergers, and closures. In 2005, the eight mining companies with more than 1000 t output (equity interest) accounted for 82% of world mine production:

Nuclear power plants can be used to generate hydrogen. Any excess power from nuclear power plants can be usefully diverted to the manufacture of hydrogen. Hydrogen can then be used in co-located stationary fuel cell installations to generate more electricity.

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