Why uranium mining is having a resurgence in the United States

Once a dominant force in uranium production from the 1960s until the mid-1980s, the United States has seen a significant decline in domestic uranium mining in recent decades. Gracelin Baskaran, the director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, points out that government funding and priorities once bolstered this industry. However, during the 1990s, uranium began to lose its status as a priority, compounded by several nuclear accidents, including the notorious Fukushima disaster in 2011, which severely impacted public perception of nuclear energy and caused uranium prices to plummet. Despite being the largest producer of nuclear power globally, the U.S. relies heavily on imported uranium, with over 95% of the necessary feedstock for its 94 nuclear reactors coming from abroad, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. "We’ve prioritized nuclear but have deprioritized uranium, creating a policy mismatch," Baskaran notes. As demand for electricity surges—driven by the needs of power-intensive AI technologies from companies like Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon, alongside a global shift toward cleaner energy—nuclear power is regaining attention and, consequently, increasing the demand for uranium. A recent report from the Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency warns that if this trend continues, known uranium supplies could be depleted by 2080. John Cash, CEO of uranium mining company Ur-Energy, emphasizes the challenge: “Currently, global uranium miners are not meeting demand. The production process is lengthy, meaning it will take years to bridge the gap while demand for nuclear energy continues to rise.” In response to these challenges, the Biden administration has taken action, banning Russian uranium imports in 2024 and allocating $2.7 billion in federal funding to enhance domestic uranium enrichment and conversion capabilities. Additionally, former President Trump signed four executive orders aimed at accelerating the deployment of nuclear reactors, with plans to expand the nation’s nuclear energy capacity from 100 GW in 2024 to 400 GW by 2050. However, experts caution that despite these bipartisan efforts, the U.S. will still need uranium from abroad. Mark Chalmers, CEO of Energy Fuels, states, “Even if all currently permitted uranium projects in the U.S. were operational, we still could not meet domestic demand.” Baskaran adds that while there is potential for increasing uranium production within the country, the U.S. holds less than 1% of the world’s uranium reserves, indicating a long-term reliance on international sources for this critical resource.