Developments in Uranium in 1988

Abstract

Low prices, imports, and political uncertainties continued to plague the United States uranium industry in 1988. As a result, the Secretary of Energy declared the domestic industry to be nonviable for the fourth straight year. Uranium exploration expenditures in the United States continued at a low level. In 1988, an estimated $21 million was spent on uranium, including 3.0 million ft of surface drilling. This drilling was done mainly in production areas and in areas of recent discoveries. Production of uranium concentrate increased slightly in 1988, when 13.5 million lb of uranium oxide (U3O8) were produced, a 4% increase from 1987. Uranium produced from solution mining, mine water, and as the by-product of phosphoric acid and copper production accounted for about 49% of the total production in the United States. At the end of 1988, only 4 uranium mills were operating in the United States. For the fifth consecutive year, Canada was the world's largest producer and exporter of uranium. The United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement, ratified in December, will allow Canadian uranium to be sold to American utilities without import restrictions. During 1988, production began at the Olympic Dam deposit in South Australia. United States uranium production is expected to increase slightly in 1989, as new solution mining projects begin.