Developments in Uranium in 1989

Abstract

Low prices, inventory liquidations, and foreign competition continued to plague the United States uranium industry. As a result, the Secretary of Energy declared the domestic industry to be nonviable for the fifth straight year. Uranium exploration expenditures in the United States continued at a low level. In 1989, an estimated $15 million was spent on uranium, including 2.6 million ft of surface drilling. This drilling was done mainly in production areas and in areas of recent discoveries. Production of uranium concentrate decreased slightly in 1989, when 12.8 million lb of uranium oxide (U3O8) were produced, a 2% decrease from 1988. Uranium produced from solution mining, mine water, and as the by-products of phosphoric acid and copper production accounted for about 44% of the total production in the United States. At the end of 1989, 4 uranium mills were operating in the United States. For the sixth consecutive year, Canada was the world's largest producer and exporter of uranium. The large, high-grade reserves being developed in Saskatchewan will enable Canada to dominate the world market for many years. United States uranium production is expected to decline markedly in 1990 as additional mines and solution mining operations are closed.