FUEL & FUEL CYCLE | SECURING URANIUM
Securing nuclear fuel
With increased focus on geopolitical instability, the nuclear fuel cycle is seeing a surge of interest and a wave of new initiatives in the US aimed at achieving nuclear energy independence. Will it be enough?
EVEN IF DEMAND FOR NEW nuclear was not surging and a pledge to triple global capacity by 2050 wasn’t in play, there are significant additional drivers for new nuclear fuel resources. Russia dominates the global nuclear fuel cycle and continues to do so, despite sanctions that have been placed on the country in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. Through its fuel arm Tenex, Russian nuclear
conglomerate Rosatom supplies uranium enrichment and enriched uranium to more than 30 utilities in 16 countries. The company also claims a 16.3% global nuclear fuel market share through its fuel company TVEL, suppling nuclear fuel to 73 reactors operated in 13 countries. The potential security of energy supplies issues this situation creates has prompted a reappraisal of the nuclear fuel cycle among many nations, not least the United States. The market dynamics associated with this strategic shift
are reflected in uranium prices. Early this year, Reuters reported a more than US$10 uptick in the price of uranium over the previous year but a simultaneous price increase of well over 100% in the shares of leading uranium companies over the same period. Growing demand coupled with the security of supply issue is expected to see uranium prices go higher still over the coming year with Reuters suggesting prices will reach their highest level in decades this year. With imports of Russian uranium set to be banned from
Uranium Energy Corp has commenced production at its Burke Hollow project in southern Texas. Source: Uranium Energy Corp
2028, the US has made securing new uranium supplies a key policy objective, particularly given over 70% of its uranium is currently sourced from overseas.
Growth in upstream capacity The rising prices are opening up prospects across all sectors of the nuclear fuel cycle, with notable recent success in the front end of the US uranium resource. In April Uranium Energy Corp announced it has commenced production at its
Burke Hollow project in southern Texas. This not only the world’s newest in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mine but is also the first new such project in the US in over a decade. Burke Hollow is also the largest ISR uranium discovery in the United States in the past decade, with only about half of the ~20,000-acre (8,094 Ha) property explored to date. The project hosts multiple mineralised trends and horizons, supporting a phased approach to future resource expansion and providing significant long-term development potential, the company says. The site advanced from a grassroots discovery in 2012 to production in 2026. Production from Burke Hollow will be processed at the Hobson Central Processing Plant, which is licensed to produce up to 4m pounds of uranium per year. Combined with a recent capacity expansion approval at Christensen Ranch in Wyoming, the company has two active producing ISR platforms. In a statement, Amir Adnani, President and CEO stated that “with two ISR operations now producing, and our Ludeman ISR project planned for startup in 2027, we are building a scalable, multi-faceted platform supported by the largest uranium resource base in the United States”. Chris Wright, United States Energy Secretary noted that
the recent production in Texas and Wyoming highlight the importance of uranium production as the foundation of a secure, domestic nuclear fuel cycle, saying: “The Trump Administration remains committed to strengthening this capability, which is essential to American energy dominance and our national security. As we continue rebuilding the full fuel cycle, including key downstream infrastructure, this progress shows we can build it here and lead from here.” Other upstream prospects are also under development.
Canadian-headquarterd Myriad Uranium, for example, recently filed a technical report on its Copper Mountain prospect in Fremont County, Wyoming, with details of its planned Phase II drilling programme. The company launched an initial drilling programme in November 2024, reporting strong results. As Myriad’s CEO, Thomas Lamb, commented: “We are entering Phase II with a high level of conviction. Our maiden drill programme surpassed expectations by a significant margin, confirming extensive positive disequilibrium and validating Copper Mountain as a genuinely world-class exploration address. The extraordinary Bendix assessment suggests Copper Mountain may host one of America’s largest undeveloped uranium endowments”.
Closing the fuel cycle The back end of the fuel cycle is also receiving a boost with the US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy and Office of Environmental Management issuing two
26 | May 2026 |
www.neimagazine.com
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