REPOST: The Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Originally posted on September 29th 2022.

I decided to break down the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and the case for Nuclear as an energy source and investment.

The nuclear fuel cycle is the process that turns uranium (or other elements?) into electricity. One key aspect of the fuel cycle is where this uranium comes from. Uranium is found quite abundantly in the Earth’s crust. It can be found in most rocks, soils, rivers, and seawater. It is also found in small concentrations in granite (0.0004%). Granite makes up 60% of the crust. There are 15 types of uranium deposits, too much to mention here! Any uranium that is extracted is named uranium ore.

The method for mining depends on how deep the uranium source is. Both open pit and underground mining are used. ISL mining is being used more frequently to extract uranium. In situ leach mining involves using oxygenated groundwater to flush out uranium oxide (U₃O₈). The U₃O₈ uranium oxide concentrate usually contains 80%+ uranium. This is the uranium ore that is traded.

Kazakhstan produced 45% of world uranium from mines in 2021. They were followed by Namibia (12%) and Canada (10%). Kazakhstan, a former Soviet state, appears to be pivoting away from Russia and toward China. Export of radioactive chemicals from Kazakhstan to China between 2019 and 2020 increased by 72.5%, from $504M to $870M (OEC). Central Asia is important in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, as they look to bring trade back to land-based systems. The US control the world’s oceans. They have incredible coverage with many aircraft carrier groups. Look at how they sailed down the Taiwan Strait after Pelosi’s visit in August. As I’ve mentioned before, Mackinder’s Heartland theory applies here, up against Mahan’s Rimland theory.

Although Kazakhstan produced the most in 2021, they don’t hold the most reserves. Australia holds 28% of the world supply, equal to 1,692,700 tonnes of uranium. Kazakhstan is second with 15% of the world supply, and Australia is third with 9% supply.

After mining and milling, the uranium is prepared for the nuclear reactor in the following stages:

1. Conversion - U₃O₈ isn’t usable in a reactor. Only 0.7% of naturally occurring uranium can be used in nuclear fission to produce energy. Uranium is of the form Uranium-235 to undergo fission. The rest is uranium-238. The different numbers of uranium refer to different isotopes. This means they have the same number of protons (same element) but a different number of neutrons (different mass) in the nucleus of the atom. This contributes to the isotopes having different physical qualities.

2. Enrichment – Separating the different uranium isotopes. Requires uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) from the earlier obtained uranium oxide (U₃O₈).