Energy crisis fuels revival of uranium mining
3 yellowcake mines in Colorado have reopened in past 2 years
By Gargi Chakrabarty
Rocky Mountain News
DENVER (AP) — The rough and rocky terrain of southwest Colorado is once again luring miners with its promise of yellow wealth — not gold, but uranium.
Three uranium mines, shuttered in the mid-1980s, were reopened in the past two years. The revival of another two is on the anvil this year. And many prospectors are scoping out the Colorado Plateau in hopes of striking rich ore deposits.This resurgence in uranium mining is being triggered by skyrocketing prices brought on by soaring global demand for the radioactive mineral.
From trading at about $9 per pound in 2001, the price of raw uranium has nearly tripled and currently trades at about $25 a pound. Industry experts predict prices will climb to between $30 and $35 a pound during the next few years.The raw material is called yellowcake, a coarse reddish-yellow powder made up of oxidized uranium that is milled from mined ore. It contains scant radioactive elements and is put through various milling processes and eventually turned into fuel rods, which are used in nuclear power plants.
The price spike in the mined uranium is attributable to a shrinking supply of yellowcake as European and Asian countries switch to nuclear reactors for power generation in the face of rising oil prices and global warming.
In the United States, 103 nuclear reactors in 31 states provide electricity to one of every five homes and businesses. World demand for uranium will be 185 million pounds in 2013, estimates the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington. But supply likely will be significantly lower, at about 130 million pounds, said Clifton Farrell, NEI's senior project manager.
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