Uranium is a naturally occurring metal that is found throughout the world in abundance. It is as common as tin and is 500 times more common than gold. It is found in rocks, soils, oceans, and even in our food and in our bodies.

Uranium is useful in several fields such as medicine, food safety, and space exploration. Its most common use is as a fuel for nuclear reactors. During nuclear fission, the uranium atom’s nucleus is split releasing energy that boils water in reactors. The resulting steam spins turbines to produce electricity. As no toxic emissions are released into the atmosphere as a result of this process, nuclear energy has received renewed interest in the last several years as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuel burning.

As mentioned earlier, uranium is found in abundance throughout the world; however, only certain types of uranium deposits can economically produce significant amounts. 

1. Unconformity related
   • Predominantly occur in Canada and Australia
   • Examples are Cigar Lake and McArthur River deposits in the Athabasca Basin
   • Deposits are small yet very high grade
   • Related to major unconformities or breaks in the stratigraphic record
2. Iron oxide copper gold (IOCG)
   • Example is the producing Olympic Dam deposit in Australia
   • Very low grade
   • Uranium is typically extracted as a by-product to copper and gold
3. Sandstone
   • Occur around the world; currently there are producing sandstone deposits in Niger, Kazakhstan, USA, and Australia
   • Deposits are small to medium sized and have low grades
4. Pegmatite intrusive
   • Rossing in Namibia is the only producing pegmatite-intrusive deposit in the world
   • Deposits are low grade

Once a uranium deposit that is economically feasible is discovered, there are three methods in which it can be mined:

1. Open Pit
2. Underground Mining
3. In-Situ Recovery (ISR) – an operation through which a solution similar to carbonated water is injected into the ground to dissolve the uranium and pumped back up to the surface. This method is favoured as it has a relatively low impact on the surrounding environment.

Once mined, uranium is concentrated into a powder called yellowcake. It is subsequently shipped to a conversion plant where it is enriched to a fuel-grade powder and pressed into pellets. The pellets are inserted into rods which are bundled by the hundreds to make up the reactor's core.