Overview
![](/assets/images/picto-drapeau-france-3a76576a5d60a512053b4612ab58dae5.png)
Read this article from a comprehensive knowledge base, updated and supplemented with articles reviewed by scientific committees.
Read the articleAUTHOR
-
Pierre MICHEL: Engineer from the École nationale supérieure de chimie de Paris - Former Technical Director, Société industrielle des minerais de l'Ouest - Manager of DPML-Conseil
INTRODUCTION
Natural uranium, i.e., isotopically speaking, as found in its natural state, is the essential raw material for the manufacture of nuclear fuels.
Natural uranium is a very special raw material:
it is dispersed in low-grade ores, which means that the ore has to be processed close to the mine;
the ores that contain it present nuisances that require special care.
Although there are hardly any power reactors today that run on natural uranium (graphite moderator or heavy water), the latter is the basic material for producing enriched uranium, which is used in the manufacture of modern nuclear fuels.
The fuel cycle offers the possibility of recycling residual (enriched uranium) and generated (plutonium) fissile materials, after they have passed through the reactor. This possibility is still little used today, for a variety of technical reasons, except in France, where a program to recycle plutonium in mixed oxide fuel (MOX) has been launched. Even if it were, as most nuclear reactors - with the exception of fast-neutron reactors, which are currently at the stage of industrial prototypes - consume more fissile elements than they produce, the shortfall must be offset by the production of new raw materials. Uranium is therefore needed for :
supply the first load for the new reactors;
ensure fuel renewal for reactors in service.
Exclusive to subscribers. 97% yet to be discovered!
You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!
Already subscribed? Log in!
![](/assets/images/logo-eti-286623ed91fa802ce039246e516e5852.png)
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference
This article is included in
Nuclear engineering
This offer includes:
Knowledge Base
Updated and enriched with articles validated by our scientific committees
Services
A set of exclusive tools to complement the resources
Practical Path
Operational and didactic, to guarantee the acquisition of transversal skills
Doc & Quiz
Interactive articles with quizzes, for constructive reading
Production of natural uranium concentrates
Economic data
Natural uranium is no longer exactly a strategic raw material, and is now subject to the laws of a competitive market. In the aftermath of the oil crises of the mid-70s, several major industrial countries, led by the United States, Europe and Japan (non-exclusive list), launched major nuclear equipment programs for power generation. These programs led to a strong demand for uranium, all the more so as utilities wanted to...
Bibliography
In Engineering Techniques
Exclusive to subscribers. 97% yet to be discovered!
You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!
Already subscribed? Log in!
![](/assets/images/logo-eti-286623ed91fa802ce039246e516e5852.png)
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference