U.S. Uranium Mining Restrictions And Potential Changes

The U.S. is the world's largest uranium consumer, using 25% of the global supply of uranium. Despite large domestic uranium resources, over 90% of the U.S. uranium supply is imported from foreign countries including Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan and Russia.

Background

During the Cold War, for strategic purposes, the U.S. government heavily incentivized domestic uranium production to support military demands while rigorously restricting foreign imports. However, the U.S. eventually found itself unable to sustain its demands with domestic production alone, and other countries began producing higher quality uranium. As a result, the U.S. government eliminated existing trade embargos and domestic production of uranium subsequently declined. In 1985, domestic production had decreased to almost a quarter of what it was five years prior. By 2011, there were only three uranium mines operating in the U.S., and U.S. uranium production hit its lowest level in 70 years