3.5. Nuclear

Nuclear energy has emerged as a viable source in recent times. Important minerals used for the generation of nuclear energy are uranium and thorium. Uranium is a relatively common element in the crust of the Earth. It is a metal approximately as common as tin or zinc, and it is a constituent of most rocks and even of the sea. The table 14 gives some idea of our present knowledge of uranium resources. It can be seen that Australia has a substantial part (about 31 percent) of the world's uranium, Kazakhstan 12 percent, and Canada and Russia 9 percent each. Known uranium resources have increased almost threefold since 1975.

Recycled uranium and plutonium is another source for Uranium fuel, and currently saves 1500- 2000 tU per year of primary supply, depending on whether just the plutonium or also the uranium is considered. In fact, plutonium is quickly recycled as MOX fuel, whereas the reprocessed uranium (RepU) is mostly stockpiled.

Re-enrichment of depleted uranium (DU, enrichment tails) is another secondary source. There is about 1.5 million tonnes of depleted uranium available, from both military and civil enrichment activity since the 1940s, most at tails assay of 0.25 - 0.35% U-235. Russian enrichment plants have treated 10-15,000 tonnes per year of DU producing a few thousand tonnes per year of natural uranium equivalent.