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Uranium—Deposits, Production and Resources, Market Dynamics, and Supply Chain Risks

Fact Sheet 2025-3057
Mineral Resources Program
By:
https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20253057

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Introduction

Interest in nuclear power for the generation of electricity has risen with the increase in the need for more diverse baseload power, enhanced energy security, and the development of new technologies, such as small modular reactors (SMRs), which could provide power for remote areas, industrial applications, and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy received $2.7 billion in congressional funding to bolster the domestic uranium production and nuclear fuel supply chain and address reliance on imports from foreign suppliers. In 2025, the U.S. Government issued several Executive and Secretary’s orders aimed at revitalizing the U.S. nuclear sector. If SMRs are to be as widely deployed in the United States and worldwide as envisioned, demand for uranium (nuclear reactor fuel) will likely increase.

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, the market spot price of uranium began a decline, followed by a decrease in U.S. and global uranium exploration and mine development expenditures that led to a uranium supply deficit until 2020, when prices started to recover, prompting a resurgence in uranium exploration and development. In January of 2024, the uranium spot price rose to a 17-year high $106 (U.S. dollars) per pound of U3O8 (triuranium oxide, commonly known as “yellowcake”), which is expected to increase uranium exploration, mine development, and uranium production domestically and worldwide.

Suggested Citation

Mihalasky, M.J., 2026, Uranium—Deposits, production and resources, market dynamics, and supply chain risks: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2025-3057, 6 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20253057.

ISSN: 2327-6932 (online)

ISSN: 2327-6916 (print)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Uranium and Uranium Deposits
  • Uses and Applications of Uranium
  • Global Supply Chain
  • Market and Supply Dynamics
  • Global Production and Resources
  • Domestic Production and Resources
  • Consumption, Import Reliance, and Supply Chain Risks
  • Summary
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Uranium—Deposits, production and resources, market dynamics, and supply chain risks
Series title Fact Sheet
Series number 2025-3057
DOI 10.3133/fs20253057
Publication Date April 23, 2026
Year Published 2026
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston VA
Contributing office(s) Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Description 6 p.
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional publication details