According to data from the World Nuclear Association, the global uranium reserves by country have been revealed, with Australia topping the list.
Because of its vital role in producing nuclear energy and all the associated costs and repercussions, there is a tendency to think that uranium reserves are rare.
However, uranium is fairly common in the Earth’s crust; it is roughly equal to tin in terms of presence and is even more numerous than gold and silver, for example.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the White House is set to approve depleted uranium munitions for Ukraine.
Marcus Lu of Visual Capitalist shows how the world’s uranium resources are distributed by the nation as of 2021. Data is from the World Nuclear Association, and it was most recently updated in August 2023.
Ranked: Uranium Reserves By Country (2021)
With over 50% of the world’s reserves, Australia, Kazakhstan, and Canada possess the highest proportions of uranium resources that are currently accessible.
With more than 1.7 million tonnes of uranium discovered to date—28 percent of the world’s reserves—Australia stands out among these three. Situated approximately 600 kilometers north of Adelaide, the Olympic Dam mine is the world’s largest single uranium deposit and, surprisingly, the fourth-largest copper deposit as well.
Despite this, Australia only ranks fifth in terms of total uranium output and is currently the fourth-largest producer.
Russia and Namibia, the two countries outside the top three, have uranium reserves that are approximately equal to 8% of total uranium, or 470,000 tonnes.
Each of the three countries—South Africa, Brazil, and Niger—has 5% of the global deposits.
With 3% of the world’s uranium reserves or roughly 224,000 tonnes, China rounds out the top 10.
The fact that the data presented here is based on uranium deposits that are currently known to exist and can be profitably mined should be noted. It is unknown how much uranium there is in the globe overall, as new deposits are always being discovered. Indeed, advancements in technology have led to an approximate 25% increase in the world’s known uranium deposits in only the past ten years alone. This has improved exploration efforts.
However, not every uranium deposit is created equal. For instance, uranium is collected as a byproduct of copper mining that takes place in the same location as the Olympic Dam. It is a byproduct of the processing of ores used in the gold mining process in South Africa. High concentrations of two chemicals in orebodies might boost profits because expenses can be split for two different products.
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