After a decade out of fashion, nuclear is being rebuilt for clean baseload power, small modular reactors and the AI data centres that need always-on electricity. Uranium is the fuel behind it, and its price has roughly tripled since 2020. The energy is staggering: one fingertip-sized pellet holds about the energy of a tonne of coal. The risks are concentration in mining and a quieter chokepoint in enrichment. 2024 (WNA) · Compiled June 2026
Uranium mined 2024
60,200 t
tonnes of uranium (WNA)
Kazakhstan's share
39%
the dominant single miner
Spot price
~$100
per lb U₃O₈, roughly 3x since 2020
One fuel pellet
≈ 1 t coal
the energy in a fingertip of fuel
Where the World's Uranium Is Mined (2024)
Colour intensity shows each country's share of uranium mine production. Hover a country for its tonnage. Kazakhstan dominates at about 39%, then Canada and Namibia. Those three mine roughly three quarters of the world's uranium.
Lower shareHigher share
2024 Uranium Mine Production by Country (tonnes U)
Kazakhstan mined about 23,000 tonnes, almost as much as the rest of the world combined, mostly by cheap in-situ leaching. Canada and Namibia follow, then Australia, Uzbekistan and Russia.
But Australia Holds the Most in the Ground (resources, kt U)
The reserves map looks nothing like the mining map. Australia holds by far the largest identified resources, roughly a quarter of the world, yet mines relatively little by policy. The metal is not scarce; the mining is a choice.
The energy in it, made tangible.
Uranium matters because of how much energy sits in how little material. This is the whole case for nuclear power, and the reason a small, concentrated supply can run a country. Verify-and-cite figures in the footer.
1 tonne
of coal per pellet
One fingertip-sized uranium fuel pellet (about 7 grams) releases roughly the energy of a tonne of coal.
~20,000x
the energy of coal
Per kilogram, uranium in a reactor yields on the order of twenty thousand times the energy of coal.
~9%
of world electricity
Nuclear power supplies roughly 9% of the world's electricity, and close to a fifth in many advanced economies.
0
carbon at the reactor
Splitting uranium releases energy with no carbon dioxide at the point of generation, which is why it is back in favour.
Energy Per Kilogram, Uranium vs Fuels (MJ/kg, log scale)
On a log scale, coal, oil and gas sit close together near the bottom while uranium towers above them. That gap is the entire reason for nuclear power: a tiny mass of fuel carries an enormous amount of energy, so a single reactor runs for over a year between refuellings.
Where Uranium Goes
Uranium is almost a single-use element: about 99% of it is fuel for power reactors that make electricity. A tiny remainder goes to medical isotopes, naval propulsion and defence. There is no consumer market, only the grid.
Who Enriches It (world capacity)
Mining is only the first step. Before uranium can fuel most reactors it must be enriched, and that capacity is concentrated: Russia's Rosatom holds the single largest share, ahead of Urenco, Orano and China. Shares are approximate.
The Fuel Cycle Is the Real Story
Uranium out of the ground cannot run a reactor. It travels a four-step fuel cycle: mine and mill it into yellowcake, convert it to a gas, enrich it to raise the share of the fissile isotope U-235, then fabricate it into fuel pellets and rods. The mining is concentrated in Kazakhstan, but the quieter chokepoint is enrichment, where Russia's Rosatom holds the largest single share of world capacity, with a big position in conversion too. That is why uranium is also a geopolitical story: in 2024 the United States moved to ban Russian enriched uranium and fund new Western capacity, because the metal can be mined in friendly countries yet still depend on a rival to turn into usable fuel. One pellet may hold a tonne of coal's worth of energy, but only after it clears that cycle.
Kazakhstan mining
39%
of world uranium output
Russia enrichment
~44%
of world capacity
Price vs 2020
~3x
spot up from about $30/lb
Most resources
Australia
mines little of what it holds
Concentration Across the Fuel Cycle (% of world)
Two chokepoints, two countries. Kazakhstan mines about 39% of uranium and the top three miners about 75%. Then Russia holds roughly 44% of enrichment capacity and a large share of conversion, the steps that turn ore into reactor fuel.
The Price Has Roughly Tripled (spot U₃O₈, USD per lb, approx)
Uranium sat near $30 a pound for years after Fukushima. The nuclear revival changed that: spot hit a 17-year high near $106 in early 2024, eased, and reached about $100 again in January 2026, with long-term contracts near $90.
The Supply-and-Risk Story
Uranium's risk is not the rock. Identified resources are large, and Australia alone holds about a quarter of them while mining little. The risk is two chokepoints. The first is mining concentration: Kazakhstan produces about 39% of the world's uranium, and the top three countries about 75%. The second, and the one most people miss, is enrichment: Russia's Rosatom holds the single largest share of world capacity, so even uranium mined in Canada or Australia may still pass through Russian-controlled steps to become fuel. Demand, meanwhile, is climbing as countries extend reactor lives, build small modular reactors, and sign deals to power AI data centres with nuclear. Tight supply met rising demand, and the price tripled. The uranium question is less about running out and more about who controls the path from ore to fuel rod.
Why It Matters
Uranium is the most concentrated energy source we mine, and it is having a comeback. A single pellet the size of a fingertip holds about the energy of a tonne of coal, and splitting it makes electricity with no carbon at the reactor. For a decade after Fukushima the world looked away, but the need for clean, always-on power, plus small modular reactors and the enormous electricity demand of AI data centres, has pulled nuclear back, and the uranium price has roughly tripled since 2020. The catch is control. Mining is concentrated in Kazakhstan, and the fuel cycle has a quieter chokepoint in enrichment, where Russia holds the largest single share. There is plenty of uranium in the ground, with Australia holding the most. So the uranium question is not whether the fuel exists. It is whether the West can rebuild the mines, the enrichment and the reactors fast enough to meet the demand it has suddenly rediscovered.