Uranium 2014_ Resources, Produc - OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

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A Joint Report by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
and the International Atomic Energy Agency
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NEA

A Joint Report by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
and the International Atomic Energy Agency
Uranium 2014:
Resources, Production and Demand

© OECD 2014
NEA No. 7209
NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
The OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 34 democracies work together to address the
economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to
understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate
governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a
setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good
practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies.
The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico,
the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Commission
takes part in the work of the OECD.
OECD Publishing disseminates widely the results of the Organisation’s statistics gathering and research on
economic, social and environmental issues, as well as the conventions, guidelines and standards agreed by its
members.
This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD.
The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official
views of the Organisation or of the governments of its member countries.
NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY
The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) was established on 1 February 1958. Current NEA membership
consists of 31 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The European Commission also takes part in
the work of the Agency.
The mission of the NEA is:
– to assist its member countries in maintaining and further developing, through international
co-operation, the scientific, technological and legal bases required for a safe, environmentally friendly
and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes;
– to provide authoritative assessments and to forge common understandings on key issues, as input to
government decisions on nuclear energy policy and to broader OECD policy analyses in areas such as
energy and sustainable development.
Specific areas of competence of the NEA include the safety and regulation of nuclear activities, radioactive
waste management, radiological protection, nuclear science, economic and technical analyses of the nuclear
fuel cycle, nuclear law and liability, and public information.
The NEA Data Bank provides nuclear data and computer program services for participating countries. In
these and related tasks, the NEA works in close collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency in
Vienna, with which it has a Co-operation Agreement, as well as with other international organisations in the
nuclear field.

This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of
international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found online at: www.oecd.org/publishing/corrigenda.
© OECD 2014
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Cover photos: Aerial photo of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station near Kincardine, Ontario, Canada (Chuck Szmurlo); Paleao-Rollfront at Dead Tree
Creek, Mt. Painter Gebiet, South Australia (Geomartin).
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Preface
Since the mid-1960s, with the co-operation of their member countries and states, the
OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
have jointly prepared periodic updates (currently every two years) on world uranium
resources, production and demand. These updates have been published by the
OECD/NEA in what is commonly known as the “Red Book”. This 25th edition of the
Red Book reflects information current as of 1 January 2013.
This edition features a comprehensive assessment of uranium supply and demand in
2013 and projections of supply and demand to the year 2035. The basis of this assessment
is a comparison of uranium resource estimates (according to categories of geological
certainty and production cost) and mine production capability with anticipated uranium
requirements arising from projected installed nuclear generating capacity. In cases where
longer-term projections of installed nuclear capacity were not provided by national
authorities, projected demand figures were developed with input from expert authorities.
Current data on resources, exploration, production and uranium stocks are also
presented, along with historical summaries of exploration and production as well as
plans for future mine production. Available information on secondary sources of uranium
is presented and the potential impact of secondary sources on the market is assessed.
Individual country reports provide detailed information on recent developments in
uranium exploration and production, updates on environmental activities, regulatory
requirements and information on relevant national uranium policies.
This publication has been prepared on the basis of data obtained through
questionnaires sent by the NEA to OECD member countries (19 countries responded and
1 country report was prepared by the Secretariat) and by the IAEA for those states that
are not OECD member countries (17 countries responded and 8 country reports were
prepared by the Secretariat). The opinions expressed in Chapters 1 and 2 do not
necessarily reflect the position of the member countries or international organisations
concerned. This report is published on the responsibility of the OECD Secretary-General.
Acknowledgements
The OECD/NEA, Paris, and the IAEA, Vienna, gratefully acknowledge the co-operation of
those organisations (see Appendix 2) which replied to the questionnaire.

URANIUM 2014: RESOURCES, PRODUCTION AND DEMAND, NEA No. 7209, © OECD 2014 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of contents

Executive summary ........................................................................................................................9

Chapter 1. Uranium supply ..........................................................................................................17

Uranium resources ....................................................................................................................17

Uranium exploration .................................................................................................................41

Uranium production ..................................................................................................................59

References ...................................................................................................................................75

Chapter 2. Uranium demand .......................................................................................................77
Current commercial nuclear generating capacity and reactor-related uranium

requirements ..............................................................................................................................77

Uranium supply and demand relationships ........................................................................107

The long-term perspective .....................................................................................................126

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................130

References .................................................................................................................................131
Chapter 3. National reports on uranium exploration, resources, production,
demand and the environment ..............................................................................133

Algeria .......................................................................................................................................134
Argentina ..................................................................................................................................137
Armenia .....................................................................................................................................147
Australia ....................................................................................................................................148
Botswana ...................................................................................................................................162
Brazil ..........................................................................................................................................166
Canada .......................................................................................................................................174
Chad ...........................................................................................................................................187
Chile ...........................................................................................................................................189
China, People’s Republic of.....................................................................................................199
Czech Republic .........................................................................................................................210
Finland .......................................................................................................................................220
France ........................................................................................................................................230
Germany ....................................................................................................................................236
Greenland ..................................................................................................................................242
Hungary .....................................................................................................................................244
India ...........................................................................................................................................250
Indonesia ...................................................................................................................................264
Iran, Islamic Republic of .........................................................................................................267
Italy ...........................................................................................................................................275
Japan ..........................................................................................................................................279
Jordan ........................................................................................................................................283
Kazakhstan ...............................................................................................................................287
Malawi .......................................................................................................................................299
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Mali ...........................................................................................................................................309
Mongolia ....................................................................................................................................312
Namibia .....................................................................................................................................319
Niger ..........................................................................................................................................334
Peru ...........................................................................................................................................344
Poland ........................................................................................................................................347
Portugal .....................................................................................................................................352
Russian Federation ..................................................................................................................357
Slovak Republic ........................................................................................................................369
Slovenia .....................................................................................................................................376
South Africa ..............................................................................................................................380
Spain ..........................................................................................................................................394
Sweden ......................................................................................................................................401
Tanzania ....................................................................................................................................408
Thailand ....................................................................................................................................414
Turkey ........................................................................................................................................416
Ukraine ......................................................................................................................................423
United Kingdom .......................................................................................................................436
United States ............................................................................................................................438
Viet Nam ...................................................................................................................................458
Zambia .......................................................................................................................................462
List of appendices
1. Members of the Joint NEA-IAEA Uranium Group participating in 2012-2013
meetings ..........................................................................................................................469
2. List of reporting organisations and contact persons .................................................473
3. Glossary of definitions and terminology .....................................................................477
4. List of abbreviations and acronyms .............................................................................489
5. Energy conversion factors .............................................................................................491
6. List of all Red Book editions (1965-2014) and national reports ................................493
7. Currency exchange rates ...............................................................................................501
8. Groups of countries and areas with uranium-related activities..............................503
List of figures
1.1. Global distribution of identified resources ...................................................................19
1.2. Distribution of reasonably assured resources (RAR) among countries with a
significant share of resources .........................................................................................26
1.3. Distribution of inferred resources (IR) among countries with a significant share
of resources .......................................................................................................................26
1.4. Trends in exploration and development expenditures ..............................................45
1.5. Uranium production in 2012: 58 816 tU .........................................................................62
1.6. Recent world uranium production .................................................................................62
2.1. World installed nuclear capacity: 371.8 GWe net ........................................................79
2.2. 2012 world uranium requirements: 61 600 tU ..............................................................79
2.3. Projected installed nuclear capacity to 2035 ..............................................................106
2.4. Annual reactor-related uranium requirements to 2035 ...........................................106
2.5. Estimated 2013 uranium production and reactor-related requirements for
major producing and consuming countries ...............................................................108
2.6. OECD and world uranium production and requirements ........................................108
2.7. Annual uranium production and requirements ........................................................109
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.8. Cumulative uranium production and requirements .................................................110
2.9. Uranium prices: 1982-2012 ............................................................................................120
2.10. NUEXCO exchange value trend ....................................................................................121
2.11. Projected annual world uranium production capability to 2035 compared with
projected world reactor requirements ........................................................................125
List of tables
1.1. Changes in identified resources 2011-2013 ...................................................................18
1.2. Identified resources (RAR and inferred) ........................................................................20
1.3. Reasonably assured resources (RAR) .............................................................................21
1.4. Inferred resources.............................................................................................................22
1.5. Major identified resource changes by country .............................................................23
1.6. Reasonably assured resources by production method ...............................................27
1.7. Inferred resources by production method ....................................................................28
1.8. Reasonably assured resources by processing method ................................................28
1.9. Inferred resources by processing method .....................................................................29
1.10. Reasonably assured resources by deposit type ............................................................29
1.11. Inferred resources by deposit type .................................................................................30
1.12. Identified resources proximate to existing or committed production centres .......31
1.13. Additional identified resources ......................................................................................32
1.14. Reported undiscovered resources ..................................................................................33
1.15. Unconventional uranium resources (1 000 tU) reported in 1965-2003 Red Books
with updated figures from 2011-2013 ............................................................................35
1.16. Major thorium deposit types and resources .................................................................38
1.17. Identified thorium resources ..........................................................................................40
1.18. Non-domestic uranium exploration and mine development expenditures ............42
1.19. Industry and government uranium exploration and mine development
expenditures – domestic in countries listed .................................................................43
1.20. Production in selected countries and reasons for major changes ............................60
1.21. Historical uranium production .......................................................................................60
1.22. Ownership of uranium production based on 2012 output .........................................66
1.23. Employment in existing production centres of listed countries ...............................67
1.24. Employment directly related to uranium production and productivity ...................68
1.25. Percentage distribution of world production by production method .......................69
1.26. World uranium production capability to 2035 .............................................................70
1.27. Recently opened, planned and committed mine capacity expansion and
expansions of existing facilities .....................................................................................72
1.28. Prospective mines (estimated production capacity in tU/yr) .....................................74
2.1. Nuclear data summary ....................................................................................................78
2.2. Electricity generated at nuclear power plants ..............................................................80
2.3. Installed nuclear generating capacity to 2035 ............................................................102
2.4. Annual reactor-related uranium requirements to 2035 ...........................................104
2.5. Uranium stocks in countries responding to 2013 questionnaire .............................111
2.6. MOX production and use ...............................................................................................116
2.7. Reprocessed uranium production and use .................................................................116
2.8. Russian Federation supply of re-enriched tails to European Union end users .....118
2.9. Re-enriched tails production and use..........................................................................119
2.10. ESA average natural uranium prices (2008-2012).......................................................123

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