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2021 uranium mining by nation [1] Schematic diagram of stages from uranium mining to energy production. Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50,000 tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account for 68% ...
This can produce low-enriched uranium containing up to 20% U-235 that is suitable for use in most large civilian electric-power reactors. With further processing, one obtains highly enriched uranium, containing 20% or more U-235, that is suitable for use in compact nuclear reactors—usually used to power naval warships and submarines.
The highest grade uranium deposits are found in the Athabasca Basin in Canada, including the two largest high grade uranium deposits in the world, Cigar Lake with 217 million pounds (99,000 t) U 3 O 8 at an average grade of 18% and McArthur River with 324 million pounds (147,000 t) U 3 O 8 at an average grade of 17%. These deposits occur below ...
The word unobtainium derives humorously from unobtainable, with -ium, a suffix for chemical element names. It predates the similar-sounding systematic element names, such as ununennium, unbinilium, unbiunium, and unbiquadium. An alternative spelling, unobtanium, is sometimes used, by analogy to the names of real elements like titanium and uranium.
The type locality is the historic mining and spa town known as Joachimsthal, the modern-day Jáchymov, on the Czech side of the mountains, where F. E. Brückmann described the mineral in 1772. [ 4 ] [ 6 ] Pitchblende from the Johanngeorgenstadt deposit in Germany was used by M. Klaproth in 1789 to discover the element uranium .
It became popular in the U.S. and uranium was widely used to color glassware until 1943, when the government started regulating its use so that they could save uranium to build atom bombs.
Uranium-236 has a half-life of 2.342 × 10 7 years [7] and is not found in significant quantities in nature. The half-life of uranium-236 is too short for it to be primordial, though it has been identified as an extinct progenitor of its alpha decay daughter, thorium-232. [67]
Uranium compounds are compounds formed by the element uranium (U). Although uranium is a radioactive actinide, its compounds are well studied due to its long half-life and its applications. It usually forms in the +4 and +6 oxidation states, although it can also form in other oxidation states.