uranium

The release of the 2021 presidential federal budget proposal earlier this week held some important news on the critical minerals front.  

Following on the heels of the creation of the U.S. Nuclear Fuels Working Group (NFWG), which President Donald Trump had announced in the summer of last year “to develop recommendations for reviving and expanding domestic nuclear fuel production,”the President’s budget proposes $150 million per year over the next ten years for the creation of a U.S. Uranium reserve.

Traditionally, Uranium – primarily known for its energy applications, which have placed it under the purview of the Department of Energy – has not been much of a focal point for ARPN.  Developments over the past few years, not least the inclusion of Uranium in the Department of Interior’s 2018 critical minerals list, have changed that — for good reason.   

Critical for a variety of U.S. defense needs, energy production, and other industries, USGS noted in its 2018 technical input document for the critical minerals list that while DoE inventory was meeting most defense needs in the short term “U.S. sourced uranium will be needed in the future to meet defense requirements that, according to international agreements, must be free from peaceful use restrictions.”

Moreover, the agency stated that  while Uranium was also critical in “ensuring a reliable supply of fuel for the 99 nuclear power reactors that supply about 20 percent of U.S. electricity, (…) [o]nly 8 percent of uranium loaded into U.S. nuclear power reactors in 2016 was of U.S. origin; the remaining 92 percent was imported Uranium.”

According to the Office of Nuclear Energy,

“The new program will help to reestablish the nation’s nuclear fuel supply chain through the domestic production and conversion of uranium. The reserve is expected to support the operation of at least two U.S. uranium mines and will ensure there is a backup supply of uranium in the event of a significant market disruption that prevents entities from acquiring fuel. NE would begin the procurement process for the reserve in FY21.”

Of course inclusion of a Uranium reserve in the Presidential Budget is only the first step, and implementation of the proposal is subject to Congressional approval.  However, the move gives a clear indication of the Administration’s strategic focus — which from a critical minerals perspective is an encouraging development. 

For more on Uranium, see geologist and ARPN expert panel member Ned Mamula’s recent four-piece series for Capital Research Center, “Russia’s Uranium Gambit: An Underappreciated Energy Source”

In a recent piece for the Washington Times, ARPN panel of expert member and author of “Groundbreaking!: America’s New Quest for Mineral Independence,” Ned Mamula and columnist and consultant for FreedomWorks Stephen Moore zero in on Uranium.

Embedding the discussion in the context of American mining and production of critical minerals in recent decades being “a self-inflicted wound that could imperil our economy and national security,” they point to the fact that while the United States is home to vast domestic Uranium resources and reserves, “more than 90 percent of U.S. uranium requirements are now imported.” More than 40 percent of the total of these imports, come from a “potentially adversarial trading bloc,” Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

“This is not a friendly free-market group that America can depend on, especially in an emergency,” they lament. 

Globally, the percentage of uranium production “coming from state-controlled companies not located in Western market-based economies,” is on the rise.

Meanwhile, domestic issues have contributed to a drastic decrease in U.S. uranium production prompting U.S. Congressmen Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Rob Bishop (R -Utah), and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), spoke of a “dying” industry in an op-ed for Fox News earlier this year.  

Acknowledging the national security implications of the issue, earlier this summer, President Trump announced the formation of a “U.S. Nuclear Fuel Working Group” to conduct a “fuller analysis of national security considerations with respect to the entire nuclear fuel supply chain.” The findings of the working group are due soon, and it will be interesting to see what the recommendations to alleviate “America’s Uranium crisis” are going to be. 

Moore and Mamula argue that — as non-supporters of trade protectionism they are unsure what the best solution to address the issue of imports coming from “nations that are not allies,” but one thing is certain, they argue:

“The strategy of benign neglect is not working and must be replaced with a smart strategy that ensures reliable and affordable uranium for years to come.”

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To read the full piece, click here.

For more context, see Ned Mamula’s series for Capital Research Center on “Uranium, an underappreciated energy source.”

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