Resources and Exploration

Much more complete information on uranium resources with low production costs of US$ 40/kgU (US$ 15.40/lbU3O8) or less is available than at the time of the 1998 Survey. The more detailed information is reported in the recent publication Uranium 1999–Resources Production and Demand, (or "Red Book"), a joint report of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Red Book contains information on nearly forty countries with reported uranium resources. The resources are classified by the level of confidence in the estimates, and by production cost categories. The known resources are classified as Reasonably Assured Resources (RAR) and Estimated Additional Resources I (EAR-I), while undiscovered resources are classified as Estimated Additional Resources II (EAR-II) and Speculative.


As of 1 January 1999 (latest IAEA data available) world RAR recoverable at a cost of US$ 130/kgU (equivalent to US$ 50/lbU3O8) or less, are 2.96 million tU, while those recoverable at US$ 80/kgU (US$ 30/lbU3O8) or less, are 2.27 million tU. Furthermore RAR recoverable at US$ 40/kgU (US$ 15/lbU3O8) or less, for thirteen reporting countries, are more than 0.92 million tU. For the first time Canada, which holds 31% of these low-cost resources, reported in this category.

In addition, EAR-I recoverable at US$ 130/kgU or less, have been estimated as 990 000 tU; at US$ 80/kgU or less, as 728 000 tU; and at US$ 40/kgU or less, at 338 000 tU. (These totals exclude EAR for the USA, as the USA does not provide separate estimates for EAR-I and EAR-II).

By comparison with the world totals in Tables 6.1 and 6.2, the tonnages of RAR and EAR-I reported above have been adjusted by the NEA-IAEA to take into account estimated mining and milling losses not accounted for in some of the national estimates.

As complete estimates for individual resource categories were not reported in previous editions of the Red Book, it is difficult to account for all of the changes. However, the estimates available indicate that known world uranium resources recoverable at US$ 130/kgU or less, decreased by about 8% between 1 January 1997 and 1 January 1999. In comparison, a decrease of only about 2.5% for RAR recoverable at US$ 80/kgU or less, occurred. The more complete information for resources in the US$ 40/kgU or less category is very significant. This indicates that several countries possess uranium resources that may be recovered at low cost. These resources provide the potential for maintaining the economic competitiveness of nuclear electric programmes by helping to assure that a low-cost fuel supply is available for a sustained period of time.

As far as possible, the uranium data shown in Tables 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 are as reported by WEC Member Committees for the present Survey, reflecting the situation at end-1999; in the absence of such information, Red Book levels (as at the beginning of 1999) are quoted.

Annual expenditures on uranium exploration for 24 reporting countries increased by 37% to US$ 153 million in 1997. The increase of expenditures from 1996 to 1997 resulted from activities associated with advanced projects in Australia, Canada, the USA, the Russian Federation and India. Twenty-one countries reported exploration expenditure in both 1997 and 1998. The total exploration expenditures for these countries decreased from US$ 148 million to US$ 132 million, with decreases outnumbering increases by more than two to one. Information is not presently available for 1999.

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