mineral · input
Uranium hexafluoride enriched to 3–5% U-235, fabricated into ceramic fuel pellets for LWR reactors. The U.S. nuclear fleet generates ~18% of national electricity; roughly 27% of LEU used in the U.S. came from Russia (TENEX/Rosatom) before the 2024 import ban. The U.S. has only one domestic uranium enrichment facility (Urenco USA in Eunice, NM).
7
Source countries
6
Companies
1
Goods affected
0
Claims on record
What depends on it
1 essential American goods rely on low-enriched uranium (leu) nuclear fuel somewhere upstream in their supply chain.
Where it comes from
Share of global supply, by country.
| Country | Share of supply |
|---|---|
| RURussia | 44% |
| KZKazakhstan | 22% |
| FRFrance | 20% |
| GBUnited Kingdom | 15% |
| CACanada | 13% |
| NLNetherlands | 12% |
| USUnited States | 10% |
Who makes it
6 companies produce low-enriched uranium (leu) nuclear fuel.
Russian state-owned uranium enrichment trading company, wholly owned by Rosatom. Supplied ~27% of US LEU before the August 2024 US import ban. Russia holds ~44% of global uranium enrichment capacity (USEC). Imposed its own export ban on US-bound LEU in November 2024.
World's largest uranium producer (~22% of global mine output). State-owned by Kazakhstan. Revenue ~$3B (2024). Operates 26 uranium mines using in-situ recovery (ISR) method — low-cost, environmentally controlled. Kazakhstan produces ~21,000 tU/yr. Primary customer base includes Orano, Urenco, Cameco, CGNPC, and TENEX. Major geopolitical concern: landlocked Kazakhstan routes uranium through Russia (via rail to Baltic ports) or China for Western delivery.
French state-majority-owned nuclear fuel cycle company. Revenue ~€4.5B (2024). Operates Georges Besse II enrichment plant at Tricastin (France) — ~7.5 million SWU/yr capacity. Also mines uranium in Niger and Kazakhstan, and provides conversion services. The largest single Western enrichment facility. Signed multiple long-term supply contracts with US utilities post-Russian import ban. Orano is 80% owned by French state via CEA and Caisse des Dépôts.
World's largest Western uranium producer (~13% global mine output). Revenue ~C$3.3B (2024). Operates Cigar Lake and McArthur River mines (Saskatchewan) — among the highest-grade uranium deposits in the world. Also provides UO2 conversion at Port Hope, Ontario. Cameco and Orano jointly operate the McLean Lake mill. Post-Russian-ban, Cameco is the primary Western hemisphere uranium supplier for US utilities.
Anglo-German-Dutch uranium enrichment consortium with operations in UK, Netherlands, Germany, and USA (Urenco USA at Eunice NM — the sole US enrichment facility). Key Western alternative to Russian enrichment for US nuclear fuel.
US nuclear fuel supplier and the company deploying the only American-designed uranium enrichment technology (American Centrifuge). Centrus operates a small demonstration cascade of AC100M centrifuges at Piketon, OH (the American Centrifuge Plant, ACP), licensed by NRC in 2021 — the first new US enrichment license in decades. Revenue ~$340M (2024). Also purchases and resells SWU (separative work units) from Urenco, Orano, and historically TENEX. Centrus is the primary vehicle for potential US enrichment scale-up.
