Uranium resources and uranium supply

The availability of natural uranium is currently considered unproblematic. Out of concern about the sufficient availability of uranium, an internation al working group of OECD-NEA, in which the Federal Office for Geosciences a nd Resources (BGR) participates as a German partner, has conducted analyses of uranium availability since 1965. Its findings are published biannually in the so-called "Red Book," "Uranium, Resources, Production, and Demand." Changes in the political situation worldwide have profoundly influenced the military importance of uranium and thus also greatly improved its accessib ility. As a consequence, there was a decline in production in the nineties from approx. 57,000 t of U in 1989 to, at present (2001), approx. 35,000 t annually. Estimates of the worldwide requirement of natural uranium in 2015 range bet ween approx. 55,000 t and 80,000 t of U, because of the unforeseeable exten t of the use of nuclear power, as against approx. 63,000 t of U in 2001. Th e most recent statistics published in the 1999 Red Bock show low-cost reser ves (up to $40 per kg of U) of 1325 million t, and 2234 t of uranium at ext raction costs of up to t $80 per kg. This indicates a statistical range of reserves of approx. 35 years. It should be noted that these figures are snapshots of a dynamic system. A resumption of extensive exploration and technical developments could greatl y influence the resource situation. In the nineties, for instance, there is a net increase in uranium reserves of approx. 700,000 t of U as a conseque nce of exploration activities.