Uranium Price

Uranium, chemical symbol U, is a radioactive chemical element that is essential in producing nuclear fuel. It is silvery-white in color when in its natural form. The demand for nuclear power as well as the global supply of uranium often affects the price of the commodity. Its price is often inversely affected by changes in the demand for fossil fuels.

Uranium is both ductile and malleable. Uranium oxide was discovered by German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth in 1789. Named after the planet Uranus, Uranium was first isolated in 1841 by French chemist Eugène-Melchior Péligot after he reduced uranium tetrachloride (UCl4) with potassium. It has radioactive properties that were discovered in 1896 by French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel. French physicists Marie and Pierre Curie were credited with first using the term radioactivity in 1898.

Dubbed “the architect of the nuclear age,” American-Italian physicist Enrico Fermi`s experiments in 1934 led to the development of nuclear reactors and the exploration of uranium’s use in warfare. The resulting technology gave way to the creation of the first nuclear bomb used at Hiroshima, Japan and the subsequent bomb used at Nagasaki, Japan during World War II.

Pitchblende, autunite, carnotite, torbernite, uraninite, and uranophane are natural minerals that contain uranium. Mining processes include in-situ leaching, open-pit, and underground mining. One pound of uranium is capable of producing as much energy as three million pounds of coal through fission.