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U238
Discovery of uranium in Wyoming took place in 1949, but the most famous discovery took place in 1953 when Neil McNeice discovered uranium in the Gas Hills of Wyoming. Production during the 1950's centered around the Gas Hills and the Shirley Basin. Production continued to increase until the 1960's when the demand for defense purposes started to decline. From the late 1960's to the present the only use of uranium produced from Wyoming has been to produce electricity.
Employment and production in the United States and Wyoming peaked in 1980. Employment hit a record 21,521 in the U.S. and over 5,300 in Wyoming. Total production in the United States peaked at 44.4 million pounds with 12 million pounds of U308 (yellow cake) from Wyoming. The spot market price ranged between $38 to $40 per pound with some long term contracts exceeding the spot price. Since 1980, production has declined to 3.4 million pounds nationally (1994 production) and 1.2 million pounds from Wyoming. The price hit a low of $7.50 in 1991. The price has rebounded to almost $12 per pound in 1995.
Although employment and production have declined, the nation continues to use almost 40 million pounds of U308 per year. Nuclear energy provides 22% of the U.S. electricity. Demand for uranium is now met from imports from foreign countries, primarily Canada, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Australia, and Kyrgyzstan. Total imports from these countries accounted for 30 million pounds of U308 in 1994.
Since the first production, Wyoming mines have produced 193 million pounds of U308. The energy contained in one pound of yellow cake is equivalent to 31 barrels of fuel oil or 10 tons of coal, so the total energy produced from Wyoming uranium is equivalent to 5.9 billion barrels of fuel oil or 1.9 billion tons of Wyoming coal.
Production from conventional mine/mill operations in Wyoming ceased in 1992. Where there were nine operating uranium recovery mills in 1980, there is now only one still standing, and it is in standby status. The opportunity for future production from that facility is market dependent. The mines that supported the mills have been proceeding to final reclamation over the intervening years and that work is nearing completion. It is projected that by the end of this decade all remediation, that is the responsibility of the operators, will be done.
Production from Wyoming is now centered in the Powder River Basin. To see the map of uranium related sites in Wyoming, click on the Uranium Logo below (This map is courtesy of Cogema Mining, Inc.). All of the existing production comes from in site operations, which is a process to extract the uranium without any excavation of the ore bodies.
The strengthening uranium market is allowing Wyoming's operations to slowly and continuously expand production capacity, providing jobs and a safe environment for the future.
Last Update 01/28/01
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