Uranium

History

The use of uranium, in its natural oxide form, dates back to at least 79 AD, when it was used to add a yellow color to ceramic glazes (yellow glass with 1% uranium oxide was found near Naples, Italy).

Related Topics:
Oxide - 79 - Ceramic - Naples - Italy

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The discovery of the element is credited to the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth who in 1789 found uranium as part of the mineral called pitchblende. It was named after the planet Uranus, which had been discovered eight years earlier by William Herschel. It was first isolated as a metal in 1841 by Eugene-Melchior Peligot. In 1850 the first commercial use of Uranium in glass was developed by Lloyd & Summerfield of Birmingham England. Uranium was found to be radioactive by French physicist Henri Becquerel in 1896, who first discovered the process of radioactivity with uranium minerals.

Related Topics:
Discovery - Martin Heinrich Klaproth - 1789 - Mineral - Pitchblende - Uranus - William Herschel - Metal - 1841 - Eugene-Melchior Peligot - Birmingham England - Radioactive - Henri Becquerel - 1896

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Military applications

During the Manhattan Project, the wartime Allied program to develop the first atomic bombs during World War II, uranium gained new importance on the world political scene. Before the discovery of plutonium, only uranium was considered for the development of an atomic bomb, though the process of enriching it to applicable levels required gargantuan facilities (see Oak Ridge National Laboratory). Eventually enough uranium was enriched for one atomic bomb, which was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. The other nuclear weapons developed during the war used plutonium as their fissionable material, which itself requires uranium to produce. Initially it was believed that uranium was relatively rare, though within a decade large deposits of it were discovered in many places around the world.

Related Topics:
Manhattan Project - Allied - Atomic bomb - World War II - Plutonium - Oak Ridge National Laboratory - Hiroshima, Japan - 1945

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Uranium exploration and mining

The exploration and mining of radioactive ores in the United States began around the turn of the 20th century. Sources for radium (contained in uranium ore) were sought for use as luminous paint for watch dials and other instruments, as well as for health-related applications (some of which in retrospect were incredibly unhealthy). Because of the need for the element during World War II, the Manhattan Project contracted with numerous vanadium mining companies in the American Southwest, and also purchased uranium ore from the Belgian Congo, through the Union Minière du Haut Katanga, and in Canada from the Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited company. American uranium ores mined in Colorado were primarily mixes of vanadium and uranium, but because of wartime secrecy the Manhattan Project would only publicly admit to purchasing the vanadium, and did not pay the uranium miners for the uranium ore (in a much later lawsuit, many miners were able to reclaim lost profits from the U.S. government). American uranium ores did not have nearly as high uranium concentrations as the ore from the Belgian Congo, but they were pursued vigorously to ensure nuclear self-sufficiency. Similar efforts were undertaken in the Soviet Union, which did not have native stocks of uranium when it started developing its own weapons program.

Related Topics:
United States - 20th century - Radium - Vanadium - Belgian Congo - Union Minière du Haut Katanga - Canada - Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited - Colorado - Soviet Union

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Australia has the world's largest uranium reserves - 28 per cent of the planet's known supply. Almost all the uranium is exported, but under strict International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards to satisfy the Australian people and government that none of the uranium is used in nuclear weapons. Australian uranium is used strictly for electricity production.

Related Topics:
Australia - International Atomic Energy Agency - Nuclear weapons

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The Olympic Dam operation run by BHP Billiton in South Australia is combined with mining of copper, gold, and silver, and has reserves of global significance. There are three uranium mines in Australia, but more have been proposed. The most controversial was Jabiluka, to be built inside the World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park.

Related Topics:
Olympic Dam - BHP Billiton - South Australia - Copper - Gold - Silver - Jabiluka - World Heritage - Kakadu National Park

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In spite of Australia's huge reserves, Canada remains the largest exporter of uranium ore with mines located in Athabaska basin in northern Saskatchewan. Cameco, the world?s largest, low-cost uranium producer accounting for 20% of the world?s uranium production, operates 4 mines in the area.

Related Topics:
Canada - Saskatchewan - Cameco

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Rise, stagnation and possible renaissance of uranium mining

In the beginning of the Cold War, to ensure adequate supplies of uranium for national defense, the United States Congress passed the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1946, creating the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) which had the power to withdraw prospective uranium mining land from public purchase, and also to manipulate the price of uranium to meet national needs. By setting a high price for uranium ore, the AEC created a uranium "boom" in the early 1950s, which attracted many prospectors to the four corners region of the country. Moab, Utah became known as the Uranium-capital of the world, when geologist Charles Steen discovered such an ore in 1952, even though American ore sources were considerably less potent than those in the Belgian Congo or South Africa.

Related Topics:
Cold War - U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1946 - Atomic Energy Commission - 1950s - Four corners region - Moab, Utah - Charles Steen - 1952 - South Africa

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At the height of the nuclear energy euphoria in the 1950s methods for extracting diluted uranium and thorium, found in abundance in granite or seawater, were pursued. ORNL Review Scientists promised that, used in a breeder reactor, these materials would potentially provide limitless source of energy.

Related Topics:
Nuclear energy - Euphoria - 1950 - Thorium - Breeder reactor

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American military requirements declined in the 1960s, and the government completed its uranium procurement program by the end of 1970. Simultaneously, a new market emerged: commercial nuclear power plants. However, in the U.S. this market virtually collapsed by the end of the 1970s as a result of industrial strains caused by the energy crisis, popular opposition, and finally the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979, all of which led to a de facto moratorium on the development of new nuclear reactor power stations.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1970 - 1970s - Energy crisis - Three Mile Island - 1979

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In Europe a mixed situation exists. Considerable nuclear power capacities have been developed, notably in France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. In many countries development of nuclear power has been stopped by legal actions. In Italy the use of nuclear power has been barred by a referendum in 1987.

Related Topics:
Europe - France - Germany - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - UK - Nuclear power - Italy - Referendum - 1987

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In France and Switzerland the use of nuclear power continues, but there is little new demand that would stimulate the market for uranium.

Related Topics:
France - Switzerland

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Since 1981 uranium prices and quantities in the US are reported by the Department of Energy http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/pdf/pages/sec9.pdf. Import price dropped from 32.90 US$/lb U3O8 in 1981 down to 12.55 in 1990 and to below 10 US$/lb U3O8 in the year 2000. Prices paid for uranium during the 1970s were higher, 43 US$/lb U3O8 is reported as the selling price for Australian uranium in 1978 by the Nuclear Information Centre.

Related Topics:
1981 - Department of Energy - 1970s - Australian

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Uranium prices reached an all-time low in 2001, costing US$7/lb, but has since rebounded strongly. Uranium currently sells at US$30/lb. This is the highest price (adjusted for inflation et cetera) in 15 years. The higher price has spurred interest for new prospecting and in reopening old mines.

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http://www.uxc.com/review/uxc_g_hist-price.html

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Risks of uranium mining

Because uranium ores emit radon gas, and their harmful and highly radioactive daughter products, uranium mining is significantly more dangerous than other (already dangerous) hard rock mining, requiring adequate ventilation systems if the mines are not open pit. During the 1950s, a significant amount of American uranium miners were Navajo Indians, as many uranium deposits were discovered on Navajo reservations. An unusually high number of these miners later developed lung cancer. Some survivors and their descendants received compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1990.

Related Topics:
Radon - Daughter products - Hard rock mining - Open pit - Navajo - Reservations - Lung cancer - Radiation Exposure Compensation Act

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Codenames tuballoy and oralloy

During the Manhattan Project, the names tuballoy and oralloy were used to refer to natural uranium and enriched uranium respectively, originally for purposes of secrecy. These names are still used occasionally to refer to natural or enriched uranium.

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