Uranium Production
The quality of information on US uranium production is quite variable. I don’t know whether that is by design; perhaps the regulatory agencies consider the information to be sensitive and are making it obscure on purpose. Or perhaps its a case where the system is small enough that errors and idiosyncratic data groupings stand out.
The World Nuclear Association has an excellent summary of US uranium exploration and mining activity. On the other hand, the NRC has this interesting map that places the Crow Butte ISL operation somewhere near Lynch NE(A) rather than near Crawford NE(B)
View Larger Map
This is probably a drafting error on a generalized map and nobody is perfect.
If you check the WNA page you will note that 1)uranium mine development and exploration is really hopping in the US right now, 2)there *hasn’t* been much production recently, and 3)Crow Butte was the second most prolific producer in 2006 accounting for 281 t (tonnes=2205 lbs) of uranium.
It is also worth checking their data on world production. On that page you can find the data indicating that the United States ranks eighth in world production. Crow Butte must account for almost 17% of US production.
In the table on the bottom of the page they show production data from the largest uranium deposits. Note that ISL operations are represented but are on the lower end of those deposits listed.
I’ve learned to make short posts and publish them before I do something stupid and wipe them out. Its time to publish this one.
Edited May 26,2008
Posted: May 26th, 2008 under Uranium.