Uranium is the world's nuclear fuel feedstock: essentially all global mine production is converted to enriched uranium for use in commercial nuclear power reactors, which together generate approximately 10% of the world's electricity. The global uranium market is concentrated — Kazakhstan alone supplies ~39% of world mine output via in-situ recovery (ISR) operations operated or co-owned by state company Kazatomprom, while Canada (McArthur River and Cigar Lake, both in the Athabasca Basin) contributes ~20%. The top six producing nations — Kazakhstan, Canada, Namibia, Australia, Uzbekistan, and Russia — together account for over 92% of world output. Global mine production reached 54,345 tU in 2023, recovering from the 47,361 tU COVID-19 low in 2021 but still below the 2016 peak of ~63,000 tU. US domestic production effectively ceased in 2017–2022 under sustained low prices, though domestic ISR capacity has been rapidly reactivated since 2023, reaching 677,000 lb (~260 tU) in 2024. US reactor operators remain heavily import-dependent, purchasing 55.9 million lb U₃O₈e from foreign suppliers in 2024.

The uranium market underwent a structural price reset from 2022 to 2024. Spot prices had declined from a 2007 peak of ~$140/lb to ~$20/lb by 2016, keeping marginal mines on care-and-maintenance for years. The Russia-Ukraine war (February 2022) disrupted enrichment supply chains and prompted European and US utilities to rebuild inventory and sign new long-term contracts at higher prices. The military coup in Niger (July 2023) removed a key EU uranium supply source and reinforced supply-security concerns. The uranium spot price surged from ~$47/lb at year-end 2022 to $91/lb at year-end 2023 and $106/lb in January 2024, the highest in 17 years. The US Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act (enacted May 2024, effective August 2024) further accelerated Western nuclear fuel supply chain restructuring away from Russian enrichment services. Meanwhile, at COP28 in December 2023, over 22 countries pledged to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050, materially raising the long-term demand outlook.

The global uranium resource base is sufficient to meet projected demand well into the second half of this century. Identified recoverable resources at <USD 130/kgU total 5.9 million tU (NEA/IAEA Red Book 2024), with Australia (28%), Kazakhstan (14%), Canada (10%), and Namibia (8%) holding the largest shares. However, bringing new mines into production requires 10–15 years from discovery through permitting and construction, meaning the current price signal must be sustained to fund the investment needed to close the anticipated supply gap by ~2027–2030 under high-demand scenarios. Kazatomprom's sulphuric acid supply constraints, Niger's political instability, and the concentration of supply in Kazakhstan (a single country, further concentrated within Kazatomprom's portfolio) represent the primary near-term supply risks. Uranium is not on the US 2022 Critical Minerals List — it was removed in the 2022 revision — and is excluded from the EU Critical Raw Materials framework (nuclear materials fall under the Euratom Supply Agency's separate regulatory mandate). Nevertheless, nuclear fuel supply security is a central concern of every energy policy framework in countries operating nuclear fleets.