Uranium Exports by Country

February 2, 2017 by

Nuclear power plant

Nuclear power plant

Uranium is a silvery-white metal that is weakly radioactive with unique nuclear properties. Uranium’s major uses are as high-density penetrators in the military sector and as a fuel for nuclear power plants in the civilian sphere.

There are three major subcategories of uranium. The 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 284410 for natural uranium and its compounds. Code prefix 284420 represents enriched uranium, while 284430 is for depleted uranium.

Natural uranium exports by country totaled US$5.6 billion in 2015, down by an average -26.4% for all exporting countries over the five-year period starting in 2011. The value of exported enriched uranium was $2.8 billion down by an even more severe -54.7% since 2011. Depleted uranium exports were worth $60.5 million down by -29.9%.

Asian countries accounted for the highest dollar worth of natural uranium exports during 2015 with shipments valued at $2.6 billion or 46% of global exports. In second place were North American exporters at 35.2% while 12.1% of natural uranium shipments originated from Europe with Africa accounting for 6.6%.

In contrast, European exporters were responsible for 72.5% of enriched uranium global sales. North American countries were responsible for 18.1% of worldwide shipments, followed by Asian nations at 8.5%.

Europe is even more dominant for depleted uranium exports at 93.4% of the global total, followed by North America at 5.7%.

Uranium Exports by Country

Natural

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of natural uranium during 2015:

  1. Kazakhstan: US$2.2 billion (38.4% of total natural uranium exports)
  2. Canada: $1.1 billion (20%)
  3. United States: $854.8 million (15.2%)
  4. Uzbekistan: $430.5 million (7.6%)
  5. Namibia: $349.1 million (6.2%)
  6. Russia: $226 million (4%)
  7. Ukraine: $191.2 million (3.4%)
  8. France: $146.2 million (2.6%)
  9. Czech Republic: $49.8 million (0.9%)
  10. United Kingdom: $41.5 million (0.7%)
  11. Netherlands: $26.9 million (0.5%)
  12. South Africa: $24.2 million (0.4%)
  13. Germany: $657,000 (0.01%)
  14. Saudi Arabia: $425,000 (0.01%)
  15. Malaysia: $395,000 (0.01%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 99.99% of all natural uranium exports in 2015 (by value).

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing natural uranium exporters since 2011 were: Namibia (up 34,905,500%), Netherlands (up 367.3%), Russia (up 215.8%) and Czech Republic (up 64.1%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported natural uranium sales were led by: Germany (down -87.5%), Saudi Arabia (down -84.5%), France (down -81.1%) and South Africa (down -67.5%).

Enriched

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of enriched uranium during 2015:

  1. Netherlands: US$813.9 million (29.6% of total enriched uranium exports)
  2. Germany: $675.9 million (24.6%)
  3. France: $498.6 million (18.1%)
  4. United States: $470.9 million (17.1%)
  5. China: $132.3 million (4.8%)
  6. Kazakhstan: $100.4 million (3.6%)
  7. Canada: $27.8 million (1%)
  8. Namibia: $23 million (0.8%)
  9. Spain: $4.1 million (0.15%)
  10. Sweden: $3.2 million (0.12%)
  11. Japan: $1.5 million (0.05%)
  12. Belgium: $210,000 (0.01%)
  13. Israel: $50,000 (0.002%)
  14. South Korea: $30,000 (0.001%)
  15. Italy: $7,000 (0.0003%)

The listed 15 countries shipped close to 100% of all enriched uranium exports in 2015 (by value).

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing enriched uranium exporters since 2011 were: Spain (up 412,300%) and Kazakhstan (up 282.7%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported enriched uranium sales were led by: Japan (down -90.3%), Belgium (down -86.6%), France (down -74.1%) and China (down -56.5%).

Depleted

Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of depleted uranium during 2015:

  1. Germany: US$26.9 million (44.4% of total depleted uranium exports)
  2. France: $23 million (38.1%)
  3. United States: $3.4 million (5.6%)
  4. Netherlands: $3.2 million (5.4%)
  5. Czech Republic: $1 million (1.7%)
  6. Italy: $678,000 (1.1%)
  7. United Kingdom: $472,000 (0.8%)
  8. India: $398,000 (0.7%)
  9. Portugal: $307,000 (0.51%)
  10. Russia: $290,000 (0.48%)
  11. Austria: $146,000 (0.24%)
  12. Spain: $119,000 (0.2%)
  13. Norway: $105,000 (0.17%)
  14. Poland: $71,000 (0.12%)
  15. Saudi Arabia: $62,000 (0.1%)

The listed 15 countries shipped 99.6% of all depleted uranium exports in 2015 (by value).

Among the above countries, the fastest-growing depleted uranium exporters since 2011 were: Portugal (up 1,516%), Poland (up 1,320%), Czech Republic (up 241.6%) and United Kingdom (up 122.6%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported depleted uranium sales were led by: Spain (down -96.6%), United States (down -82.9%), Italy (down -73.4%) and India (down -50.8%).

Companies

Global Uranium Producers

According to MiningFeeds.com, the following companies represent established players engaged in the international uranium trade. Their home country is shown within parenthesis.

  • BHP Billiton Ltd (Australia)
  • Rio Tinto Ltd (Australia)
  • Energy Resources of Australia (Australia)
  • Cameco (Canada)
  • Altius Minerals (Canada)
  • Uranium Participation Corp (Canada)
  • Uranium Energy Corp (United States)
  • Ur-Energy Inc (United States)


 
See also Gold Exports by Country, Silver Exports by Country and Platinum Exports by Country

Research Sources:
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on October 15, 2016

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on October 15, 2016

Wikipedia, Uranium. Accessed on October 15, 2016

Mining Feeds, Uranium Mining Companies Listed in All Countries. Accessed on October 15, 2016







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