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| Uranium ore mine. Click on picture for full size. |
Nuclear energy is sustainable. Most nuclear power plants use uranium as the main fuel. Uranium is highly available ore, can be mined and distributed in cost-effective way. With mining costs up to US $80 per kilogram proven reserves are about two million tonnes. With mining costs up to US $130 per kilogram proven reserves increases for additional three million tonnes.
The uranium resources are estimated to more than 35 million tonnes. Based on the 2004 nuclear electricity generation rate, 4.7 million tonnes of uranium is sufficient for 85 years. Emerging fast reactor technology would lengthen this period to over 2,500 years. Studies based on proven oil reserves, and the rate of oil consumption in the 1970s stated that we only had ~20-30 years of oil reserves left. From that we can assume that actual uranium reserves are much higher than mentioned 35 million tonnes. If we include uranium in seawater and in the earth’s crust, supplies are practically limitless.
