Constellation Energy Market Performance
Nuclear Fuel Cycle Front End
•
Mining and
Milling
Conversion
Enrichment
Fabrication
Uranium mining can be
done through conventional
methods (surface mining,
open pits, underground) or
non-conventional methods
(in-situ recovery)
Uranium milling process
results in uranium
concentrate (U308),
commonly referred to as
"yellowcake"
U3O is then converted to
uranium hexafluoride (UF)
UF6 is a solid at room
temperature but can be
transformed to a gas at
higher temperatures, which
is required for enrichment
•
When uranium is mined,
milled and converted, only
approximately 0.7% is
U235, the uranium isotope
needed for most
commercial nuclear fuel
Enrichment is the process
in which the concentration
of the U235 isotope in the
uranium hexafluoride is
increased from 0.7% to
3%-5%, which is the level
used by most nuclear
reactors
•
Fabrication plants convert
enriched uranium into
uranium oxide (UO2)
powder and form that into
small ceramic pellets
⚫ These pellets are loaded
into fuel rods and
combined to form fuel
bundles or assemblies,
which are then shipped to
reactors
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(1) 95% represents <USD 130/kgU cost category as of 1 January 2019; Source: Uranium 2020: Resources, Production and Demand OECD 2020 NEA No 7551
Nuclear Energy Agency, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
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