Mining
9 Reasons Mining Investors are Looking at Yukon Companies
In the mining industry, location is paramount.
Invest your capital in a jurisdiction that doesn’t respect that investment, or in a place with little geological potential, and it’s possible that it will end up going to waste.
That’s why, when there’s a place on the map that has world-class geology and also a plan for working with miners and new explorers, the money begins to flow to take advantage of that potential.
Why Investors are Looking at the Yukon
Today’s infographic comes to us from the Yukon Mining Alliance and it shows nine reasons on why people are investing in Yukon mining and exploration companies today.
For resource investors, it is rare to see variables like government investment, jurisdiction, geological potential, and investment from major mining companies all aligning.
However, in the Yukon, it seems this may be the case.
9 Reasons for the Yukon
Here are nine reasons the Yukon is starting to attract more investment capital:
1. Rich History
Mining was central to the Yukon even over a century ago, when over 100,000 fortune-seekers stampeded into the Yukon with the goal of striking it rich in the famous Klondike Gold Rush.
2. Geological Profile
In the last decade, there have been major discoveries of gold, silver, copper, zinc, and lead in the Yukon – but perhaps most interestingly, only 12% of the Yukon has been staked, making the region highly under-explored. Spending on exploration and development rose from $93 million to $158 million from 2015-2017.
3. Major Investment
Major mining companies now have a stake in the polymetallic rush. Recent companies to foray into the Yukon include Agnico-Eagle, Barrick, Couer Mining, Goldcorp, Kinross, and Newmont.
4. Leaders in Exploration and Mining
Juniors in the region are working on new geological ideas as well as new technology to unlock the vast potential of the region.
5. Progressive Partnerships
First Nations and the Government of Yukon have recently championed a new government-to-government relationship that enables them to be on the exact same page when it comes to mineral projects.
6. Government Investment
The Yukon government is investing in new infrastructure (via the Resource Gateway Project). It also offers the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program (YMEP), which provides a portion of risk capital to explore and develop mineral projects to an advanced stage.
7. Made in Yukon Process
The Yukon government also tries to foster regulatory certainty to create clarity for companies and investors, by its customized tri-party process.
8. Infrastructure
The jurisdiction has 5,000km of government maintained roads, receives 95% of power from clean hydro, has international and local airports, and has access to three deep-water, ice-free ports.
9. Geopolitical Stability
Canada offers geopolitical stability to start with – but with unprecedented cooperation between the territorial government and First Nations, the Yukon is arguably a step above the rest of the country.
Energy
Visualizing the Uranium Mining Industry in 3 Charts
These visuals highlight the uranium mining industry and its output, as well as the trajectory of nuclear energy from 1960 to today.

When uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Heinrich Klaproth, it’s likely the German chemist didn’t know how important the element would become to human life.
Used minimally in glazing and ceramics, uranium was originally mined as a byproduct of producing radium until the late 1930s. However, the discovery of nuclear fission, and the potential promise of nuclear power, changed everything.
What’s the current state of the uranium mining industry? This series of charts from Truman Du highlights production and the use of uranium using 2021 data from the World Nuclear Association (WNA) and Our World in Data.
Who are the Biggest Uranium Miners in the World?
Most of the world’s biggest uranium suppliers are based in countries with the largest uranium deposits, like Australia, Kazakhstan, and Canada.
The largest of these companies is Kazatomprom, a Kazakhstani state-owned company that produced 25% of the world’s new uranium supply in 2021.
As seen in the above chart, 94% of the roughly 48,000 tonnes of uranium mined globally in 2021 came from just 13 companies.
Rank | Company | 2021 Uranium Production (tonnes) | Percent of Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇰🇿 Kazatomprom | 11,858 | 25% |
2 | 🇫🇷 Orano | 4,541 | 9% |
3 | 🇷🇺 Uranium One | 4,514 | 9% |
4 | 🇨🇦 Cameco | 4,397 | 9% |
5 | 🇨🇳 CGN | 4,112 | 9% |
6 | 🇺🇿 Navoi Mining | 3,500 | 7% |
7 | 🇨🇳 CNNC | 3,562 | 7% |
8 | 🇷🇺 ARMZ | 2,635 | 5% |
9 | 🇦🇺 General Atomics/Quasar | 2,241 | 5% |
10 | 🇦🇺 BHP | 1,922 | 4% |
11 | 🇬🇧 Energy Asia | 900 | 2% |
12 | 🇳🇪 Sopamin | 809 | 2% |
13 | 🇺🇦 VostGok | 455 | 1% |
14 | Other | 2,886 | 6% |
Total | 48,332 | 100% |
France’s Orano, another state-owned company, was the world’s second largest producer of uranium at 4,541 tonnes.
Companies rounding out the top five all had similar uranium production numbers to Orano, each contributing around 9% of the global total. Those include Uranium One from Russia, Cameco from Canada, and CGN in China.
Where are the Largest Uranium Mines Found?
The majority of uranium deposits around the world are found in 16 countries with Australia, Kazakhstan, and Canada accounting for for nearly 40% of recoverable uranium reserves.
But having large reserves doesn’t necessarily translate to uranium production numbers. For example, though Australia has the biggest single deposit of uranium (Olympic Dam) and the largest reserves overall, the country ranks fourth in uranium supplied, coming in at 9%.
Here are the top 10 uranium mines in the world, accounting for 53% of the world’s supply.
Of the largest mines in the world, four are found in Kazakhstan. Altogether, uranium mined in Kazakhstan accounted for 45% of the world’s uranium supply in 2021.
Uranium Mine | Country | Main Owner | 2021 Production |
---|---|---|---|
Cigar Lake | 🇨🇦 Canada | Cameco/Orano | 4,693t |
Inkai 1-3 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | Kazaktomprom/Cameco | 3,449t |
Husab | 🇳🇦 Namibia | Swakop Uranium (CGN) | 3,309t |
Karatau (Budenovskoye 2) | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | Uranium One/Kazatomprom | 2,561t |
Rössing | 🇳🇦 Namibia | CNNC | 2,444t |
Four Mile | 🇦🇺 Australia | Quasar | 2,241t |
SOMAIR | 🇳🇪 Niger | Orano | 1,996t |
Olympic Dam | 🇦🇺 Australia | BHP Billiton | 1,922t |
Central Mynkuduk | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | Ortalyk | 1,579t |
Kharasan 1 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | Kazatomprom/Uranium One | 1,579t |
Namibia, which has two of the five largest uranium mines in operation, is the second largest supplier of uranium by country, at 12%, followed by Canada at 10%.
Interestingly, the owners of these mines are not necessarily local. For example, France’s Orano operates mines in Canada and Niger. Russia’s Uranium One operates mines in Kazakhstan, the U.S., and Tanzania. China’s CGN owns mines in Namibia.
And despite the African continent holding a sizable amount of uranium reserves, no African company placed in the top 10 biggest companies by production. Sopamin from Niger was the highest ranked at #12 with 809 tonnes mined.
Uranium Mining and Nuclear Energy
Uranium mining has changed drastically since the first few nuclear power plants came online in the 1950s.
For 30 years, uranium production grew steadily due to both increasing demand for nuclear energy and expanding nuclear arsenals, eventually peaking at 69,692 tonnes mined in 1980 at the height of the Cold War.
Nuclear energy production (measured in terawatt-hours) also rose consistently until the 21st century, peaking in 2001 when it contributed nearly 7% to the world’s energy supply. But in the years following, it started to drop and flatline.
By 2021, nuclear energy had fallen to 4.3% of global energy production. Several nuclear accidents—Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima—contributed to turning sentiment against nuclear energy.
Year | Nuclear Energy Production | % of Total Energy |
---|---|---|
1965 | 72 TWh | 0.2% |
1966 | 98 TWh | 0.2% |
1967 | 116 TWh | 0.2% |
1968 | 148 TWh | 0.3% |
1969 | 175 TWh | 0.3% |
1970 | 224 TWh | 0.4% |
1971 | 311 TWh | 0.5% |
1972 | 432 TWh | 0.7% |
1973 | 579 TWh | 0.9% |
1974 | 756 TWh | 1.1% |
1975 | 1,049 TWh | 1.6% |
1976 | 1,228 TWh | 1.7% |
1977 | 1,528 TWh | 2.1% |
1978 | 1,776 TWh | 2.3% |
1979 | 1,847 TWh | 2.4% |
1980 | 2,020 TWh | 2.6% |
1981 | 2,386 TWh | 3.1% |
1982 | 2,588 TWh | 3.4% |
1983 | 2,933 TWh | 3.7% |
1984 | 3,560 TWh | 4.3% |
1985 | 4,225 TWh | 5% |
1986 | 4,525 TWh | 5.3% |
1987 | 4,922 TWh | 5.5% |
1988 | 5,366 TWh | 5.8% |
1989 | 5,519 TWh | 5.8% |
1990 | 5,676 TWh | 5.9% |
1991 | 5,948 TWh | 6.2% |
1992 | 5,993 TWh | 6.2% |
1993 | 6,199 TWh | 6.4% |
1994 | 6,316 TWh | 6.4% |
1995 | 6,590 TWh | 6.5% |
1996 | 6,829 TWh | 6.6% |
1997 | 6,782 TWh | 6.5% |
1998 | 6,899 TWh | 6.5% |
1999 | 7,162 TWh | 6.7% |
2000 | 7,323 TWh | 6.6% |
2001 | 7,481 TWh | 6.7% |
2002 | 7,552 TWh | 6.6% |
2003 | 7,351 TWh | 6.2% |
2004 | 7,636 TWh | 6.2% |
2005 | 7,608 TWh | 6% |
2006 | 7,654 TWh | 5.8% |
2007 | 7,452 TWh | 5.5% |
2008 | 7,382 TWh | 5.4% |
2009 | 7,233 TWh | 5.4% |
2010 | 7,374 TWh | 5.2% |
2011 | 7,022 TWh | 4.9% |
2012 | 6,501 TWh | 4.4% |
2013 | 6,513 TWh | 4.4% |
2014 | 6,607 TWh | 4.4% |
2015 | 6,656 TWh | 4.4% |
2016 | 6,715 TWh | 4.3% |
2017 | 6,735 TWh | 4.3% |
2018 | 6,856 TWh | 4.2% |
2019 | 7,073 TWh | 4.3% |
2020 | 6,789 TWh | 4.3% |
2021 | 7,031 TWh | 4.3% |
More recently, a return to nuclear energy has gained some support as countries push for transitions to cleaner energy, since nuclear power generates no direct carbon emissions.
What’s Next for Nuclear Energy?
Nuclear remains one of the least harmful sources of energy, and some countries are pursuing advancements in nuclear tech to fight climate change.
Small, modular nuclear reactors are one of the current proposed solutions to both bring down costs and reduce construction time of nuclear power plants. The benefits include smaller capital investments and location flexibility by trading off energy generation capacity.
With countries having to deal with aging nuclear reactors and climate change at the same time, replacements need to be considered. Will they come in the form of new nuclear power and uranium mining, or alternative sources of energy?
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