Mining
The Raw Materials That Fuel the Green Revolution
View a high resolution version of this graphic
The Raw Materials That Fuel the Green Revolution
View the high resolution version of today’s graphic by clicking here.
Records for renewable energy consumption were smashed around the world in 2017.
Looking at national and state grids, progress has been extremely impressive. In Costa Rica, for example, renewable energy supplied five million people with all of their electricity needs for a stretch of 300 consecutive days. Meanwhile, the U.K. broke 13 green energy records in 2017 alone, and California’s largest grid operator announced it got 67.2% of its energy from renewables (excluding hydro) on May 13, 2017.
The corporate front is also looking promising, and Google has led the way by buying 536 MW of wind power to offset 100% of the company’s electricity usage. This makes the tech giant the biggest corporate purchaser of renewable energy on the planet.
But while these examples are plentiful, this progress is only the tip of the iceberg – and green energy still represents a small but rapidly growing segment. For a full green shift to occur, we’ll need to 10x what we’re currently sourcing from renewables.
To do this, we will need to procure massive amounts of natural resources – they just won’t be the fossil fuels that we’re used to.
Green Metals Required
Today’s infographic comes from Cambridge House as a part of the lead-up to their flagship conference, the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference 2018.
A major theme of the conference is sustainable energy – and the math indeed makes it clear that to fully transition to a green economy, we’ll need vast amounts of metals like copper, silicon, aluminum, lithium, cobalt, rare earths, and silver.
These metals and minerals are needed to generate, store, and distribute green energy. Without them, the reality is that technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, lithium-ion batteries, nuclear reactors, and electric vehicles are simply not possible.
First Principles
How do you get a Tesla to drive over 300 miles (480 km) on just one charge?
Here’s what you need: a lightweight body, a powerful electric motor, a cutting-edge battery that can store energy efficiently, and a lot of engineering prowess.
Putting the engineering aside, all of these things need special metals to work. For the lightweight body, aluminum is being substituted in for steel. For the electric motor, Tesla is using AC induction motors (Model S and X) that require large amounts of copper and aluminum. Meanwhile, Chevy Bolts and soon Tesla will use permanent magnet motors (in the Model 3) that use rare earths like neodymium, dysprosium, and praseodymium.
The batteries, as we’ve shown in our five-part Battery Series, are a whole other supply chain challenge. The lithium-ion batteries used in EVs need lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and many other metals or minerals to function. Each Tesla battery, by the way, weighs about 1,200 lbs (540 kg) and makes up 25% the total mass of the car.
While EVs are a topic we’ve studied in depth, the same principles apply for solar panels, wind turbines, nuclear reactors, grid-scale energy storage solutions, or anything else we need to secure a sustainable future. Solar panels need silicon and silver, while wind turbines need rare earths, steel, and aluminum.
Even nuclear, which is the safest energy type by deaths per TWh and generates barely any emissions, needs uranium in order to generate power.
The Pace of Progress
The green revolution is happening at a breakneck speed – and new records will continue to be set each year.
Over $200 billion was invested into renewables in 2016, and more net renewable capacity was added than coal and gas put together:
Power Type | Net Global Capacity Added (2016) |
---|---|
Renewable (excl. large hydro) | 138 GW |
Coal | 54 GW |
Gas | 37 GW |
Large hydro | 15 GW |
Nuclear | 10 GW |
Other flexible capacity | 5 GW |
The numbers suggest that this is the only start of the green revolution.
However, to fully work our way off of fossil fuels, we will need to procure large amounts of the metals that make sustainable energy possible.
Maps
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?
-
Technology5 days ago
Nvidia Joins the Trillion Dollar Club
-
Batteries3 weeks ago
How EV Adoption Will Impact Oil Consumption (2015-2025P)
-
Misc3 days ago
Comparing Population Pyramids Around the World
-
Markets3 weeks ago
Ranked: The World’s Top 50 Endowment Funds
-
Green5 hours ago
Ranked: The 20 Most Air-Polluted Cities on Earth
-
Debt3 weeks ago
Charting the Rise of America’s Debt Ceiling
-
Central Banks4 weeks ago
Comparing the Speed of Interest Rate Hikes (1988-2023)
-
Misc2 weeks ago
Ranked: The Cities with the Most Skyscrapers in 2023