With the increased price of uranium on the spot markets, uranium exploration in the U.S. and the world also appears to be increasing in order to supply fuel within the next few decades to the hundreds of nuclear plants around the world. New in situ leaching methods have generally replaced surface mining in the U.S. with methods that more economically produce “yellow cake” than the often environmentally-unfriendly method, surface mining. Deep uranium ore deposits, once considered too deep for conventional mining, will be developed in the future by ISL methods.

Reprinted With Permission From Michael D. Campbell, P.G., P.H.