Ebb and flow: the economics of uranium mining

Mining uranium is just like mining any other base metal, many industry executives say: exploration, licensing, excavation and then shutting down the mine at the end of its useful life. But when you consider radiation protection, long-term management of radioactive waste and the lack of public support surrounding uranium mining in some countries, it is clear that the industry's challenges are more complicated than in the case of other metals. Its economics has been complicated, too, with prices in the last decade or so showing the greatest volatility in history — with a peak of US $300/kilogramme in 2007 and a trough of US $41/kilogramme in 2016