From uranium ore to reactor fuel.

Uranium ore can be mined by underground or open-cut methods, depending on its depth. After mining, the ore is crushed and ground up. Then it is treated with acid to dissolve the uranium, which is recovered from solution.

Uranium may also be mined by in situ leaching (ISL), where it is dissolved from a porous underground orebody in situ and pumped to the surface.

The end product of the mining and milling stages, or of ISL, is uranium oxide concentrate (U3O8). This is the form in which uranium is sold.

Before it can be used in a reactor for electricity generation, however, it must undergo a series of processes to produce a useable fuel.

For reactors which use natural uranium as their fuel (and hence which require graphite or heavy water as a moderator) the U3O8 concentrate simply needs to be refined and converted directly to uranium dioxide.