Athabasca Basin – home to the world’s largest, hi-grade uranium mine
Canada’s Athabasca basin has the highest grade uranium deposits in the world, with grades up to 100x higher than averages mined elsewhere in the world.
And now, the region is at the center of a geopolitical struggle to secure the uranium to supply the West’s massive expansion of nuclear energy to power AI, data centers, EVs and net zero targets. The West’s clean energy ambitions and national security are heavily reliant on current and future Athabasca Basin uranium production.
Athabasca Basin
The Athabasca Basin currently produces 20% of global uranium supply.
It’s a region that covers about 100,000 sq km, the same size as South Korea, and has produced uranium consistently for the last &0+ years.
But, in 2009, with the development of massive, low-grade deposits amenable to In Situ Leaching (ISL) extraction, Kazakhstan became the world’s largest uranium supplier. In 2020, Australia moved into second place.
Then, in 2022, Canada became the world’s second largest producer of uranium with 7351 tons, up from third place in 2021 with 4693 tons — an almost 57% increase.
The reason for Canada’s dramatic return: the Athabasca Basin.
Today, the Athabasca Basin is home to the world’s largest, high-grade uranium mine at McArthur River and world’s second largest high-grade deposit at Cigar Lake. And, at Key Lake, is the world’s largest uranium mill.
And now with the war in Ukraine and tension with China, geopolitics and supply chain security have now elevated the region’s importance even further. The region has become critical to the national security and energy security of the West.
