![]() Once uranium ore deposits are located, the mine developer usually follows up with more closely spaced in fill, or development drilling, to determine how much uranium is available and what it might cost to recover it. A variety of techniques are used to locate uranium, such as airborne radiometric surveys, chemical sampling of groundwater and soils, and exploratory drilling to understand the underlying geology. The nuclear fuel cycle starts with exploration for uranium and the development of mines to extract uranium ore. Source: Pennsylvania State University Radiation Science and Engineering Center (public domain) The front end of the nuclear fuel cycle Exploration Chemical processing of spent fuel material to recover any remaining product that could undergo fission again in a new fuel assembly is technically feasible, but it is not permitted in the United States. Nuclear fuel is loaded into reactors and used until the fuel assemblies become highly radioactive and must be removed for temporary storage and eventual disposal. It is then processed in conversion and enrichment facilities, which increases the level of U-235 to 3%–5% for commercial nuclear reactors, and made into reactor fuel pellets and fuel rods in reactor fuel fabrication plants. Uranium concentrate is separated from uranium ore at uranium mills or from a slurry at in-situ leaching facilities. Although uranium is about 100 times more common than silver, U-235 is relatively rare at just over 0.7% of natural uranium. Nuclear power plants use a certain type of uranium-U-235-as fuel because its atoms are easily split apart. Uranium is the most widely used fuel by nuclear power plants for nuclear fission. The nuclear fuel cycle consists of front-end steps that prepare uranium for use in nuclear reactors and back-end steps to safely manage, prepare, and dispose of used-or spent-but still highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel.
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